Dragonfly Hike
Here is a short video of the dragonfly hike that I led last weekend at the Aspetuck Land Trust’s Trout Brook Valley Conservation Area, as filmed by trail steward Thomas Carter Jr. on a hot and sticky Saturday morning and afternoon. Fortunately we had some great finds, including the threatened Tiger Spiketail, and you can see me netting a Widow Skimmer. Our thanks to Thomas! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach...
Read MoreOdonate Walk
Via the Aspetuck Land Trust with photos from ALT’s Jacquie Littlejohn: Over the weekend, Scott Kruitbosch of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History led an enthusiastic group of ALT members on a walk to see and learn about Odonata and Other Flying Objects in our Trout Brook Valley preserve. Among the various odonates (aka dragonflies and damselflies) we saw were: Widow Skimmer, Tiger Spiketail, Arrowhead Spiketail, Eastern Pondhawk, White-faced Meadowhawk, Twelve-spotted Skimmer, Common Whitetail, Ebony Jewelwing and Eastern Forktail. Everyone got to see multiple Tiger...
Read MoreCelebrate Wild America
Here’s another setting sun to end another busy week. We will be outdoors all weekend working to educate the public on all sorts of natural neighbors. What better way to celebrate the birth of America than going outside to spend this weekend with Wild America? Be sure to take the kids, too!
Read MoreHelp Museums
Are you a local friend in Chautauqua County or Western New York who wants to support the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History and similar museums? Please consider emailing our New York State Senator Cathy Young and New York State Assemblyman Andy Goodell asking for their support on the Museum Education Act. Why? Currently, New York museums are the only chartered entities that receive no direct funding from the Education Department that charters them. This bill would help museums continue and expand their curriculum-based educational programming and also help school districts and...
Read MoreWhat’s the Scoop on Poop?
Via the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy! Kids love poop. That’s why the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History have teamed up to put on a family event called “What’s the Scoop on Poop?” We invite you to bring the kids in your life and join us at 10:00 AM on Saturday, June 20th at our Dobbins Woods Preserve on Bly Hill Road in Ashville, where we’ll talk about how valuable poop can be to biologists and what impacts it can have on our waters. Then we’ll take a hike to find some scat! This event is free and...
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