Meleagris gallopavo
With the arrival of the holiday season, many folks will enjoy celebratory feasts with family and friends. The centerpiece for many merry meals will undoubtedly be a turkey; indeed, Americans will consume nearly 50 million turkeys on Thanksgiving and about half as many on Christmas. Given that the average American consumes over 15 pounds of turkey each year, I thought it would be interesting to explore the natural history of this ubiquitous bird. The domestic turkey that you buy in the grocery store is the same species as the wild turkeys that you might see strutting through a local field or...
Read MoreAwesome Amphibian Affair
This is Tweeg – one of our RTPI’s resident Eastern Hellbenders showing off his wrinkly awesomeness! Don’t miss your chance to meet him during our Hellbender House Party tomorrow (11/18) from 10am-1pm. This fundraiser event will have something fun for everyone! Details can be found on the Facebook event page or here: http://rtpi.org/hellbender-house-party-1118/
Read MoreHarlequin Duck at Stratford Point
Today we were fortunate enough to host a drake Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) at Stratford Point as found by our friend Tom Murray. I took the below photo in the later afternoon during a brief moment when the sun came out from behind the clouds. These additional shots were taken earlier in the morning under those aforementioned clouds while the duck was feeding, swimming, preening, and loving those rocks as the species always does. Harlequin Ducks are a relatively rare visitor for us in Connecticut. If it is anything like the last drake Harlequin (could it be the same bird?) that...
Read MoreEastern Hellbender Plush by Ellen Paquette
This adorable plush Eastern Hellbender, created and generously donated by Ellen Paquette, is just one of several wonderful items that we’ll be raffling off during our Hellbender House Party Fundraising Event on November 18th! Get the details at http://rtpi.org/hellbender-house-party-1118/
Read MoreSpider in an Ant Costume
Here’s a nifty, local natural history discovery by RTPI President, Twan Leenders: “I’m used to seeing this kind of trickery in the tropics, but not inside my house. Coolest find of the day: Ant-Mimic Jumping Spider (Myrmarachne formicaria)!”
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