RTPI Establishes a Presence in Downtown Jamestown
Using Roger Tory Peterson’s life story, enduring legacy, and iconic bird art as guiding principles, RTPI provides people with meaningful opportunities to engage in natural history through our many art, education and conservation projects. Rather than compartmentalizing nature enjoyment as something that happens elsewhere (only in a nature preserve), we are working to develop the greater Jamestown area as a model urban habitat where environmental awareness and stewardship ethics are integral to everyday life, and where nature capital is appreciated as an important driver of economic,...
Read MoreKayaking Dogs
This scene is one that has personally appalled me all spring and summer long as hundreds of people have been seen by our staff and volunteers kayaking offshore with their dogs in this apparently growing fad. To each their own, though I do wish more safety precautions were taken here…life jackets are for wearing, you know, and they do no good when you’re already in the water or injured. Regardless, so many people and dogs in kayaks among the sizable and fast boats in Long Island Sound seem to enjoy landing on various beaches and offshore islands in order to stretch their legs, run...
Read MoreThunderstorm Sunset
One can never be completely certain what Mother Nature will produce. As a weather nerd and wannabe meteorologist I will steadfastly defend the meteorological community while correcting anyone who unfairly besmirches it and believes we have “no idea” what the conditions will be on any given day. Advances in knowledge and technology have allowed us to predict hurricanes, snowstorms, and even tornado outbreaks well in advance to save countless lives. However, the process is not perfect, and small-scale features can be slightly off producing a massive shift in actual weather...
Read MoreHummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe)
Here we have the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) to kick off National Moth Week (July 23-31), appropriately photographed yesterday in a gratifying yet frustrating experience. I found it feeding on Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) while watering in the morning, and because I was watering I did not have my camera (always a great tactic to ensure a good sighting). After running back inside and all the way around…yep, still there. Great. As usual with wildlife I approached it with caution, slowly, shooting while closing in on the moth. The species moves quickly while...
Read MoreLeast Tern
This summer has been a “late” one for some of our waterbirds with species like the Piping Plover still nesting into July, a full three months after some of their counterparts had started a new family. Our work in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds focuses primarily on four species – those Piping Plovers, the American Oystercatcher, plus Common and Least Terns. Both of the terns arrive back in Connecticut right around May 1 each spring. They check out the menus, get the lay of the land and see what has changed over the beach-shaping winter months, push through the...
Read MoreSuccess on the Chadakoin
It’s hard to believe we are already half way through the summer season with our Project Wild America Youth Ambassadors! We have had a successful first few weeks and are working hard as we charge into the next few. Through the course of the program our students have been writing group blog posts sharing the week’s experiences in the field and here is the student’s post from this past week: Griffin: There’s only a little more than three weeks left in the project and it feels like it just started yesterday. From mapping invasives to swimming in the Chadakoin we’ve always been...
Read More
