Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) record shot between gulls
Normally I crop the photos that I take and show to everyone here on RTPI’s website and social media, but in this case I liked the framing of the raw photograph. Can you see that dot in the middle? Even if this record shot were cropped you would not be able to see much more of the Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus) flying out over Long Island Sound from last weekend’s Christmas Bird Count in Stratford, Connecticut. These Ring-billed Gulls happened to be in flight all around me as the rare but increasingly recorded bird passed by offshore. It was one of two Gannets we saw while...
Read MoreSnowy Egrets feeding under the clouds
I took these photos earlier in the week while conducting surveys in coastal Connecticut for our work in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. It was a warm and cloudy day with calm but soon to be increasing winds ahead of a cold front. The southerly flow made for a quieter morning in terms of passerine migrants but these feeding Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) kept me busy. The Snowy Egret is listed as “threatened” under the Connecticut Endangered Species Act. While we as a society no longer hunt birds like these beautiful long-legged waders to adorn our clothing with their...
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