Meleagris gallopavo
With the arrival of the holiday season, many folks will enjoy celebratory feasts with family and friends. The centerpiece for many merry meals will undoubtedly be a turkey; indeed, Americans will consume nearly 50 million turkeys on Thanksgiving and about half as many on Christmas. Given that the average American consumes over 15 pounds of turkey each year, I thought it would be interesting to explore the natural history of this ubiquitous bird. The domestic turkey that you buy in the grocery store is the same species as the wild turkeys that you might see strutting through a local field or...
Read MoreSmall Business Saturday, Nov. 25th 2017
Stop in to RTPI to do some of your Holiday shopping on Small Business Saturday(Nov 25th)! We have a unique selection of gift ideas including many new items in our Museum Store, and everything will be 20% off during this special event! You can also take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy our current exhibitions featuring works by Neil Rizos and of course Roger Tory Peterson! RTPI will be open from 10am-4pm for Small Business Saturday! Details and updates can be found on the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/211278759414201/permalink/211348149407262/ .
Read MoreNeil Rizos: The Art of Exploration
Our current exhibition, Neil Rizos: The Art of Exploration, Showcases Rizos’ creative talent and his love for birds. The artwork included in this exhibit, on view through January 7th, is available for purchase. Preview the pieces and view prices here: http://www.rizosart.com/peterson-institute.html. Be sure to come in to see this outstanding show while it’s still here!
Read MoreAwesome Amphibian Affair
This is Tweeg – one of our RTPI’s resident Eastern Hellbenders showing off his wrinkly awesomeness! Don’t miss your chance to meet him during our Hellbender House Party tomorrow (11/18) from 10am-1pm. This fundraiser event will have something fun for everyone! Details can be found on the Facebook event page or here: http://rtpi.org/hellbender-house-party-1118/
Read MoreHarlequin Duck at Stratford Point
Today we were fortunate enough to host a drake Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) at Stratford Point as found by our friend Tom Murray. I took the below photo in the later afternoon during a brief moment when the sun came out from behind the clouds. These additional shots were taken earlier in the morning under those aforementioned clouds while the duck was feeding, swimming, preening, and loving those rocks as the species always does. Harlequin Ducks are a relatively rare visitor for us in Connecticut. If it is anything like the last drake Harlequin (could it be the same bird?) that...
Read MoreHerpetologist meets Salamander and Snake
RTPI’s resident herpetologist befriends Millie the Massasauga Rattlesnake and Sam the Eastern Hellbender. Stop in to meet these crafty critters during our ‘Hellbender House Party’ fundraising event on Saturday! Details can be found here: http://rtpi.org/hellbender-house-party-1118/
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