Garbage Mentality
It is one cup left on one rock in front of one ocean, and it certainly looks insignificant in this photo, but does the Atlantic really need one more piece of trash? If you are heading to the shore to fish, swim, build sandcastles, enjoy the wildlife, whatever your day may be, please do not leave anything behind. Every little bit does count. I am continually astounded at how many people trash their trash wherever they please around any open water as if the endless horizon will simply swallow it up, and I plan on making this more of a point going forward given all that we at RTPI do to help...
Read MoreHorseshoe Crabs
If you are on the Atlantic Coast during the late spring you may be fortunate enough to find Horseshoe Crabs during the breeding season. Early June, especially around a new or full moon, is a very busy time for these marine arthropods that are considering living fossils, having existed nearly unchanged for approximately 450 million years. These photos were taken at Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut, an important mating site at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The females will lay eggs on beaches like this one, some subsequently being eaten by migrant shorebirds. The most vivid...
Read MoreAir Pollution in New York and Connecticut
Here’s the view from Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut on a recent March morning. There was no wind to speak of, even here on the coast, or throughout the Long Island Sound region. This lack of mixing in the surface air and atmosphere meant that haze and abundant air pollution was remaining directly over land and readily apparent. It did not take long for a sea breeze to develop as the day warmed followed by a light regional southerly flow, cleansing what was sitting on top of us. Nevertheless, it is stark reminder of what we are putting into the air we breathe while...
Read MoreBrant (Branta bernicla)
It has been a slow season for the Brant (Branta bernicla) of Long Island Sound. From prolonged observations in Stratford, Connecticut I have seen low numbers of the species throughout the winter, if I have seen them at all. However, despite the ongoing well below-average temperatures and repeated days of more snow, the counts are increasing as northbound migration has started now that the calendar has turned to March. This photo of a spring Brant is one of thousands that will push through the area in mere weeks when we finally break the polar stranglehold on the region. Scott Kruitbosch...
Read MoreBlack & White Ice & Ducks
This is just some of the ice that was present on Long Island Sound in the month of February. On certain days large swaths of the Sound were covered in sizable sheets of ice in an almost unprecedented crushing blow from this season’s ridiculously cold climate. This black and white photo is really representative of how it has felt in the Northeast. There has been a lot of waterfowl to be seen given that most areas other than the waters of the Atlantic Ocean have been frozen solid.
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