Chuck-will’s-widow (Antrostomus carolinensis)
This Chuck-will’s-widow (Antrostomus carolinensis), a female, was captured and banded in Costa Rica by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser, a first for the site list at Cabo Blanco, Costa Rica’s first national park. What makes the species special to us is a great birding memory from the spring of 2012. One early May morning I was walking the property at Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut, conducting an avian site survey. It was a temperate but cloudy, drizzly and foggy morning, with some confused migrant birds overshooting their likely targets, pushing into Long Island Sound and...
Read MoreOrb Weaver Spider (Argiope savignyi)
While walking trails and getting acclimated in Costa Rica today I came across this Orb Weaver spider (Argiope savignyi). It had recently captured some fly species in its web. I instantly recognized this spider because of a documented case of it eating a Proboscis Bat (Rhynchonycteris naso). It managed to encase the bat with its silk over the course of the day. The bat became tired and was able to be consumed eventually. Sean Graesser RTPI Affiliate
Read MoreEastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio)
This Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) is another unintentional catch by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser while targeting Saw-whets for banding in New Jersey. Look at that face! That is not a Halloween mask. It may be tiny predator but it certainly looks imposing and almost ferocious…
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