RTPI’s avian archives
RTPI’s extensive archives hold a massive collection of bird study skins. This includes several extinct species as well like the Passenger Pigeon, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Carolina Parakeet, and Bachman’s Warbler. I looked through hundreds of warblers yesterday while I was answering a couple of questions for myself after the busy last few weeks of spring migration. I was struck by this size differential – Prothonotary Warbler vs. Wilson’s Warbler. We “know” their respective sizes but…geez! The Wilson’s Warbler on the right with the black cap...
Read MoreEastern Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera)
Waters are high in Western New York after all the recent rain making Spiny Softshell Turtles harder to find. That was not a problem for Twan today as you can see here. He even noted a few test nesting holes he attributed to work done during the heat last week.
Read MorePiping Plovers nesting at Griswold Point
Earlier this week RTPI Affiliate and Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds Technician Sean Graesser assisted the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) in erecting Piping Plover exclosures at The Nature Conservancy’s Griswold Point property in Old Lyme, Connecticut. This is the third year that Sean is helping CT DEEP in this delicate process where a metal cage is set up around a complete four-egg Piping Plover clutch in order to prevent predators from being able to easily take the eggs. The exclosure, which can be seen in the second to last photo, has...
Read MoreSalamander Eggs
Last week we took our Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles students out into the field to see if we could find some active local amphibians. As we meandered from RTPI over to the 100 acre lot at JCC, we came across a very productive vernal pool with several spotted salamander egg masses that looked to be at least a few days old. It won’t be long before they begin to hatch, and with the rains soon to come it will keep the water levels up in the pools, giving the tadpoles a chance to develop and move out. On our walk, students came across a number of Red backed salamanders (Plethodon...
Read MoreApril migrants at the College Lodge
This morning I visited the SUNY College Lodge, a site which you can find in our Natural History Atlas at this link. Our staff is currently conducting a year-long plant and wildlife assessment of the approximately 200-acre property owned and operated by the Faculty Student Association of SUNY Fredonia. My main target today was the beginning of the big push of migrant birds we will be enjoying throughout the region for the next month. Despite the cool weather there are still many species filtering into through the area in late April, as usual. One of the first birds I heard was the...
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