Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

  • Raptor Wednesday

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  • Monarch Migration

    Yesterday was pretty extraordinary. Between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m., I watched just over a hundred Monarchs drift by our apartment windows, some as close a few feet, others as far as a third of an avenue block away. They’re awfully small at that distance, but still distinctively fluttering. Flight is meandering, but still swift and…

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  • Tremex columba

    We’re going in reverse order. About a month ago, I posted pictures of Long-tailed Ichneumenon Wasps. The female was ovipositing deep in a hickory tree. Her target: the larvae of this creature, a Pigeon Horntail, which I saw last week. The Pigeon Horntail lays her eggs in old wood. This happens to be another hickory,…

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  • Flies Beware

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  • Gall Update

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  • Cherry Tree Cut

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  • Raptor Wednesday

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  • Harvests

    A soft rain of pieces of cucumber magnolia fruit reveals a tree, thickly cloaked in big, thick leaves, busy with Red-eyed Vireos, Catbirds, four different species of thrush. Across the road, the noisier fall of hickory husks point to squirrels at work.

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  • Monarchy Monday

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  • Turtles

    If you’re new here, you should know that this blog does accept contributions to off-set the costs of hosting.

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