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.”

  • Plants and other lifeforms

    A few more from Maine. Here’s Low-bush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) in flower. I’m mad for those little Maine blueberries, which I get frozen and eat all winter.Starflower (Trientalis borealis).Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), a wildflower relation of Dogwood.Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) needs to be revealed. Hiding its light under a bushel. This is a plant I’ve never run…

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  • VLB in BK

    I came across some Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum) in Prospect Park that been skeletonized by Viburnum Leaf Beetle (Pyrrhalta viburni). This invasive species that has been defoliating its way through numerous Viburnum species through the northeast.The beetle — both the larval and adult stages are leaf-chewers — wasn’t found in NYC half a dozen years ago,…

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  • More Maine Birds

    An exhausted Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) looking for food amidst the festering seaweed of Lobster Cove on Monhegan Island.And here’s one of the Empidonax flycatchers in the same spot. These flycatchers are impossible to tell apart unless they vocalize.There were big flocks of Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) over Monhegan, sometimes landing near by. A Red-necked…

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  • Listening

    This week, I have an essay on the City Creatures blog of the Center for Humans and Nature about my Listening Tours. I am planning a Night Listening walk for August, so stay tuned for more details.

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  • Painted Skimmer

    Flying gold at Big John’s Pond: a Painted Skimmer (Libellula semifasciata).

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  • Blue Flag

    Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) blooming now. These are also known as Wild Iris, Harlequin Blueflag, and Northern Blue Flag. Look for them in swamps, marshes, and wet shorelines from Virginia to Canada. Watch honeybees and native bees land on the large petal, which must look AMAZING in their ultraviolet-shifted vision, and scoot down into…

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  • Nesting Update

    Returning to three nests reported here on May 23rd, I find the birds incubating. Nesting season is, for the observer, rather more contemplative than active. The Green Heron (Butorides virescens) was the only one of these three not hunkered down when I arrived. The bird was grooming itself — could be either male or female…

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  • Intertidal Zone

    The tides increase as you approach the Bay of Fundy. While the average difference between high and low is five feet here in NYC, it’s 10 feet in Maine. This means the state’s rocky shore is full of tidal pools, pockets of water temporarily abandoned as the tide pulls away. Such places are ripe with…

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  • Two Rarities…Offshore

    Monhegan Island is ten miles off the coast of Maine. It’s blessed with ample fresh water and lots of plant life, which inspires the insects that hungry migratory birds are looking for as they sweep up from the south this time of year. For many of these migrants, the tiny island is their first sight…

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  • Falcons

    As you may know, there are four young Peregrines in the 55 Water Street scrape. They are scheduled for banding tomorrow. Over at the House of D scrape however, this year’s crop of birds are older, much closer to fledgling. A friend and I have been stalking the place like paparazzi, which is sort of…

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