Delta-spotted Spiketail (Cordulegaster diastatops)
Last June we discovered a Delta-spotted Spiketail (Cordulegaster diastatops) along a busy road that turned out to be a first Chautauqua County record. This past weekend I discovered an individual of a new population at a second location in CHQ that Twan photographed here. We are hoping to record other spiketail species this spring and summer at a few more sites in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region.
Read MoreWhite-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)
The ongoing California drought is said to be responsible for an unprecedented breeding crash for raptors like this White-tailed Kite: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/thomas-614718-year-drought.html
Read MorePassenger Pigeons and Bird Fest 2014
One hundred years ago this year, Martha – the last of the Passenger Pigeons – died at the Cincinnati Zoo. This may once have been the most abundant bird in North America but was effectively extinct in the wild around the turn of the 20th century with only few sad survivors remaining in captivity. Roger Tory Peterson never saw one in the wild but did illustrate the species for his first guide in 1934. As was the case with most of his illustrations he used museum specimens as models. Twan took the following photos of the Passenger Pigeon mount and study skins, Meet Your Neighbours...
Read MoreChecking on the Limosa Harlequin Frog
Twan and I are currently checking in on the Limosa Harlequin Frog (Atelopus limosus) population in Panama in our continued effort to survey their health and status. This past January I visited them and brought back the great news that their population was still holding steady. During the time I surveyed them I found four adults, six sub-adults, and 17 metamorphs. I even found adults higher up in the preserve than previously spotted leading to the suspicion that the population may be increasing. This theory is something we are exploring and will try to confirm during this trip. When we...
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