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.”

  • Further up the Beach

    Bembix americana Bembix something Bicyrtes ventralis. Ten feet up from the fiddler crab flats seen in Tuesday’s post, three species of Bembicini sand wasps were scoping out the terrain. The tiny strip of beach at Bush Terminal Park is habitat for these nesters in the sand. One more species, Microbembex monodonta, should start showing up…

    See more

    Further up the Beach
  • Raptor Wednesday

    Eastern Kingbird riding Red-tailed Hawk out of Sylvan Water airspace. The Kingbird in turn was harried by a female Red-winged Blackbird. Busy few minutes. Here’s a rare look at the Kingbird’s colorful head patch.

    See more

    Raptor Wednesday
  • Night Fliers

    Good variety of things coming to the ultraviolet light: beetles, flies, hoppers, wasps, caddisflies, ants, lacewings… …and yes, some moths for National Moth Week.

    See more

    Night Fliers
  • Wet Ravens

    A trio of wet ravens on the roofline. They probably bathed in some rooftop puddles somewhere around here.

    See more

    Wet Ravens
  • Twilight Chicken?

    Or Chukar, an escapee from a live poultry market. Was pecking away at the parapet of this four story building when I went up there to set up a bug light. Hop-flew onto the next building…

    See more

    Twilight Chicken?
  • Beetlemania

    Small Tortoise Beetle (I think). Slender Lizard Beetle (I think) Imported Willow Leaf Beetles defoliating willows. Crenate Cylindrical Bark Beetle (I think). Blackened Milkweed Beetle. There are a bunch of Long-horned Milkweed beetles in the genus Tetraopes, but only three range in the East. I’d only every seen the Red Milkweed here in NYC until…

    See more

    Beetlemania
  • Raptor Wednesday

    Osprey harried by persistent songbird. Here’s one with a small fish being chased by a Red-winged Blackbird. June 26: awfully late for nest-building. Is this stick for maintenance, practice, hopefulness? Carrying a stick out of Green-Wood on July10th.

    See more

    Raptor Wednesday