Creepy critter Halloween
Happy Halloween from these scary critters! A Halloween Snake (Oxyrhopus petola), Common Vampire Bat (Desmodus rotundus), Central American Bark Scorpion (Centruroides margaritatus) and Tarantula, all taken by Twan for the Meet Your Neighbours global diversity project.
Read MorePallas’s Long-tongued Bat (Glossophaga soricina)
This Pallas’s Long-tongued Bat (Glossophaga soricina) by Twan is hanging out, awaiting Halloween. What are you up to outdoors today? It is so gorgeous and warm outside across the Eastern United States that seeing a late migrant bat would not be out of the question! Not this one, though…
Read MoreRTPI/SUNY College Lodge BioBlitz completed
One week ago today we were readying ourselves for the 3:00PM kickoff of the RTPI/SUNY College Lodge BioBlitz. It took place at the SUNY College Lodge Nature Preserve in Brocton on about 200 acres of beautiful habitat on the escarpment near Lake Erie. A BioBlitz is a 24-hour race to identify as many species of plants and animals of all kinds on a given site – this can be anything from an entire town, a river or lake, or a bounded property. We had a few dozen experts join us over the Friday and Saturday time period with specialties ranging from ants, spiders and other small insects,...
Read MoreCollege Lodge BioBlitz July 18-19, 2014
On July 18-19, 2014 experts from across the region will take part in a ‘BioBlitz’ conducted by the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History at the SUNY College Lodge Nature Preserve in Brocton. A BioBlitz is a 24-hour race to identify as many species of plants and animals of all kinds on the property and we invite you to join in the fun. Hear from the experts what they are finding or join us for a number of free and public walks and talks about some of the unique and exciting life that can be found on the approximately 200-acre property owned and operated by the Faculty Student...
Read MoreBats and White-nose Syndrome
On the day after Halloween as we move closer towards winter I thought it would be appropriate to talk about one of the holiday’s most emblematic creatures – the bat. Some are facing a possible extinction level event due to White-nose Syndrome which is killing several hibernating species in the northeast U.S. and spreading across the country rapidly. Most people know that bats hibernate in caves (thanks Batman), and each hibernaculum can have tens of thousands of bats or more. Even with these high numbers there are mortality rates nearing 100% in some locations! This USFWS graphic...
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