Fall hawk walk at Trout Brook Valley
On Saturday morning, September 20, I joined the Aspetuck Land Trust on a fall hawk walk with over 40 of their members and volunteers at the gorgeous Trout Brook Valley Preserve in Easton and Weston, Connecticut. This major 1,000+ acre conservation area permits passive recreation in the form of hiking, birding, biking, on-leash dog walking, photography and so forth. It is part of one of the largest contiguous areas of forest left in Fairfield County and is home to rare and important amphibians, plants, birds, mammals, reptiles, pollinators and more. Twan and I spent over a year creating a...
Read MoreCrotalus horridus
Notice anything about the Timber Rattlesnake’s Latin name? Crotalus horridus? The species was named for the undeserved dread it inspired in many of the first colonists 300 years ago and the persecution of apex predators begin as soon as they arrived. The Gray Wolf is another example of a misunderstood and exaggerated fear that has been passed on unnecessarily through generations in America. Thanks to intensive research and a renewed educational media focus (less Little Red Riding Hood and more informative, factual documentaries) they have had a much more positive perception in recent...
Read MoreRara Avis Rainforest Preserve
If you’re as tired of the cold as we are, here is something to look forward to that won’t take until spring: RTPI President & Executive Director Twan Leenders and Affiliate Sean Graesser are in the Rara Avis Rainforest Preserve in Costa Rica through the end of next week with students from the Forman School and from Wamogo Regional High School in Litchfield, CT. They’ll be hiking the trails (yes, this is actually a picture of a trail) in the extremely lush Costa Rican rainforest to study neotropical birds, amphibians, reptiles and other tropical critters. Expect updates...
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