RTPI and SUNY JCC studying Spiny Softshell Turtles
This fall we have two interns from SUNY Jamestown Community College working with us on the study and research of the Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera) population present in the Chadakoin River, located mere moments from our campus in Jamestown, New York. The state-listed turtle is listed as “special concern” and we are thankful to have this nearby area where we have found them successfully nesting. The Chadakoin River has a history of being surrounded by development and industry, making contamination of various sorts and water quality major concerns. However, the...
Read MoreNice doggy? Horseshoe Crab
Milhouse Monday? He may have said “Nice doggy” but if he had his glasses he’d have said Horseshoe Crab! The Simpsons did a great job illustrating this prehistoric creature, one of the most unique and important coastal species we have. This is especially true around Delaware Bay where the eggs of the living fossil provide food for Red Knots, sustaining the shorebird’s global population.
Read MoreArrowhead Spiketail (Cordulegaster obliqua)
This Arrowhead Spiketail (Cordulegaster obliqua) can be seen ovipositing, laying eggs, in this stream in June at the Aspetuck Land Trust’s Trout Brook Valley Preserve in Easton/Weston, Connecticut.
Read MoreConnecticut waterbirds in action
We are currently at the peak of activity for Connecticut’s waterbirds with terns, shorebirds and long-legged waders raising young across the state. The shoreline and its beaches, marshes and other waterways are full of activity with birds foraging, carrying food back to hatchlings or mates, defending territories and protecting eggs…there is something to look at everywhere! RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser and I have been hard at work on our Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds project and spent some time surveying this week collecting these photos along the way. Bear in mind when...
Read MoreEggs from the archives
There are dozens of pairs of Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers currently with nests or young hatchlings across the Connecticut coast. We are working seven days a week as a partner in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds to provide stewardship and survey efforts for these birds with seasonal staff members, Audubon Connecticut staff and our tremendous volunteers, numbering well over 100 dedicated people. Least and Common Terns are also beginning to nest, a bit later than usual this year likely because of low prey populations (and maybe cooler water because of the extremely cold...
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