Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis)
It is December duck time! I have been enjoying some of the new arrivals across our region as birds like Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, Greater and Lesser Scaups, Ring-necked Ducks, Redheads, and these Long-tailed Ducks make their way to our shores. This species of diving duck certainly spends a long time underwater when it is feeding. It can even go down to near 200 feet! Their incredible patterns almost appeared camouflaged against the water on this cloudy late autumn day. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreCommon Terns feeding young
We are getting to the hungry season with young birds of all sorts begging for food from their busy and tired parents. You have probably seen this happening in your yard for a couple of months. We are now into the season for waterbirds like the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) to be doing the same. Check out this video of a juvenile Common Tern begging for more even after an adult delivers a sizable meal! The squeaky wheel, it turns out, does indeed get the grease. Or the fish. Here are some photos of the foraging and feeding in action. That hungry little one was unhappy and then happy rather...
Read MoreEastern Spiny Softshell Turtle diving
RTPI staff and SUNY interns have been watching our submarine-like friends in the Chadakoin River all weekend, too.
Read MoreCommon Terns on Lake Erie
Now that we are a partner in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds I am working every day to coordinate our volunteer and monitoring efforts in conservation and education across Connecticut focusing on Piping Plovers, Least Terns, American Oystercatchers and Common Terns among all other shorebirds, long-legged waders and terns. I was very happy to enjoy one of our target species this past Sunday as I saw at least 85 Common Terns off Dunkirk Harbor here in Western New York. These “Commons”, along with nine or more Caspian Terns, were feeding in Lake Erie and resting on...
Read MoreDiving ducks
This past weekend I visited the extremely active Dunkirk Harbor in Dunkirk, New York. It is currently holding thousands of ducks and gulls because just about all of Lake Erie is frozen and this immediate area is kept open by the warm water from the outflow of the adjacent NRG Energy power plant. This particularly frigid year means even more birds than usual are concentrated in this pocket of heat allowing for some great birding and close-up views, especially while birds are feeding and active. I took a few of photos of diving ducks – can you identify any? The first two photos are of...
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