Orchard Orioles
This morning was a terrific one for yet more orioles! After being lucky enough to get a nice pose from a male Baltimore Oriole yesterday, I was able to get a couple decent photos of both female and male Orchard Orioles (Icterus spurius) today. The only reason they stopped at such low levels for me even for a moment was because the ladies were actively having to avoid all the guys chasing after them. Here is hoping I get to enjoy watching a pair building a nest soon. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MorePiping Plovers
Amazingly there were still pairs of Piping Plovers coming into Connecticut through the end of April. New arrivals hit the breeding grounds as other birds were beginning to nest, and finally we look to be really into “go time” for our soon to be parents. After a lot of cool weather and wind we are into May where we should have a safe buffer from the freezing mark. Let us hope we have conducive incubation conditions and stable weather for our continuing efforts in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds.
Read MoreWhite-shouldered Tanager (Tachyphonus luctuosus)
Here we have a male White-shouldered Tanager (Tachyphonus luctuosus) a common tanager in forested and open habitat areas such as plantations. They have a very similar coloration to the White-lined Tanager and are difficult to distinguish quickly, but with some practice and a little time one can note their size differences and the varying amount of white in the wing. Like most tanagers they can be found in mixed feeding flocks with a large variety of species. Sean often finds them mixed in with our friends the Tennessee and Chestnut-sided Warblers. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser...
Read MoreBlack-throated Trogon (Trogon rufus)
This is a Black-throated Trogon (Trogon rufus), and a transition male that is close to full adult breeding plumage. Even more amazing than catching this individual was discovering a nest soon after! For a week our crew got to watch a male incubating two eggs at eye-level. It was using an abandoned woodpecker nest cavity as its nest. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Costa Rica while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History with The Marvelwood School.
Read MoreOsprey Nest Building
Here’s a pair of Ospreys hard at work on building their rapidly-growing nest at the Clay Ponds Wildlife Management Area. It won’t be long before we see incubation in this huge, finely-crafted home, but it may have to wait for some cold temperatures and a snowflake or two…
Read More
