Building the Future
Here we have a couple of adorable little ones learning by doing and constructing baby Piping Plover chicks during an outreach event for the Bridgeport WildLife Guards with Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History this past Saturday. We were one of the exhibits during a celebration of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) for children of all ages at Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The kids are building a hatchling out of a marshmallow, pretzels, chocolate and raisins. While they are building this bird we are...
Read MoreYellow-billed Cuckoo
This poor Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) may have a prolonged pause in southbound migration this fall…why? Take a look. Something missing? It does not have a tail between those wing tips, and while it is out of view it looked like it was ripped right off. The bird is probably happy to be alive, and it was still observed feeding on autumn snacks such as a praying mantis. Hopefully it will be warm enough for it to survive for now and get on growing, perhaps taking an eventual slower and more methodical trip to its wintering grounds.
Read MoreWildLife Guards Boy Scout Event
This past Saturday, September 26, I spent the day with seven of our ten Bridgeport WildLife Guards back at Brideport, Connecticut’s Pleasure Beach. That is where they were stationed five days each week this summer, conducting education, conservation and advocacy activities and making a difference for rare or endangered plants and wildlife, highlighted by the federally threatened Piping Plover. They engaged visitors and beachgoers, offering unique and innovative programs to convey the philosophy of sharing the beach and respecting our natural world as well as the complex ecosystems of...
Read MoreYellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)
This Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) was a spectacular surprise for me this morning after a night of strong passerine migration. Cuckoos are not that uncommon, but getting actually decent and prolonged glimpses at them are! This cooperative bird even let me snap a couple of recognizable photos. It was much more interested in feeding, albeit in the shade of the bright morning sun, than worrying about me watching it. What are some of the highlights of your “fall” birding so far? We are finally saying goodbye to many of our summer birds, on the cusp of welcoming some of...
Read MoreWildLife Guards Working
It is hard to believe, but yesterday was the final day of the eight week season for our Bridgeport WildLife Guards! In case you missed previous blog entries and posts, RTPI teamed up with Audubon Connecticut and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut to run the 2015 WildLife Guards program, which trained, mentored, and employed ten local high schools students and two crew leaders who monitored nesting birds and engaged visitors, families, and friends about the City’s Pleasure Beach and its ecosystem. The WildLife Guards offered unique activities for children like making their own Piping...
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