Stratford Point Reef Ball Expansion
RTPI provides fee-for-service environmental expertise and capacity to a variety of national organizations. We are currently involved in the long-term environmental clean-up effort of a historic trap and skeet shooting range on the Long Island Sound, carried out by the DuPont Corporation. Our staff monitors potential exposure of dabbling ducks and shorebirds to residual lead shot at Stratford Point, Connecticut, as part of a year-round and ongoing large remediation and coastal habitat restoration effort. This work was primarily conducted around the turn of the century, and it also removed...
Read MoreGreat Blue Heron
Check out this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) sitting on one of the new reef balls at Stratford Point. I’m glad it found the spot inviting! Yes, new reef balls have been put in place along the north shore to expand on the success of the pilot project, and I will show and tell you more about them in an upcoming post. Now if a Snowy Owl could be sitting on one in the next couple of weeks I would not object… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreLightning Rainbow
Here’s a thunderstorm from earlier this week with orange, pink, purple, white and blue lightning – it may not be all the colors of the rainbow, but it is still pretty good, huh? Natural nature art is the best. Go enjoy some this weekend.
Read MoreThunderstorm
One reason we did not have severe thunderstorms locally at Stratford Point on Sunday night was because of this severe thunderstorm to the north in the late afternoon. It likely took some of our energy, and it was pushing out air towards us, cooling things down and then blocking the sun for a while. Combined with other factors like drier air working in thanks to the cold front we lost some of our massive instability. This is right before the sun went behind the clouds from the thunderhead. You can see rain coming down from the ground under the anvil looking NW/N from near the main...
Read MoreGadwall Sunset
I photographed this spectacular sunset last week at Stratford Point while attempting to give it a number of different looks by changing lenses and positioning. A friendly Gadwall felt a little less friendly once it saw me approaching the water, but you can still see the duck behind the spartina in the first photo. That spartina is slowly regenerating and growing in to the intertidal zone, helping to protect and preserve the low energy side of the site from tidal and wave action. There are still plenty of pools for long-legged waders to feed in on small fish like sand lance, and there are...
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