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.”

  • Two Nuthatches

    This was sweet. Two Red-breasted Nuthatches, so damn small up close. First some shots of the one on the upper right: And now the other one: This second one actually perched in the same spot as the first after the first flew further up in the tree.

    See more

    Two Nuthatches

  • Any Post In A Storm

    On the theory that the back door is in the shade, here’s the front door to this European Paperwasp nest site:

    See more

    Any Post In A Storm

  • Raptor Wednesday

    This young Red-tailed Hawk may have been one of the four I’d seen in the air just a short while earlier. This pose usually means business…

    See more

    Raptor Wednesday

  • Milkweeds Tumbling into Tuesday

    See more

    Milkweeds Tumbling into Tuesday

  • Milkweed Monday

    See more

    Milkweed Monday

  • Behold The Book

    Larval development in odonates can last from a few months to as many as five years. They’re aquatic at this stage, so very different from their adult airborne forms. Mostly aquatic, that is—there are always exceptions in the insect world: family Petaluridae, the petaltails, have larvae that are semi-terrestrial. These nymph/naiads capture prey with their…

    See more

  • It Begins

    I don’t think it’s hyperbole to write that this election decides the fate of the nation. The choice is clear: fascism or not. Early voting in New York State starts today. In other states, it’s already on. More thoughts over on Medium.

    See more

    It Begins

  • Clash of the Dinosaurs

    This was surprising. I’ve seen Red-tails eat feral Pigeons, but I didn’t know they bothered with such small fare as song birds. I mean, how would they even catch one? But this mature Red-tailed Hawk snagged what I think is a Song Sparrow on the ground. The prey was eaten in about two bites, with…

    See more

    Clash of the Dinosaurs

  • A Visitor From the Himalayas

    The Asian Mud-dauber/Sceliphron curvatum is a recent addition to the local fauna. As of this date, there have been 42 observations on iNaturalist for NYC, twenty of them this year. The oldest observation is from 2020. I saw one for the first time last year. Last year I also saw what I suspect was a…

    See more

    A Visitor From the Himalayas

  • Raptor Wednesday

    Cooper’s. Not the first I’ve seen this raptor season, but the first fair-to-middling pictures. Three different American Kestrels within a few blocks of each other. Distant Osprey, with fish prey. And Red-tailed Hawks.

    See more

    Raptor Wednesday