Antler Asymmetry
White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are a common sight throughout the Chautauqua-Allegheny region. These large mammals are often seen within the forests, fields and backyards that make up the area and all look relatively similar, having a brown and white body, big black eyes, black snouts and that characteristic white tail. This widespread ungulate often goes overlooked due to our familiarity with its presence and its rather ordinary look throughout most of the year. However, as autumn approaches, deer become much more interesting to some as males adorned with their large, bony...
Read MoreNot a cat’s play toy
This is an Eastern Chipmunk. It is not a cat’s play toy. I did not witness its death but considering how much one of the local cats seems to enjoy hunting them in the area I found it plus the fresh, pungent aroma that feline left behind immediately next to the body I can surmise how it happened. Even if it was not that cat this occurs many, many times…millions upon millions…to small birds and mammals each day. Besides the death of wildlife why do we allow our small fur children to run amok in the dangerous outdoors? We all need to bring our cats in the house, no matter...
Read MoreSnowy Egrets feeding under the clouds
I took these photos earlier in the week while conducting surveys in coastal Connecticut for our work in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. It was a warm and cloudy day with calm but soon to be increasing winds ahead of a cold front. The southerly flow made for a quieter morning in terms of passerine migrants but these feeding Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) kept me busy. The Snowy Egret is listed as “threatened” under the Connecticut Endangered Species Act. While we as a society no longer hunt birds like these beautiful long-legged waders to adorn our clothing with their...
Read MoreBirds and small mammals can’t read
I have spotted wayyy too many cats outdoors today with a lot of small passerine targets and even a dead chipmunk that was likely the work of a furry family member. See this sign? Birds and other small mammals can’t read. You can. Bring them indoors permanently, please, so these are the only cats we see outside.
Read MoreMantis above Pachysandra
Here’s a Chinese Mantis hanging out while looking for a snack above a Pachysandra species a few hours ago on this cool September morning. The European Mantis is actually the official state insect of Connecticut despite the fact it is a non-native species. This is supposedly because, “mantis are beneficial insects for farmers and are therefore symbolic reminders of the importance of the natural environment to human and biological survival” according to the CT DEEP website. That is a confounding statement/explanation to me. Maybe we could try something else – the...
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