Pine Swamp Warbler
To answer yesterday’s quiz by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser, the Pine Swamp Warbler (Sylvia pusilla) was a bird Audubon originally painted as a new species of warbler. However, you may have figured out that it was the female Black-throated Blue Warbler (Setophaga caerulescens). This was an interesting mistake that highlighted the dimorphism between the male and female. It is one of the most drastic sexually dimorphic species of North American warblers.
Read MoreCocobolo Nature Reserve Education
Our tropical field season is coming to an end and, even though it is snowing outside in Jamestown right now, we are gearing up for field work here. The latest findings from our work in Panama and Costa Rica will be revealed soon as we work through data. but I can tell you already that there is all sorts of exciting news to report on. In the mean time, I wanted to share this picture, taken by Laurie Doss, during a February trip to Cocobolo Nature Reserve with students and staff of the Marvelwood School in Connecticut. Not only were the students actively involved in monitoring and banding...
Read MoreRusty Blackbird Blitz – Go, Connecticut!
The Rusties are coming! Rusty Blackbirds are moving northward from their southeastern U.S. wintering grounds, and they are headed towards Connecticut, so get ready to go out and start searching! The Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz officially opens in Connecticut now, and we encourage all birders to participate. Many of you have already done so, and some Rusty Blackbirds have been here despite the historically cold conditions. For others who may enjoy more spring birding soon helping out is easy – bird as you normally do and search especially carefully for Rusty Blackbirds, and...
Read MoreGreater Mastiff Bats (Eumops perotis)
Our crew caught a few Greater Mastiff Bats (Eumops perotis) while in Panama at the Cocobolo Nature Reserve. This is the largest North American species of bat, but it is in the mid-size range in Central America. They are primarily insect foragers, with a particular sweet tooth for moths. They need a lot of space to be able to take off and can even be found foraging on the ground. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Panama while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreRusty Blackbird
The Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz is coming up soon as March is only a couple weeks away! Please help us find and record all the Rusty Blackbirds you can from March through June wherever you are in North America, entering them into eBird to help scientists and conservationists rushing to save the species that is secretly vanishing from our world. Do not let them become but a shadow like the Passenger Pigeon or Labrador Duck before them. See more here in this previous post. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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