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.”

  • destellos naranjas en la copa de los árboles

    Details of Tatiana Arocha‘s large work at the new Sunset Park Library branch of BPL. Happy New Year’s Eve!

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    destellos naranjas en la copa de los árboles

  • Storm Leftovers

    Washed ashore at Riis Beach: what I think is a Jonah Crab/Cancer borealis claw. About a week earlier, some very large waves were recorded in nearby NJ, so the storm must have really stirred up the bottom. An American Lobster/Homarus americanus claw. Only the second time I’ve found a lobster around NYC. Lots and lots…

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  • Crow Food

    From far off, I thought this American Crow might have an egg, which seemed off for December. Now it looks like something else entirely, but what?

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    Crow Food

  • Dangler

    A Baltimore Oriole nest in a linden tree. It was out in the open now that all the leaves have fallen, but I walked by it several dozen times since last spring without noticing it. A couple of days later, after a lot of rain and wind, the nest was on the ground. Here in…

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    Dangler

  • Raptor Wednesday

    Only the second time I’ve come across a Merlin eating. The meal is bird, and, minus most feathers, everything gets swallowed, even the feet.

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    Raptor Wednesday

  • E.G.S

    Squirrels in some city parks will come right up to you for food, but Green-Wood’s Eastern Grays are quite cautious. After all, you could be a Red-tailed Hawk. This one was planning the next move… that right front paw may have been in bad shape. This one was gnawing away on hickory nuts. Green-Wood has…

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  • Raptor Week

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  • Raptor Week: Twas the Night Before Kestrelmas

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  • Raptor Week

    A trio of Feral Pigeons, thirty-five (35!) Mourning Doves, and, in the upper right corner, a young Red-tailed Hawk. Everybody bolted when this big lug descended. No breakfast this time.

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  • Raptor Week: More Coop

    Happy holidays, everybody! I can’t access my own posts on a couple different browsers/computers and I don’t know what the issue is. Judging from comments, subscribers seem to be getting emails with the daily raptors lately…but meanwhile, my statistics are jumping with visitors looking, or attempting to look at numerous pages when they come to…

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