Snowy Egrets feeding under the clouds
I took these photos earlier in the week while conducting surveys in coastal Connecticut for our work in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. It was a warm and cloudy day with calm but soon to be increasing winds ahead of a cold front. The southerly flow made for a quieter morning in terms of passerine migrants but these feeding Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) kept me busy. The Snowy Egret is listed as “threatened” under the Connecticut Endangered Species Act. While we as a society no longer hunt birds like these beautiful long-legged waders to adorn our clothing with their...
Read MoreBlue-winged Teal (Anas discors) by Scott Kruitbosch
More ducks! Can you ID the pair in this photo? Those are Blue-winged Teal looking beautiful in a local marsh earlier this morning. Coming from Connecticut I certainly appreciate seeing them in breeding season as the nesting population is listed as “Threatened” in the CT Endangered Species Act.
Read MoreBrown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) by Scott Kruitbosch
Spoke to a landowner today who told me about a pair of breeding Brown Thrasher he hosts every year. Do you have any imperiled or rare species nesting on your property? We’d love to know, especially when it comes to grassland and shrubland birds. Email skruitbosch AT rtpi.org!
Read MoreChecking on the Limosa Harlequin Frog
Twan and I are currently checking in on the Limosa Harlequin Frog (Atelopus limosus) population in Panama in our continued effort to survey their health and status. This past January I visited them and brought back the great news that their population was still holding steady. During the time I surveyed them I found four adults, six sub-adults, and 17 metamorphs. I even found adults higher up in the preserve than previously spotted leading to the suspicion that the population may be increasing. This theory is something we are exploring and will try to confirm during this trip. When we...
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