Maple Leaves Emerging
These maple tree leaves are about to pop…here we go, spring is on the way, and for real. No more snow for us! Right? Um, right! It’s only May…
Read MoreBlue Jay Migratory Flock
Can you identify this flock in the sky? It is an April sighting that you may not expect as so many birds are pushing back to the north, our climate moving into the warm season and the weather improving as each spring day passes. These are all Blue Jays in a sizable group, one of many hundreds of similar flocks that fly over Long Island Sound from points unknown, landing at Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut. Sometimes the birds make a brief stop, resting in the trees, before immediately continuing their flight. Other times smaller groups stay and disperse a bit, looking to feed. More...
Read MoreForsythia in April
It may not be native, but this Forsythia certainly has a handsome shade of yellow, growing in size and almost luminescence every day in late April. At least many of our birds and some of our other wildlife use it often for cover and perching, but it really has no major use or importance otherwise in our area. Have you observed it being utilized by our native fauna? I honestly have no idea how to feel about plant species like this now. It is not going anywhere soon, but it is not causing nightmarish problems for our environment. If people like to feel spring and appreciate nature via its...
Read MoreBlack-and-white Warblers
Here we have both the male and female Black-and-white Warblers (Mniotilta varia), friendly birds who are coming back to our backyards as we speak. The male is darker and more heavily streaked with more black than white. A few are being seen here and there in the Northeast, though our migratory conditions for all avian species have been less than helpful thus far in late April. Continuing northerly winds or unsettled conditions should plague us for most of the week, with a few calm moments or westerly winds helping move birds at times. Nevertheless, I think a major surge of new arrivals and...
Read MoreNorthern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus)
Here’s a tremendous angle on the Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus) by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser on a recent afternoon in New Jersey. What a gigantic world it must be to them…
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