Butterfly Walk
Butterfly Walk at Stratford Point Saturday, September 10 at 10AM Stratford, Connecticut Leaders: Patrick Comins, Director of Bird Conservation, Audubon Connecticut Scott Kruitbosch, Conservation & Outreach Coordinator, Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History Connecticut Butterfly Association Vice President Explore Stratford Point’s 28 upland acres filled with grasslands, pollinator meadows, feed plots, and a variety of shrubs and trees for common to rare species at this beautiful coastal site. This is one of the best places to find Monarchs in abundance in all of...
Read MoreBrown-headed Cowbird Nestling
This spring and summer seem to have been very successful for the Brown-headed Cowbird. I realize that this is largely anecdotal, but I have had and heard a lot of sightings and stories about various species discovered feeding a hatchling or fledgling Cowbird. From the American Redstart to the Chipping Sparrow, the Yellow-throated Vireo or the Yellow Warbler, an Orchard Oriole and a Common Yellowthroat, a Blue-winged Warbler or this nest that I found and photographed a couple of weeks ago, it has been Cowbirds here, there, and everywhere. What’s the common thread? All of these birds and...
Read MoreWood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)
This Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) surprised me yesterday while I was walking with my dog Zach. At first I thought a leaf had blown across the grass under his furry stomach, but I said…wait, no way, that moved way too directly, too low, and too quick. After about 20 seconds of looking at the ground, sure enough, there it was. I took a few photos of it in between its hops back to the woods. The frog was heading in the right direction, and after showing Zach – he likes to watch wildlife because he has grown up around me simply observing and not interacting with it – we...
Read MoreSlaty Skimmer
This Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta) is not hanging out in the desert, though it may look like that from this photo. Much of the region is running a strong rainfall deficit from the past few months with many areas abnormally dry and some in the midst of moderate drought. This combined with higher than average temperatures and aggressive destruction of vegetation in areas around ponds like this one (I promise there is a pond out of sight in this photo with actual water) can make what was a favorable area for insects and thus birds and other wildlife far less attractive and beneficial. Water...
Read MoreBrown-headed Cowbirds
We seem to be at the peak season of reports of, “Why is this pretty bird feeding this huge baby bird that is twice its size?!” all thanks to the native Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). Here we have a photo of a male followed by a female. The species is a brood parasite with the female laying eggs in nests of other birds to leave the burden of raising young to these unsuspecting parents by fooling them into thinking it is their own egg. It is also a rather clever way of not putting all of your eggs in one basket. These blackbirds are found in typical types of blackbird...
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