Christmas Bird Counts
Merry Christmas! And Merry Christmas Bird Count season! Whenever December rolls around we all look forward to a day in the field with friends near the holidays or New Year, heading outdoors to record every bird we can in designated areas and count circles in the longest-running citizen science program in the nation. You can learn more about the history of the Audubon Christmas Bird Count here on their website. I have been participating in my hometown count, the Stratford-Milford Connecticut circle, for years. It typically takes place right near Christmas, and in 2016 we found ourselves...
Read MoreLighthouse Open House
Last Saturday we held an open house at Stratford Point and the adjacent Coast Guard lighthouse. Visitors were able to enter both sites, the lighthouse usually being private restricted property, and chat with members of the Coast Guard and our staff about everything going on currently and the history of both historic properties. Information booths helped in this effort including one staffed by Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds technician Ewa Holland who gave out brochures on our efforts to help birds and humans share the shore successfully as well as information on Roger Tory Peterson...
Read MoreBlue Dasher
It is odonate season, finally! Our various dragonflies and damselflies are emerging and migrating our way now that there is plenty of food in the air. Here is an up-close look at the Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis). While we at RTPI do not have any specific dragonfly monitoring programs underway this year we will be recording them during all of our other work in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey. This includes programs such as Project Wild America and Bridgeport WildLife Guards, from avian and reptile study sites, Natural History Atlas locations, at Stratford Point and...
Read MoreHeating Up
Things are heating up! We are near the hottest part of the calendar year, and this week will be another warm one in the Northeast. All of the hot temperatures and sunny days are only making it livelier for butterflies, reptiles, wildflowers, dragonflies, feeding early migrant birds…there is a lot to see outdoors right now! Our staff is hard at work in active field projects across multiple states every day of the week, educating children of all ages as well as adults, discovering unexpected, rare or endangered life, and making a difference in pushing forward a passion for the...
Read MoreElementary School Students Saving Birds
Last year the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds helped to teach elementary school children about some of Connecticut’s most imperiled avian species, ensuring that they learn about why it is so important to share the shore with these conservation-priority waterbirds. Respecting wildlife is a fundamental aspect of our species stewardship of the Earth – at least if we want to survive on it! These students gave back to their world by creating wonderful, unique art to teach and inspire beachgoers as they flock to the shore for the summer. You can see some of these signs focused...
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