Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla)
Happy Thanksgiving! Many Thanksgivings ago I was watching my bird feeders at my parent’s house in Connecticut while waiting for family to arrive and dinner to begin on a cool, rainy day. While looking out the window I spotted, naked eye, an oddly shaped and surprisingly brightly colored bird on a tree branch. I grabbed my binoculars very quickly and had a good look at a warbler inspecting the feeding area and all of the bird commotion below it. It had a yellow body, dark green on the back and wings, a gray hood and very bright white eye rings. It was a Nashville Warbler! Their...
Read MoreFlooding in the Area
As the recent snows that coated the county have rapidly melted due to above average temperatures, the area’s streams and rivers have been on the rise. As you can see, Cassadaga Creek is well above its banks at the Levant Boat Launch near Falconer, making a watery scene. Although it was warm enough to be outside and have a picnic, I can’t say that you could necessarily enjoy a packed lunch on the stream side! Elyse Henshaw Conservation Technician
Read MoreRainbows at RTPI
As rain and warm temperatures have moved across the east, some spectacular displays of rainbows have been seen throughout the area. One in particular formed over the gazebo at RTPI as the sun reflected and refracted light off of the water droplets coming down, forming the multicolored arc. If you look closely you can see a second rainbow faintly above the main one!
Read MoreSunny Pennsylvania woods
It was difficult to find the sun on this cold autumn weekend thanks to the lake effect rain and clouds coming off of Lake Erie. I managed to find some light in Pennsylvania, making the woodlands feel all the warmer in the still strong sunshine. There should still be a few more weeks before we see any snow but the birds are beginning to reflect the imminent change with kinglets, always a sign of October to me, filling habitats like this.
Read MoreHurricane/Tropical Storm Irene Sooty Terns
Three years ago tonight we in Connecticut and the tri-state area were recovering from the shock of being hammered by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. She made landfall early on the 28th and I filmed these very rare Sooty Terns (Onychoprion fuscatus) she carried up from the topics as they made their way back down the Housatonic River, which separates Stratford and Milford, as the storm waned. As you can see the wind and water were still very turbulent! Most of us had damaged homes, yards and/or no power for several days and spent the next week seeing other unbelievably rare birds in our local...
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