Southwest/California drought
I shouldn’t complain about the overabundance of water in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region as I am well aware we are in far better shape than our friends in the Southwest, California especially. These United States Drought Monitor maps tell the ongoing disturbing story. Our weather patterns continue to be too stagnant in all seasons, a likely side effect from how we are altering our global climate.
Read MoreHummingbird Clearwing Moth in action
Last week I was fortunate to see this Hummingbird Clearwing Moth zipping around the gardens here at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. It flew from flower to flower trying to get in to each as far as possible to feed. As you may be able to see in the photos the clouds were coming and going but at least it was remaining sunny and dry for much of the day. The recent weather – being cooler and far wetter than average – is likely taking a toll on some Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and Odonata (damselflies and dragonflies) species. At the very least it is...
Read MoreWashington Park in Warren, Pennsylvania
Washington Park, an RTPI Natural History Atlas site, overlooking Warren, Pennsylvania. Has the weather been gorgeous or what lately?
Read MoreYellow-breasted Chats in New York
Earlier today I uploaded this video of a notorious skulker, the Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens), to our YouTube Channel. The bird was foraging for prey in dense brush and thickets. This behavior is typical of the often hidden species. While it is not necessarily shy – this individual feeling comfortable enough to feed as I filmed shows that much – it certainly knows how to stay out of sight for the most part. It made me ponder the current status of the species as a whole in Western New York and the surrounding region. Back in Connecticut I actually saw several...
Read MoreDelta-spotted Spiketail (Cordulegaster diastatops)
Last June we discovered a Delta-spotted Spiketail (Cordulegaster diastatops) along a busy road that turned out to be a first Chautauqua County record. This past weekend I discovered an individual of a new population at a second location in CHQ that Twan photographed here. We are hoping to record other spiketail species this spring and summer at a few more sites in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region.
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