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.”

  • Some Recent Sightings

    Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica): this is a Brooklyn bird, but this is a cosmopolitan species; Eurasian specimens, which I saw most days recently in the UK, have generally longer tails and brighter colors.The clean work of a leaf-cutter bee on Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), one of their favorite plants. If you’re a gardener, you should…

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  • Jackdaws

    The British Isles are rich with members of the Corvidae. The Jackdaw (Corvus monedula), for one, was a species ever-present on our trip, particularly in towns and villages. One of many dialect names for them is Sea-crow and we rarely strayed far from the coast. They are very fond of using chimneys for their nests…

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  • Lace Bugs

    I noticed these tiny, delicate-looking bugs underneath the leaves of a couple of oaks in Brooklyn Bridge Park. They’re new to me, members of the Tingidae family, the lace bugs. Kudos to the Horticulturist for the ID. They feed on the leaves, producing the splotching seen here. Location and the look of them suggest they…

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  • The North Sea

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  • Mallards

    Two families of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) were spotted at Brooklyn Bridge Park the other day. Here’s an attentive mommy and one of her half a dozen cautious-reckless youngsters.

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  • Razorbills

    Razorbills (Alca torda).“Razorbill” has in the past also been used as a name for Puffins and Murres/Guillemots. All of these birds are auks, of the family Alcidae. “Auk” comes from the Old Norse alka. The largest auk was the nearly 3-foot tall Pinguinus impennis, the now extinct Great Auk. Note that binomial: the penguins, Southern…

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  • Butterfly Dependence

    A short walk on the High Line yesterday morning:There were several Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta); this one was all over the Purple Coneflower (Echinacea).Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). Not as close to the camera: my first Monarch of the year. On Blazing Star (Liatris spicata).

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  • Murre/Guillemot

    Twelve thousand breeding pairs of Common Murres, Uria aalge, known as Guillemots in the UK, nest on Staple Island. Murres eschew nesting material and just use shallow depressions on the rocky surface of such “bird cliffs.” Their eggs are rather more pointy on one end than your typical egg, so that, if nudged or knocked,…

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  • Lessons

    1. It’s hard to focus an iPhone in the wind with one hand. 2. Looks like I need a manicure. Although I’ve have never had one, so I probably won’t ever get one. 3. Never believe anybody when they say the city is a sterile wasteland with nothing but pigeons and a surplus of rats.…

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  • Farne Islands

    The Farnes are a series of outcroppings of igneous dolerite known locally as the Whinstone Sill starting a mile and and half off of the town of Seahouses, Northumberland. There are 15-20 of them, the ambiguity depending on the tide. Uninhabited except for bird wardens working for the National Trust, the larger rocks in the…

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