I love this time of year. After the exuberance of summer and the vibrant colors of fall, I’m thankful for the days growing shorter. The nights longer. Temperatures falling. Silhouettes of bare branches against a leaden sky promising snow. All of nature winding down. Encouraging quiet. Reflection. Introspection. [more]
Brown-headed Cowbird Nestling
This spring and summer seem to have been very successful for the Brown-headed Cowbird. I realize that this is largely anecdotal, but I have had and heard a lot of sightings and stories about various species discovered feeding a hatchling or fledgling Cowbird. From the American Redstart to the Chipping Sparrow, the Yellow-throated Vireo or the Yellow Warbler, an Orchard Oriole and a Common Yellowthroat, a Blue-winged Warbler or this nest that I found and photographed a couple of weeks ago, it has been Cowbirds here, there, and everywhere....
read moreWood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)
This Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) surprised me yesterday while I was walking with my dog Zach. At first I thought a leaf had blown across the grass under his furry stomach, but I said…wait, no way, that moved way too directly, too low, and too quick. After about 20 seconds of looking at the ground, sure enough, there it was. I took a few photos of it in between its hops back to the woods. The frog was heading in the right direction, and after showing Zach – he likes to watch wildlife because he has grown up around me simply...
read moreWildLife Guards Monitoring
What a week. All of us have been extremely busy and it will continue tomorrow and Sunday and…well, every day this summer. Here are a couple photos of the Bridgeport WildLife Guards in action yesterday as they monitored the Piping Plover pair with one chick at Pleasure Beach. ‘ They also recorded all the other bird species that they saw on the shoreline while learning more about our avian neighbors. The Guards noted the chick flying today and classified it as finally having fledged officially – woo! Now they will have the...
read moreAngry Groundhog
This is one angry looking Groundhog, Whistlepig, or Woodchuck (Marmota monax)…you can use any name, but this rodent was not happy with me. It was not my fault, I swear! Do you know what the problem is here? I was standing on a porch, and under this porch happens to be a burrow with young groundhogs. Every time I have seen one of them they scurry away as fast as can be in a non-stealthy manner back into the closest entrance to the burrow. However, this parent was not pleased, and no scurrying happened after we startled one another with a...
read moreJuly Sunset
Here are a couple sunset photos from last night at Stratford Point as we were on duty providing some fireworks coverage here in Stratford, Milford and West Haven for the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. You can see the reef balls in the distance along our dune and spartina growth in the intertidal zone. We had a couple Black-crowned Night-Heron visitors appropriately join us just after darkness fell on the site. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
read moreGreat Spangled Fritillary & Eastern Purple Coneflower
I am finally seeing more butterfly abundance and diversity as we enter July, and I could not be happier about that! I photographed this appropriately named Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) nectaring on a fresh Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) during the morning of Independence Day. These pollinator plants are gorgeous and great for attracting beneficial insects to your yard. On Sunday, July 3, I was thrilled to finally see my first of the year Monarch butterflies. What species have you spotted recently? Have you...
read moreA Ghost in the Making: Nationwide Release of a Revealing Film About the Decline of a Once Common Pollinator
Day’s Edge Productions recently released A Ghost In the Making: Searching for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, an enchanting short film about the disappearance of the rusty patched bumble bee and one man’s journey to find out what’s happened to it. After being received with acclaim at film festivals this spring, the film is now available for anyone to view online. Everyone has heard about bee declines, but with so much attention focused on domesticated honeybees, someone has to speak up for the 3,600 species of native bees in the United States....
read moreWildLife Guards Training – Netting Dragonflies
Training week for the Bridgeport WildLife Guards Crew Leaders continues! We will be adding some new lesson plans and activities for the WildLife Guards this year both in conservation survey work and educational outreach. While much of our work is focused on birds we felt that considering Pleasure Beach is an important migratory hub for butterflies and dragonflies that we should teach the WildLife Guards about some of the insects that they can expect to see moving through the gardens and fields of milkweed, goldenrod and so forth. I created a...
read moreIncreasing Public Exposure to RTPI’s Unique Archives
Throughout his remarkable career, Roger Tory Peterson educated and excited millions of people about the natural world through his art and writing, while his research into the associations between anthropogenic activities and the demise of nature was at the foundation of the modern conservation movement. As the official institutional steward of his legacy, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI) continues Peterson’s important life work by providing a powerful synergy of art, education and conservation that is positively...
read more2016 Bridgeport WildLife Guards
Today was the first day of training for our Crew Leaders in the 2016 Bridgeport WildLife Guards! We are happy to have a great new Crew Leader, Kari Lickey, and a terrific returning Crew Leader from last summer, Emily Allen. This week will focus on planning for the seven-week season with 10 high school students from Bridgeport, Connecticut as they join us at Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport beginning next Tuesday. They will be on duty at the shore monitoring endangered waterbirds and educating visitors, families, and friends about Pleasure Beach...
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