The bird above is not your typical charismatic species. It’s no bald eagle, no peregrine falcon. It’s a groundbird known as the lesser prairie-chicken that lives in the southern Great Plains. It’s not even the greater prairie-chicken, another, related avian species, that’s a bit larger. Today, however, this bird is very much worth paying attention […]
Tag: Monarch Butterfly
The fate of this beloved American creature is in Trump’s hands
In late 2021, I stood in a forest about two hours from Mexico City and watched as a river of butterflies passed overhead. They were monarchs — the iconic, Halloween-colored butterflies — and they were coming here from the US to rest for the cold winter months. Nearly all of the monarchs east of the […]
As Oceans Warm, Predators Are Falling Out of Sync with Their Prey
For decades on the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast, recreational anglers have braved the cold temperatures of late October and November to chase one of the region’s most iconic fish species, the striped bass. This season, just offshore of New Jersey and New York, the fall run was especially strong. “The amount of fish and [their size] […]
Monarch butterflies to be added to threatened species list in the US
The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced a decision on Tuesday to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies after years of warnings from environmentalists that populations are shrinking and the beloved pollinator may not survive the climate crisis. Officials plans to add the butterfly to the threatened species list by the end of next year […]
Mexico’s avocado industry harms monarch butterflies, but will U.S. officials act? (commentary)
Monarch butterflies are returning to gardens across the United States, but a few months ago, I stood in a mountain forest in Mexico where the monarchs spend the winter. They clustered on trees by the thousands and when the sun hit them, they swarmed in a cloud of bright orange confetti. I was surrounded by […]
Feature: Stratford Point, Connecticut
This land offers a stunning coastal grassland area near the mouth of the Housatonic River which has of this writing 282 species of bird observed according to eBird data. It was my hope to visit Stratford Point and observe the LeConte’s and Clay-colored Sparrows seen a day earlier at the venue. The Common Loon above […]
Melanistic Montagu’s Harrier and other Raptors
Here are some of the raptor photos we managed to see with my Swiss group from Arcatour last week. The wind direction swung around to give us moderate to strong Levante (easterlies) for five days and only died down on our last two days. Still, knowing what the migrating raptors do and where they will […]
Mead Gardens, 10/26/2013
Mead Gardens has been exceptionally slow all fall with very few warblers stopping by. But I still like to visit from time to time, especially during the Orange Adubon Society Birdwalks. So yesterday morning I joined the group that was there and had a great time. The biggest highlight was seeing a couple Red-headed Woodpeckers. […]