White Ibis
The White Ibis has a spectacularly appealing appearance from head to toe, this one seen foraging on a beach in Florida. This is a bird of the deep south, though rarely one confused individual can wander further north. I always think of the species around this time of year after seeing a juvenile in my hometown in Connecticut in December years ago! Do you have more long-legged waders than usual in your area as we enter the holiday season? Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreGreat Egret Flying
We will see you next year, Great Egret! The long-legged waders are on the way out, including the Great Blue Herons that may still be found in some places in our area come winter. More and more we do see Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets attempting to overwinter in warming regions, or at an artificially temperate location like a power plant or a water treatment facility. This cold snap definitely moved a lot of them out, though.
Read MoreGreat Egrets in Ashville
Although Great Egrets are not uncommon in some of the coastal sites we work in, they are pretty rare inland. The Jamestown area usually does not see many of these stately birds, but they show up occasionally suitable wetlands during migration. Yesterday afternoon I ran into former RTPI Facility Manager Miley Miller, who mentioned seeing a Great Egret foraging in a wetland in Ashville. Since that wetland was on my way home I decided to check it out and was happily surprised to see not one but four Great Egrets foraging there! Of course I was not prepared for this encountered and only managed...
Read MoreShorebird Monitor Training Completed
On Saturday, March 14, the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection completed successful training sessions for many of our fantastic past and new volunteer monitors. These citizen scientists and educators will hit the beaches come April, monitoring Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers with other species like the Least and Common Terns soon to come. If you would like to join us on the Connecticut shore this...
Read MoreBanded American Oystercatcher Discovered
Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History President Twan Leenders recently returned from Bradenton, Florida where he was attending RTPI board meetings. In between sessions he made sure to find an hour or two for some bird surveys, especially targeting species relevant to active RTPI conservation projects. Our work as a partner in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds has us focused on the terns, long-legged waders and threatened shorebirds like the American Oystercatcher seen here. Did you happen to notice the silver federal band on the bird’s right leg? This would be very...
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