Unintentional Disturbances Threaten Waterbirds
There are a number of activities that can unintentionally scare, disturb or even threaten the survival of our waterbirds throughout the spring and summer seasons. Even a person with good intentions can fail to realize how sensitive a bird like the Piping Plover is, feeling threatened by dogs on the leash as they still see them as a predator invading their territory, making birds more prone to abandoning the area, wasting valuable energy or separating them from eggs or young, increasing mortality. Most beaches in Connecticut ban all dogs during the warm seasons in consideration of public...
Read MoreRecord Shattering Cold & Historic Snow
To be entirely honest I meant to write this blog entry a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I have been busy during that time with meetings, gearing up for spring and summer projects, surveying, and much more. Nevertheless, I could not get myself too excited to write about the unbelievably and astonishingly historic cold we have had this winter, especially in February, or the feet of snow dumped on the region, rewriting more records for some locations. After feeling the first signs of spring in the past week I feel renewed, ready for the thaw and once again energized about our weather and climate....
Read MoreStarving Raptors
These photos are of a Northern Harrier on the hunt, swooping over grasslands and fields in search of small mammal prey. While I took these shots mere days ago this type of predatory behavior in itself has been a bit more scarce than usual this winter. Birds of prey, including owls and various hawks, have had a very difficult time finding food during the historically cold and very snowy conditions. Needing more calories than ever to survive in this weather they have had very little to find, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation reports there has been a high mortality...
Read MorePower lines and birds
Earlier this week I read a story about a bird rescue by the fire department from my hometown. It seems a gull had gotten tangled in fishing line – an unfortunately common occurrence easily avoided if everyone fishing would clean up after themselves – and then compounded the problem by getting stuck on power lines! I thought to myself, you know what? This must happen on a relatively frequent basis to various birds, especially the large ones that would perch on them. We discuss cats, buildings, pollution, and many other sources of avian mortality, but power systems are everywhere,...
Read MoreMigrating Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)
Here’s an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) that I recently photographed in the middle of migration, passing directly overhead from our hawk watching position. It is looking straight forward while powering down the coastline on a stiff northwest wind. Perhaps it will spend part of its journey or the winter using a bird feeder as a hunting area. While this may not be what many birders like to read these raptors are hungry birds, too. Young hawks have very high mortality rates and 8 or 9 out of 10 birds will die in their first year with migration, starvation and even...
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