Sun Height
Have you noticed the days getting longer, and that sun rising in the sky? Between that and the weather it feels like spring is just around the corner! Not quite but hey, in three months the migratory bird machine will be running full throttle. Are you excited yet?
Read MoreGreen-breasted Mangos Feeding
Here is a photo depicting, as RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser describes it, how crowded it can get around the watering hole, so to speak. With so many Green-breasted Mangos near his research station in Costa Rica it can be a little competitive for feeding sources, especially when you have juvenile males battling it out with adult males with females in the area.
Read MoreBlue Jay End
Speaking of hawks, it appears that I came upon the final remains of a Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) this morning with this very large pile of feathers strewn about under a small tree. The raptor sat here in a relatively quiet spot and plucked its prey, leaving little else behind. I would guess that an accipiter – probably a Cooper’s Hawk, but possibly a Sharp-shinned – took this Blue Jay hours earlier. It may not be the most enjoyable find for some, but it is the cycle of life in nature, and that hawk has to try to survive, too. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach...
Read MoreRed-shouldered Hawk
This is not one of the winter raptors we have trained our volunteers to record this season, but I will nonetheless take it. The Red-shouldered Hawk seen here was photographed earlier today while very engaged in tracking some sort of prey. It flew off a moment after this, attempting to go for it on the ground, then after missing out it flew into another tree across the street. I did not see what it was after but some small mammal was lucky – at least for the moment. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreMale Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis)
Birds are not the only creatures that RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser was wrangling during his research trip to Costa Rica. With some help from Addison Keilty, here is a photo of a dinosaur – er, rather, a monster male Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis).
Read MoreSoggy HWA Survey
Our first two Hemlock Woolly Adelgid surveys have been successful in the fact that we haven’t found any evidence of the little invasive pests! However, this past week’s survey was rather wet due to the massive amount of rain and snow melt Chautauqua County has experienced. As you can see it looks as though the salamanders should be coming out soon and checking out these pools, but hopefully this wacky weather won’t wake them up quite yet!
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