A survey of puffins on the internationally important Farne Islands has shown a drop in numbers of almost a quarter. The National Trust which looks after the islands off the Northumberland coast said the long-term trend needed to be monitored and cautioned against interpreting it as a sudden population decline. The number of breeding pairs […]
Tag: herring gull
Head-butting, drowning and dive-bombing – discover 10 most aggressive, badass animals on the planet that aren’t afraid to put up a fight
They say that nice guys finish last, a sentiment with which this motely crew of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, amphibians and insects would surely agree. As some of the most aggressive species on the planet, they’ve figured out that offence is often the best defence, whether you’re a bull shark headbutting its prey, a honey […]
Safe sex for seagulls? Why bird contraception plan in Worcester may not fly
Their brazen chip-snatching, swooping and aggressive squawking has earned seagulls a reputation as the scourge of seaside towns, terrorising unsuspecting tourists and enraging residents alike. And as the marauding birds have ventured inland and established urban colonies, towns have deployed spikes, netting and even birds of prey as deterrents. Now Worcester city councillors appear to […]
Great Spotted Cuckoo at Wheeler’s Bay
On 21st March news filtered through of a Great Spotted Cuckoo at Wheeler’s Bay, Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Initially details were fairly sketchy but the following day news broke of its continued presence and pictures eventually emerged on Twitter and Facebook, as is the way of todays birding world. This was the second record for […]
A Cold Connecticut Birding Day
On a cold day, make that a very cold day with winds causing discomfort for a former Floridian, I made efforts to observe a reported Barrow’s Goldeneye near Tuxis Island in Connecticut to close my 2016 wildlife observations. I heard from wildlife blogger Hemant Kishan who told me that he has seen Barrow’s Goldeneye on […]
Birding By The Sea
Well, this is not actually a post about birding by the sea, but birding by the Long Island Sound at Hammonasset Beach State Park. Images in this post are from a trip to Hammonasset in mid-January when I met world eBirders Julie Hart and Daniel Schlaepfer with four additional visits in February. Julie was kind […]
Two Winter Specialties At Stratford Point
Stratford Point just off I-95 above the Long Island Sound became host to a Short-eared Owl on 2 January according to eBird data. I closely followed reports of the Short-eared Owl on eBird as I had not observed the species in the wild before. As the owl was seen with regularity I began to study […]
Snowy Owl At Long Beach Connecticut
Slightly east of Bridgeport and south of Stratford lies a magnificent wildlife venue called Long Beach. The Snowy Owl above (image 1) was photographed at Long Beach in December 2017. With adjacent Pleasure Beach it is noted that they comprise more than 25% of Connecticut’s remaining undeveloped beachfront property. The Dunlin with Sanderling above (image […]