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.”

  • Falcon Twilight

    Last night, as sunset approached, I noticed something atop St. Michael’s at 4th Avenue and 42nd St. It was a Peregrine falcon. At the same time, I saw something on the closer large antenna at 5th and 40th: it was another Peregrine! Double trouble, indeed! But it got better. The antenna Peregrine flew off and…

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  • More Eagle

    This bird is just so majestic I’m going to put up more pictures. Sounds like the best electoral turnout since 1900, with 66%. So approximately one-third of the nation opposes democracy since they voted for someone who stated, in advance, that he doesn’t want all votes counted if they’re not for him. And wow, their…

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  • Raptor Wednesday Come Hell or High Water

    Well, well, well, look what I saw on Election Day. In George Orwell’s 1945 essay “Notes on Nationalism” he makes the point that “Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism.” No fucking way that a bunch of eagle-killers get to be called “patriots.” This post was set up hours before polls closed Tuesday, hence…

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  • Emergency Nature

    The patch of red peaking out! The white patches on this one! Who says all birds (of a species) look the same? One more Golden-crowned Kinglet today from a patch of three four six, it was hard to tell. “Kinglet” for their crowns, but also, it seems to me when I see them come leap-flying…

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  • 11/3/20

    As this is a referendum on autocracy, I voted against fascism. People who vote for Trump after four years of Trump are voting for vicious, corrupt, irrational, monstrous authoritarianism. They are, through Fox-infected stupidity and/or white supremacist malignity, announcing themselves as fucking monsters enabling the dismemberment of American democracy. People who vote for a third…

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  • The Cache

    For days now, a Red-bellied Woodpecker has been heard in the London plane tree across the street. The distinctive “quirrr!” announces his bird. But he doesn’t stay long. I hustled to the window with the camera a couple of times before just staking out the situation to catch these images. The bird is caching acorns…

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  • Some Moths

    This pandemic year, I have spent an inordinate amount of time chasing little flutters arising erratically from the grass. By “chasing,” I mean inadvertently flushing a moth and then watching where it lands, usually close by. Above is a Velvetbean Caterpillar Moth (Anticarsia gemmatalis). The ubiquitous Green Cloverworm Moth (Hypena scabra), posed against some Orange…

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  • Legendary

    Woooooooooooo… Green-Wood’s Headless Hawk is said to only fly on All Hallow’s Eve… mostly because every year it bumps into a tree limb and doesn’t work up the courage to do it again for another year. *** Nobody has said it for a while, but I have had people here say “don’t do politics, I…

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  • Pepper Tray

    We rarely celebrate the cultivated fruits of the planet here, but these peppers ready for roasting are as emblematic of the harvest season as anything. From the left: Serrano, poblano, and cayenne from the local farmer’s market. I roast, peel and seed, and then freeze these to use as needed. Which, since they’re in the…

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  • Woodsy Wood Duck

    I’ve mentioned the weeping Bald Cypress on the edge of Sylvan Water before. It provides excellent cover for bathing birds, who can dart into its shelter when they must. As the low tree reaches over to cover a bit of water, it also provides a hidey-hole beneath. The reflection of a Wood Duck in there,…

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