Intern Night – May 4, 2016
Please join us at RTPI on Wednesday May 4 from 6-7pm for a night of fun and learning as we enjoy presentations from two of RTPI’s fantastic interns. Alex Shipherd and Bryce Alexander, both Jamestown Community College students, have spent much of the spring semester assisting in winter raptor and hemlock woolly adelgid studies, respectively. Throughout the winter field season, Alex monitored known locations of roosting Northern Harriers and Short-eared owls within Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties while using GIS to find other probable locations in which they may occur. Bryce assisted in...
Read MoreJupiter
Last night I put on my porch light and black light to see if any moths were in the air. They were not, yet – some have been already, though the conditions that night were not great for them and the temperature lately was not helpful. A chilly north wind kept migrant birds to a minimum, and I only heard a couple of call notes going over. I saw Jupiter shining brightly in the clearing sky. While Connecticut’s light pollution and my inexperience of shooting the night sky make it a little less pretty and a little more difficult (not to mention the moon since I hadn’t planned...
Read MoreCosta Rica Night Sky
Spending long nights in the rainforest hunting rare frogs has its perks…apart from spending long nights in the rainforest hunting frogs, that is… Twan Leenders RTPI President
Read MoreStarry Sky
It can be very difficult to see many of the stars or much of the night sky in many parts of Connecticut with far too much light pollution surrounding us, but I liked this view from last night. Orion can be seen well to the lower left of center. Birds use the North Star, or Polaris at the moment, during migratory flights as it is in a fixed position. Thankfully it can be seen regardless for the millions upon millions of birds that will be moving up our coast soon. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreHelmeted Iguana (Corytophanes cristatus)
Here’s a Helmeted Iguana (Corytophanes cristatus)…or as Twan called it, a baby dragon…for your Tuesday. Be sure to check out the leaf for a better sense of scale (not the dragon kind of scale) as it is not quite as large and imposing as it initially seems!
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