Summer Sunset
This has been one nonstop summer for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute’s art, education and conservation work in Connecticut. It feels like just the other day I was enjoying the peak of spring bird migration, and here we are entering mid-August. In reality we have been going full speed ahead since mid-March and the beginning of the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds season which continues even now with birds still yet to fledge in the next couple of weeks. The Bridgeport WildLife Guards are still on duty at Pleasure Beach for another week and a half. The below photos were taken at...
Read MoreWillet
Here is a Willet (Tringa semipalmata) that I photographed during the Noble Proctor BioBlitz Challenge this past May. Now that we have entered August we are firmly in the time of year for these birds to be found as migrants in many marshes, wetlands, beaches and coastal locations. We can also expect to find one or two Western Willets that have a distinctly different appearance including a softer toned, less-barred gray body, a slightly leaner bill, and a bit of a larger overall size. See if you can spot one soon! That can be a difficult task to begin with as you can see how well their...
Read MoreGlossy Ibis
This is not a bird you expect to fly by low over your head, nor one you are ready to turn up and shoot…but here is the Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), a wader of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The species is actually present on six continents, and because it is a long-legged wading bird found in our coastal marshes it is one of the many species we tally in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. Protecting their habitat, tracking their populations, and studying where they are and when all helps us learn more now and utilize better conservation management practices later. Scott...
Read MoreSnowy Owl
A Snowy Owl joined us at Stratford Point today after showing up in neighboring Milford, Connecticut yesterday. The species is annual at Stratford Point with the coastal grasslands property, the mouth of the Houstatonic River, the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge and the mile-long Long Beach and Pleasure Beach offering various nearby feeding and resting areas. It is a very attractive section of the Atlantic Coast for Snowys on the move or looking for a place to spend a chunk of their winter. Hoping to keep it around all day (and we were successful!) I kept the picture-taking to a...
Read MoreAmerican Bittern
This is the American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), a stupendously cryptic and sensationally camouflaged heron species of freshwater and brackish marshes and wetlands. During late fall and winter they can be infrequently found moving south to warmer or coastal areas where the water does not freeze. Even their movements are meant to blend in perfectly to surrounding vegetation, stalking prey including fish, amphibians, insects, mammals, reptiles, and more. The American Bittern was once a terror in the night to many early American settlers who lived in coastal regions. Its pumping, gurgling,...
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