Louisiana Waterthrush
RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser and I were happy to hear that a Louisiana Waterthrush had already made its way to Connecticut in late March, besting early arrival records in what may be an early spring for many birds – despite this current arctic rebuke. There are even some Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Purple Martins in the Northeast! Birds like them have a very difficult time getting through freezing conditions, and with overnight lows going deep into the 20s it is going to be a rough ride for these bold returning individuals. This particular photo by Sean is of an individual captured in...
Read MoreBird Migration on Radar – March 31
Here is a radar grab of the eastern United States from just after midnight today with light bird migration occurring from the deep south all the way through Maine. A warm front had lifted through the Northeast while areas of heavy rain and thunderstorms associated with a soon to come cold front stretched across the Midwest. Areas near Georgia into the Carolinas and Delmarva appear to have had moderate migration occurring. At this time of the year we have everything from ducks to wintering friends like the Dark-eyed Junco to early arrivals like Pine Warbler, both kinglets, Chipping Sparrow,...
Read MoreTree Swallow
Happy Easter! This Tree Swallow is one of many returning individuals migrating north this March, heading back to your yard or patch for the spring nesting season. I thought I would show you this bird from last week instead of showing you some eggs from past years and remind everyone to clean out their boxes now! Birds will be pairing up and starting to build those nests next month. After a cool start to April the long-term forecasts for spring look very warm, and there will be plenty of bugs for these birds to eat. Don’t forget to help them out with the spring cleaning… Scott...
Read MoreLittle Rainbow
This little rainbow was a beautiful sight across the way in Milford, Connecticut as seen from Stratford Point yesterday afternoon. Scattered storms and periodic rain this month seems to be taking the place of April showers, and next month we may see May’s flowers thanks to this unbelievably historic and astonishingly warm winter. With that said, is there more snow on the way on Sunday? It’s a wild ride, but we hope you can get outdoors and enjoy nature this weekend. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreSnowy Away
This is about the best photo of a Snowy Owl that I could get in the last couple of weeks. They have been elusive, to say the least, even when nearby. Most of that time I have encountered the far more wary individual – one of two hanging out for the winter in the Stratford Point area – and it has been certainly as jumpy as ever lately. On Tuesday it was chased off by crows before anyone noticed it hunkered down in the grasslands. The shot here is the result of it flying off last week before I could even raise my camera between the door and body of my Jeep from hundreds of feet...
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