Striped Skunk
Happy Striped Skunk (Mephitis mephitis) Saturday! I met this friendly individual – from afar and thanks to a helpful window – last evening while it was foraging in this yard. The skunk was using its powerful claws and paws to dig through the ground for grubs. All of the heavy rain that has been saturating the earth across the local area and much of the Northeast as a whole has been creating ideal conditions for grubs to come to the surface. This also makes it easier for the skunk to dig into the ground for a tasty treat…many, many tasty treats. Skunks are beneficial...
Read MoreDelaware Skipper
This skipper was very jumpy and difficult to photograph even at a considerable distance! It is a Delaware Skipper (Anatrytone logan) butterfly, and it was enjoying this plot of soil, rocks and emerging vegetation. Sometimes one is reminded why they call them “skippers”…
Read MoreTurkey Vulture
During a late afternoon on a lovely day last week I did a double take as I found an unexpected bird on the lawn – a Turkey Vulture! It had discovered a dead Eastern Chipmunk only moments earlier and was preparing to do its job. I was with my Shetland Sheepdog, Zach, who had not seen the bird over the slight hill in the lawn. I walked back to him, bent down and told him to look at this bird as I pointed. He eagerly glanced around and spotted it, eyes widening and slowly creeping towards it out of curiously and intrigue despite my cautioning. He held at this position, head forward,...
Read MoreLeafcutter Bee
This is a female Leafcutter Bee (Megachile sp.), and as you can see from her large mandibles she cuts leaves of vegetation to build nests. They make their nests in the ground and take the small clippings down the hole to line the interior. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Connecticut for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreTulip Tree Flower
I noticed this Tulip Tree flower on the ground only because it was lit by one ray of sunlight in the shade. The leaves have popped here, there and everywhere! We are really getting that late spring feel to the weather this week. If you can let that lawn grow up a little this summer please do. It helps all of our pollinators, means less pollution, saves your time, money and energy, and can even provide a better habitat for some of our birds. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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