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.”

  • The Lost Butterfly

    L.C. Tiffany’s lamps are beyond famous, but did you know his firm also made headstones? There are some 60 in Green-Wood Cemetery, which also happens to be where Tiffany and family members are buried. I think people may be surprised about the Tiffany plot. There’s no mausoleum; no stained glass, just some rather simple, elegant…

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    The Lost Butterfly

  • More Merganser

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    More Merganser

  • Hooded

    Mallards are one of our biggest ducks. Occasionally, Sylvan Water gets some other waterfowl. Behold the many manifestations of a male Hooded Merganser:

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    Hooded

  • Mock On!

    One bird you are guaranteed to run across, even this winter, is the Northern Mockingbird. They’ll be giving you the eye.

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    Mock On!

  • Raptor Wednesday

    A close view and a sunny day, that’s what makes for the best urban raptor-viewing.

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    Raptor Wednesday

  • More Winter Birds

    Please! As I noted yesterday, they have been scant this season. This Red-breasted Nuthatch, barely seen, was the first I’d heard in months. The N. Mockingbirds make sure you see them, at least.

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    More Winter Birds

  • Some Birds of Winter

    The birds in my patch are few and far between this winter. There are very small numbers even of Juncos and White-throated Sparrows, a typical winter’s mob. The strident calls of Blue Jays are rare. When I heard a nuthatch the other day, I realized it was the first in several months.

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    Some Birds of Winter

  • Owl Sign

    The local Great Horned Owls weren’t in their usual perching tree. (One at least was in the nest tree.) So I walked under the perching tree, and saw plenty of evidence of fine owl dining.

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    Owl Sign

  • Coop/Parakeets

    The Cooper’s pictured with yesterday’s feisty House Finch had already put up with a reception committee of Monk Parakeets: After loudly berating the predator, the flock returned to Green-Wood’s Neo-Gothic pile of a gatehouse. The Coop, meanwhile, stuck around for at least 45 minutes, which is a long time in Accipiter time.

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    Coop/Parakeets

  • Finchiness

    A House Finch flew into this linden… There were already some Mourning Doves in the tree. (The finch is in the top left corner; you can expand these photos by clicking on them.) And, oh yes, over there on the right… A male American Kestrel. Which of course reminded me of a couple weeks ago…

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    Finchiness