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.”

  • O, Wasp, Where Is Your Sting?

    I spend a fair amount of time around wasps and bees. Sometimes they get in my face, but in all these years I’ve only been stung three times: 1) on the hand by a Honey Bee in a Lower East Side community garden because we were coming for her honey; 2) on the ear lobe…

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  • Chipper

    Must be away from Green-Wood, right? Not so far away: Prospect Park has them in good numbers. The cemetery, perhaps because it is much less wooded, rarely sees them.

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    Chipper

  • Carolina

    One of at lest two yodeling and tsk-tsking.

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    Carolina

  • Red-tail Follow-Up To Raptor Wednesday

    A young Red-tailed Hawk atop the statue of DeWitt Clinton, NYC Mayor, U.S. Senator, and NY Governor. Mr. Erie Canal, etc. When he died in office in 1828, his remains were put in the vault of a family friend in Albany, for his family was practically destitute. By 1844, the family had raised enough money…

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    Red-tail Follow-Up To Raptor Wednesday

  • Raptor Wednesday

    After being blown apart by lightning in the summer of ’23, the historic chapel in Green-Wood has a new cross on top. The local American Kestrels did not linger in taking command of it. Not so far away is this ailing Horse-chestnut, which this male has really taken to. A few days earlier, he was…

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    Raptor Wednesday

  • Monarch Monday

    This male was foraging last Tuesday. He was the only Monarch sighting during the week.

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    Monarch Monday

  • Late September Action

    Coreopsis is still in bloom, so bees are still foraging on it. But there are other things going on as well: This Hidalgo Mason Wasp/Euodynerus hidalgo was busy excavating a flowerhead for a caterpillar. This tiny Eurytoma genus Chalcidoid wasp was on the prowl, presumably in search of whatever insect she parasitizes. Another small parasitic…

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    Late September Action

  • Purple Passionflower

    Passiflora incarnata. Two different plants. One was still flowering, while the other was already set with fruit.

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    Purple Passionflower

  • Wet Bumblebees

    You’ve heard of Shark Week. Maybe you’ve heard of Fat Bear Week. Well, I just declared this Wet Bumblebee Week.

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    Wet Bumblebees

  • More Young Red-tail

    Same day as yesterday’s youngster(s). Maybe the same bird. Eating an Eastern Grey Squirrel. Which takes a long time. Raptors usually pluck fairly small pieces off their meal. But they can also choke down a whole limb…

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    More Young Red-tail