Snowy Owl Fly-by
This Snowy Owl photo is from earlier this winter, and I’m still imagining how wonderful it would be if this fly-by bird had simply looked at me. It was a short flight from one spot to another by our resident friend, and I suppose I was too boring and non-threatening for it to focus on. Still, it’s a cool look at parts of the Snowy we do not often get to see, with those talons tucked under the very feathery and incredibly insulated body. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreCochranella granulosa
RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser always wanted to photograph a glass frog like this, and on the recent trip to Panama he decided to give it a shot with this beautiful Cochranella granulosa. Can you see why they’re called glass frogs?
Read MoreRough-legged Hawk
This Rough-legged Hawk put on a brief but thrilling show for me today, facing into the wind to help it hover while scanning the land below for any small mammal prey. The wind was particularly strong thanks to the major storm currently impacting the Northeast region. Whichever one of the hawk’s eyes that was being battered by the wind the most was often covered by its nictitating membrane. This third eyelid is almost like wearing a pair of sunglasses for the raptor in that it can still see while the eye is more protected than it would be otherwise. It was also keeping the eye moist with...
Read MoreGreater Scaup
There were so many more ducks pushed out into the open ocean during the past two winters with the icy Great Lakes and nearly every inland body of water being locked up for most of the season in the Northeast. This year species like these Greater Scaup can still be found in more northerly areas with sometimes historic warmth occurring. As of yesterday the Great Lakes ice cover was only at 7.2% compared to 2015’s 49.0% and the even more frozen 77.7% in 2014. Our local Lake Erie was essentially entirely ice at this point in the last two winters because it is so shallow, measuring at 94.5%...
Read MoreMarch Speaker – Fabiola Rodríguez
Speaker Series Event – March 30, 2016 at 7:00pm with the Roger Tory Peterson Institute Ornithological Club Title: The Ecology and Conservation Challenges of the Honduran Emerald in the Agalta Valley Presenter: Fabiola Rodríguez, Masters in Biology student Institution: Indiana University of Pennsylvania & Indiana University of Pennsylvania Research Institute The Honduran Emerald (Amazilia luciae) is the only endemic bird to Honduras. This hummingbird species is included in the IUCN’s Red List as endangered and its population is considered to be in decline. Honduran Emeralds inhabit...
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