Exposed Nest
The onset of winter always exposes other parts of nature that we may have missed earlier in the year. In this case this looks to possibly be a Baltimore Oriole nest on a tree near a pond. I visited this spot a few times during what would have been the breeding season, but I did not notice them way up there among the leaves. I wonder how successful they were and if all of their nestlings made it out into the world. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreEastern Bluebirds
We are at the time of year where Eastern Bluebirds are already teaching their first brood of fledglings the ins and outs of every day life outside of the nest box. The young bird on the post here looked almost self-sufficient at this point, and its parents may be having another family soon enough. The female with her bill filled was making a food run back to the box on a gray day, with the tiny peeps of a second brood calling in the background. Thankfully there does not seem to be any lack of food this year! How have the bluebirds in your boxes been doing?
Read MoreRobin on Nest
It may not feel like it now, but this photograph was snapped on a recent cold morning. Keeping those little ones warm on some of those chilly spring days is probably easier than it was for those American Robin parents that already fledged their young ones, fighting through April or even some of March. Have you seen fledglings running around squawking yet?
Read MoreYard Sharp-shinned Hawk
Here is a somewhat bigger recent bird from Twan’s yard, the Sharp-shinned Hawk! Hey, raptors have to eat too, and they are doing their biological function by preying on the various other avian populations in the area. They have growing young that need all the food they can get…after all, a significant percentage of their soon to be fledged and subsequently juvenile birds will starve to death. Nature is a difficult balance to say the least.
Read MoreRoger Tory Peterson on the coast
#ThrowbackThursday to our own Dr. Roger Tory Peterson enjoying what looks to be a beautiful coastal view. I hope you’re also getting to spend the second half of August near the beach or the shore. We’re wrapping up our field season with the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds and saying goodbye to a near record number of juvenile Piping Plovers that we helped successfully fledge in 2014 across Connecticut.
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