Where Are They?!
We have now entered December, and though we lack the truly cold air that the month and the beginning of meteorological winter can sometimes bring, we are cooling down and birds are still moving south. Regular arrivals spanning the spectrum from the American Tree Sparrows of our backyards to the Tundra Swans of Chautauqua Lake are joining us now. Where are we with the irruptive avian species so far this season across the Northeast and Midwest? I went through eBird maps this morning to find that out, and let’s start with the big name… The Snowy Owls started their annual southbound...
Read MoreGray Hairsteak on Grass-leaved Goldenrod
This Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) is another big fan of the Grass-leaved Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia) patch, one of many of the species being seen there. We have spotted several individuals at once on multiple occasions. There can even be fights over the preferred flower. Autumn is an amazing time for butterflies! The only problem at the moment is that the patch is drying up and dying back very quickly thanks to the moderate drought. Water is life. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreLeps & Odes
This is a busy time of year for the dragonflies and butterflies of our lands! Here is a Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) and Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes), two gorgeous species you may be able to find in your own favorite patch right now. Go outside today and enjoy the summer activity! Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Connecticut while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreJuvenile Male Green-breasted Mango
Here’s another juvenile male Green-breasted Mango (Anthracothorax prevostii) from Costa Rica, this one with just the beginnings of the male chest patch showing. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser.
Read MoreEurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope)
Can you identify the rarity in this photo? It is a distant record shot of five birds with the one in the upper right being of the most interest. There are four American Wigeons (Anas americana) and one Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope), the latter species being a rare but regular find in the United States. This was the cloudy scene on a small and otherwise unremarkable pond behind a high school in Connecticut earlier this week as the male Eurasian has been hanging out with this American group for a few weeks. All of the ducks were very busy feeding. You never know where unusual birds will...
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