Jagged Ambush Bug
The Jagged Ambush Bug (Phymata sp.) hides out on flowers, waiting for the opportune time to strike out and catch prey. These interesting looking insects can even mimic sounds to attract insect species to get a little too close them. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Connecticut for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MoreWhite-whiskered Puffbird (Malacoptila panamensis)
The White-whiskered Puffbird (Malacoptila panamensis) is a predator that sits and waits on branches like this one, starring silently from its perch until an opportune moment to strike. This bird’s name is derived from the bristle-like white feathers around the base of the bill. Photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Panama while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
Read MorePreventing window strikes
As we hit mid-October we enter a period with southbound migration still in full swing, certain species irrupting (Blue Jays and Purple Finches this year!) or making nomadic movements (Pine Siskin or Northern Saw-whet Owl anyone?) and a lot of birds beginning to visit feeding stations. It is an exciting time as backyard bird watchers start to spot what mix of species will be staking claim to winter territory in their yards. Unfortunately this time of year can still be very active in a negative way: window strikes. Birds on the wing in migratory movements face a fatal fate many times more...
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Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) by Scott Kruitbosch
I found this forgotten photo in my archives from several years ago of what appears to be the outline of an Eastern Screech-Owl that crashed into our glass door, despite the main door being closed right behind it, on a July night. This was all that was left and it presumably flew off, hopefully OK. The wing position makes it look like the owl saw that it was about to fly into an object and slowed down before impact, thankfully. Hundreds of millions or perhaps billions of birds die as glass strikes every year in the U.S. It doesn’t have to be a window and it can still happen despite...
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