Red Fox and Cottontail
It is terribly ironic that just hours after my colleague, Audubon Connecticut Director of Bird Conservation Patrick Comins, uploaded some lovely cottontail photos to the Audubon Connecticut at Stratford Point page that I found our vixen Red Fox engaged in some hunting early this morning. I felt some eyes on me as I surveyed for avian migrants along Prospect Drive, and she was watching me from within our side of the fence. This is nothing abnormal, and the interaction was typical – a little curious stare down at one another before we both continue on. However, she then put her attention...
Read MoreBarred Owl (Strix varia)
This Barred Owl (Strix varia) saw me long before I saw it, monitoring my movements from afar while perched in this tree on a cloudy May morning. Those enormous dark eyes tracked me in a relaxed fashion as I was still rather far away when I noticed it. I had been watching several warblers and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher before my eyes stumbled on this slightly larger species. Barred Owls are, of course, usually snoozing during the day, but not always – and the spring season is when I have seen them the most active diurnally. This bird did not wake up because I was there, nor was it sleepy....
Read MoreDead Mouse
This looks like a White-footed Mouse, and it also looks like a cat kill. My dog Zach located it for us, immediately picking up the scent from probably over 50 feet away. A dead rodent with puncture wounds to the body that is left in the snow seems like a cat’s play toy to me. Other mammals or birds would have scooped it up for a meal and made sure to go back for it, even if they had to drop it. This occurs many, many times…millions upon millions…to small birds and mammals each day because of cats. They kill billions each year for no reason whatsoever apart from their own instincts....
Read MoreCooper’s Hawk
I completely forgot to post these two photos of a young Cooper’s Hawk from last month, so here they are now. This individual was going after a Song Sparrow that had taken cover in a brush pile. It really seemed as if more accipiters remained in the Northeast during the extreme December record heat with more prey to find than usual in very cooperative weather conditions. What do you think is harder – hunting on a 60 degree sunny day with a light southerly breeze, or finding a meal when several inches of snow is falling in 20 degree temperatures with a bitter northerly flow? I...
Read MoreCat Patrol
Why oh why is this cat outside? They kill literally billions of birds across North America each year before we even mention their damage to the small mammal population, the majority of these strikes being for play or to satisfy an instinctual need – not survival. Let us also remember the safety of these furry family members as we enter the cold weather season apart from all of the other threats such as vehicles, chemicals, larger mammalian predators, and so on. Please, please, please keep your cats in your home. They live far longer this way and your vet bills will go down as...
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