Snowy Designs
Sometimes we do not even need any wildlife to liven up our winter wonderland. In this case the wind blowing over the snow and the vegetation poking through was enough to create a serene scene with a haunting but warm beauty. I thought it looked almost like a desert, relatively devoid of life and barren at the moment. The snow looked more like grains of sand than your typical snowflakes, lacking any large dendrites or plates. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreFighting Osprey
I recently came across this old image of mine and had to share the story with everyone. RTPI President Twan Leenders and I captured this injured female Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on June 28, 2010 after she was reported by concerned citizens as unable to fly on Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Pleasure Beach near her nest site. She had dislocated her left shoulder when being battered by a tornadic supercell thunderstorm a couple days earlier. The storm moved over the barrier beach after a tornado had touched down in the city minutes earlier. She was successfully rehabilitated and later...
Read MoreAsh-throated Flycatcher
Early this morning Tina Green and AJ Hand reported an Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Connecticut, the sixth record for the species in the state. I was able to run over and join our friends to watch this awesome, hungry and active bird as it flew from tree to tree while feeding in lovely sunny, calm weather. Here are some record shots… Birds like this come to us via the same mechanism as those Cave Swallows, as so many November rarities do – steady southerly flow pushing birds through the continental U.S. followed by...
Read MoreNeon Glow
These leaves have a neon glow! Taken before the rain and wind of the last couple of days eliminated a lot of our fall foliage until 2016, the trees have been hauntingly beautiful as we approach Halloween. What a fiery feel to the landscape. Please remember that if you can leave the leaves where they fall it is better in all regards. It will save you time, possibly money and perhaps a sore back. It will help the environment locally and globally, saving unnecessary pollution (leaf blowers to trucks hauling them away) and making your yard look all the better as a natural fertilizer. Yes, it may...
Read MoreRemnants of Hurricane Patricia
As the remnants of Hurricane Patricia passes over Western New York, high winds and rain are churning up Chautauqua Lake. This morning I quickly snapped off a few shots in between rain drops of this raft of American Coots riding the waves, hopefully they don’t get seasick! Elyse Henshaw Conservation Technician
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