Frightened snakes
Here’s Twan photographing one of the Timber Rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) we recorded during survey work this September. In this particular case we have a young male on the hunt for prey. It did not move from this position and it hoped that we would never notice it (and the snake is a heck of a lot easier to see when you know it’s there than when searching in the field!) I initially spotted it from where we were standing in the photo. It felt comfortable enough to simply remain still and rely on its natural camouflage which works phenomenally. However, other rattlesnakes that...
Read MoreAAfCW thank you party
Here are some of our guests arriving as we set up earlier this evening at the beautiful Short Beach Park in Stratford, Connecticut to celebrate and thank all of the tremendous volunteers at the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds for their work in helping Audubon Connecticut, CT DEEP, USFWS and RTPI all spring and summer. We had at least 379 volunteers assist us in surveying, monitoring, outreach and education thus far in CT in 2014! It was a great evening with a lot of good friends and stories. Thank you again to all who have helped AAfCW in our first three years and thanks to the Town...
Read MoreSeptember surveys
Pictured here are Elyse and Twan during a recent survey where Twan was actually allowed to play outside for a while! He’s holding a Ring-necked Snake, briefly uncovered for a quick exam and put back under its rock.
Read MoreTimber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) leaving den
For a final Timber Rattlesnake post here’s the third “teenage” individual that we saw, coming upon this one leaving its den. It decided to go back home once it found ferocious humans. I find it endlessly engrossing that some of the wisest early Americans used the rattlesnake as a unique symbol for the burgeoning nation – “a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America” as Benjamin Franklin said. In his infamous “Join, or Die” political cartoon, created during the French and Indian War, Franklin depicted a rattlesnake in eight pieces...
Read MoreHellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis)
As September nears we’re busy nonstop in the office and the field seven days a week but, in the back of our minds, we’re all thinking about Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) season and the survey work to be done in the coming weeks. Those rocks won’t flip themselves…
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