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.”

  • Ravens, Continued

    Parent Raven was making a lot of noise with the youngster in the tree when we arrived on Sunday. A feral cat down below might have been the issue.

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    Ravens, Continued

  • Raven Wednesday

    We interrupt our regularly scheduled Raptor Wednesday with news of a newly fledged Raven. On Sunday, we found one of the four Raven puppies out of the nest, in the only clump of trees in this industrial, parking lot zone. Called by one of the adults, who had food, this youngster could fly across the…

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    Raven Wednesday

  • Mimicking Fly

    At first glance, this looks like a parasitic wasp. But that’s a very Diptera head, with the eyes next to each other and the little Y-shaped antenna. Also, there are only two wings, which is what Di-ptera means. (Wasps, like bees, have four wings.) This is Xylomya pallidifemur, a wood soldier fly. I haven’t found…

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    Mimicking Fly

  • Monarch Monday

    A centimeter-long Monarch caterpillar. Spotted on Saturday at the patch of Common Milkweed where I found six Monarch eggs two weeks ago. I also spotted an adult on Saturday, unexpectedly flushing it from a lawn-like part of Green-Wood. Twas too quick for a photo.

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  • Ravens Getting Ready

    Two days ago, on Friday: the four nestlings are getting too big for their britches.

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  • Grackle, Wraps

    Common Grackle and some House Sparrows scavenging failed bread at a local bakery.

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    Grackle, Wraps

  • First Monarch

    May 11, 2025. So far, first and only adult Monarch spotted. That same day, however, I spotted an egg on the underside of a Common Milkweed. I was in a hurry to meet some people, so I came back the next day to look for more. I found five more eggs on this patch of…

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    First Monarch

  • Mocking Birds in Your Face

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  • Raptor Wednesday

    Same American Kestrel male on same perches above, but a few days earlier. Another male Kestrel, elsewhere. Female Kestrel with lizard prey.

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    Raptor Wednesday

  • Bat Saved From Drowning

    The photographer was probably aiming at the Green Heron… …when, a tad unusually, a midday bat flung into the scene. And it may not have been all right… Ploop! For the creature ditched in Valley Water. The City Birder offered the bat a life-stick… Which was accepted. Rob gave the bat a shady oak to…

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    Bat Saved From Drowning