Dragonflies and damselflies weekend
Twan and I spent the weekend searching for and netting various dragonflies and damselflies across Chautauqua County in a “divide and conquer” sweep of as many sites as we could hit. The number of natural areas we have to search is overwhelming. While surveying we also recorded birds, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians…you get the picture. It’s a sensory overload! Last year we added several new odonate county records in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Warren and more. This included the Delta-spotted Spiketail mere minutes from RTPI. I was able to find another population of the...
Read MoreEastern-tailed Blue (Cupido comyntas) by Scott Kruitbosch
While dragonflies pop up in Western New York butterflies of various species are all over the rapidly blooming and greening Connecticut! I even spotted an Eastern-tailed Blue (Cupido comyntas) this afternoon, two days shy of CT’s early record for the species.
Read MoreWhite-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus) by Twan Leenders
Here’s one for Throwback Thursday, a White-tailed Kite (Elanus leucurus)! Well, sort of. Back in 2010 I had the honor of hosting thousands of birders for nearly 2.5 months from across the continent as they came to Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut to see the state’s first White-tailed Kite when Twan and I worked for Connecticut Audubon Society. I learned more about that individual than I ever could have imagined as I observed it for hundreds of hours nearly every day. It was the first for New England since the only other recorded occurred 100 years earlier at...
Read MoreBand-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum semicinctum) by Twan Leenders
Here’s another great shot by Twan for the Meet Your Neighbours project. This Band-winged Meadowhawk (Sympetrum semicinctum) netted during the summer in Chautauqua County, NY, represents a new county record. We discovered multiple new dragonfly and damselfly records in the past year and are certain there are more to come in Chautauqua and adjacent counties in 2014.
Read MoreIrene and Sandy were teasers
This week marks the first anniversary of Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy, and we are now a little more than two years past Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene. I know I am not the only person to see all of the recent Sandy articles, reports, television shows, and so forth. I am also not the only person disinterested in this almost celebratory atmosphere when it lacks a critical component – namely, that while both of these storms were strong and severe, producing fatal impacts and devastating lives, but they were soft punches and almost teasers for future more powerful tropical cyclones and other...
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