Towering Osprey
Can you identify this photo’s distant subject? That Osprey and its mate have built a nest in what looks like an optical illusion or mind maze, but in reality is a massive radio tower. It is a wonderful thing that the species’ comeback has been so successful in the last several decades that they are now relegated to using any bare structure they can find. I certainly would worry about it up there during a thunderstorm, for a few reasons, but having an abundant breeding population is one of those good problems. Even if these individual birds are not successful this season you can...
Read MoreButtercups and Bobolinks
Fields painted yellow, birds singing and the sun shining, what else could we ask for? Throughout Chautauqua County the fields are becoming seas of gold as the buttercups bloom. These common flowers don’t just make a large grassy field pretty, but also provide habitat and cover for a number of breeding grassland birds. For Bobolinks in particular, these fields provide a great deal of food, abundant nesting materials and a safe haven to raise their young. As we have been conducting vegetation surveys at the Chautauqua County-Jamestown Airport, we have been surrounded by these incredible...
Read MoreWild Turkey Poults
It’s that time again! Here we have a hen Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) with a couple of poults, and another a bit further away. There were at least seven tiny young ones with her. They stayed far in the shade of this lawn and quickly ducked back into the woodlands once they spotted me. Have you seen any yet this year? Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreHorseshoe Crabs
If you are on the Atlantic Coast during the late spring you may be fortunate enough to find Horseshoe Crabs during the breeding season. Early June, especially around a new or full moon, is a very busy time for these marine arthropods that are considering living fossils, having existed nearly unchanged for approximately 450 million years. These photos were taken at Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut, an important mating site at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The females will lay eggs on beaches like this one, some subsequently being eaten by migrant shorebirds. The most vivid...
Read MoreTree Swallow
This busy nesting Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) may have been hunting for insects while perched at the top of the pole of its box, but it almost looked for a moment to be staring towards the sun in silent contemplation. Just something to think about for your Monday morning – and I hope you get to spend at least some of your day outdoors basking in the sunshine. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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