Indigo Bunting at Home
Even though eBird tells me that they’re not here yet, two gorgeous Indigo Buntings were hanging out in our yard today anyway. Spring is on! Twan Leenders President
Read MoreApril Sky
It is such an underrated thrill to have more frequently clear, dynamic and vivid cirrus skies instead of stratus this and that with inclement, blah-type weather. Be sure to always look up – you may end up seeing some of our atmosphere’s beauty, not to mention all sorts of birds, butterflies, dragonflies flying by and more that you may never have noticed in front of you. They are all about to arrive and emerge. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreReturn of the Osprey
The Osprey have returned! Make sure your nesting platforms are erected and ready to go, and soon enough we will be seeing birds like this one toting enormous branches across our blue and warming skies.
Read MoreSnow Goose (Chen caerulescens)
I recently spotted this odd-looking periscope coming out of the…grass of a golf course. As it came out of the green it revealed itself as a blue/dark morph, or “Blue Goose” Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens). The Snow Goose has rapidly increased in abundance in the last few decades in part due to their ability to use farm fields and other agricultural areas. This is another case of how easy it is for the species, along with the Canada Goose, to find a place to hang out thanks to the intensely manicured golf course. These are the same reasons why it seems silly to me to keep...
Read MoreAmerican Coots (Fulica americana)
Here is a series of photographs recently taken of two American Coots as they were swimming and feeding on a sunny day. The lovely weather permitted me to snap off some shots while they eagerly dived for food. Watch how one bird gets a sense of the snack it wants, some delicious aquatic vegetation, circling with its head facing downward. They must have some sensational, well-tuned sight to be able to see so well down through the water column. Once it decides what to grab…down it goes in a splash! The other bird, having followed the first nearly the entire time, circling in the same...
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