Magnificent Bryozoan
And now for something completely different: a brick! More specifically, a brick with a colony of microscopic aquatic animals on it. This strange blob is a colonial freshwater bryozoan, also known as the Magnificent Bryozoan (Pectinatella magnifica). The brick is an old, classic Jamestown street paver. Both were found during our survey of the Chadakoin River in Jamestown today, as part of our Project Wild America youth ambassador program. I think this image illustrates nicely what we are finding during our surveys: at first glance the habitat looks run down, trash-filled and hardly worth a...
Read MoreLong-eared Owl (Asio otus)
Here’s an old photo from one of my point and shoot cameras, zoomed in quite far about 30 times and further cropped, of a Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) roosting in a tree. Taking such a photo during the daylight hours, in the bright winter sun, of such a sensitive bird species should only be done from far away. You do not want to risk disturbing or flushing them from their location as Long-eared Owls are especially sensitive to human intrusion. They will be alarmed easily and fly from the location, exposing them to attacks from other predators and mobbing by songbirds. They will also often...
Read More
