RTPI Has a Cure for Cabin Fever!
Tired of gray skies and brown snow yet? Perhaps some dinosaurs, tropical flowers and birds of paradise can cure your winter blues! Come see original works by famous nature artists and illustrators from all around the world represented in RTPI’s current show Focus on Nature XIV. Marvel at the world class paintings, sketches, paper art, digital animations, and more in this spectacular exhibition! Many of Roger Tory Peterson’s field guide plates, original paintings, and other memorabilia from the Peterson collection are also on display in RTPI’s galleries, and our Nature Store...
Read More2016 AAfCW Totals
I thought it would be a terrific time to update everyone on our Piping Plover and American Oystercatcher numbers for 2016 as we near the end of our year. RTPI is proud to be a partner with Audubon Connecticut for the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds‘ (AAfCW) sixth season in 2017, an active conservation, education and outreach project that provides stewardship and survey efforts by volunteers and staff working to help the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) in an innovative joint initiative on...
Read MoreChristmas Bird Counts
Merry Christmas! And Merry Christmas Bird Count season! Whenever December rolls around we all look forward to a day in the field with friends near the holidays or New Year, heading outdoors to record every bird we can in designated areas and count circles in the longest-running citizen science program in the nation. You can learn more about the history of the Audubon Christmas Bird Count here on their website. I have been participating in my hometown count, the Stratford-Milford Connecticut circle, for years. It typically takes place right near Christmas, and in 2016 we found ourselves...
Read MoreA Time to Give Back
A Time to Give Back Donate today! Roger Tory Peterson devoted his entire life to making nature accessible to all…please take this opportunity to give back, and help RTPI continue his great work. Your generous gift benefits our programs directly, and also has long term effects on those that we serve by giving them the knowledge to make a difference in the world. As always, we look forward to working together to inspire people to learn, love and protect nature!
Read MoreWinter Raptor Survey Training – Wednesday January 11th, 2017 @ 6PM
Grasslands are amongst the fastest declining habitats in the country, and the bird species dependent upon vast stretches of waist-deep grasses are disappearing at alarming rates. In effort to learn more about these imperiled species within New York State and to protect remaining populations, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) has been conducting winter raptor surveys—specifically monitoring Short Eared Owls (endangered) and Northern Harriers (threatened). The NYS DEC has also enlisted the help of other environmental organizations and interested citizens to...
Read MoreJuvenile Northern Harrier
I recently wrote about our winter raptors, and boy oh boy, did we ever get the winter in Chautauqua County! Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus) and Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus), like the juvenile recently photographed below, are able to hunt and survive in deep snow, but we may be pushing the limit for some birds in the region now. The snow cover and frigid temperatures are shaking up the local mix of birds of all sorts of species, from ducks to songbirds. A Short-eared Owl was spotted in the county earlier this week, and no doubt others may be easier to find now as they hunt the white...
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