Uninvited guests

All of us find wildlife in our homes at one time or another. A spider or ant may creep through a crack; a mouse may move in for the winter; a moth often flies through an open door to a light, and so forth. Birds only very rarely come indoors, and the vast majority of those encounters are accidents. Sometimes a species like a Carolina Wren may think an open garage with all sorts of nooks and crannies may be a great spot to nest...until that garage is closed. One of our readers recently had an intriguing experience as she found a different creature in the basement - a snake. Look at it in this photo after it had been removed from the basement and placed back outside.

This is a northern ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii). Twan Leenders, our Conservation Biologist and herpetologist, says they are infrequently found in cellars and similar areas. They are more typically found hibernating in such spots rather than spending a summer day there. The species can be tough to find in the field with its secretive nature, the fact it is nocturnal, and because it is small (this was said to be not much more than a foot long). You can see what it looks like from above, and the undersides are yellow with orange/red near the tail.

They do not typically attack any larger predator, whether it be something like a cat or a human. Twan says their primary defensive method is to release a strong odor that can be quite pungent and unpleasant. This apparently did not happen in this case. A rarely seen defense is turning over to show off the underside of their tail. Here is an incredible photo by Twan showing this behavior by a juvenile.

Adults apparently learn that showing off their tail is relatively pointless and go straight to stinking up the place when needed. Watch your basements, and if you ever find a snake you would rather have outside, please try to do so in the most humane way possible. Many snake species are so poorly studied for a variety of reasons, and some populations may be in steep decline in Connecticut. They are not exactly my cup of tea, but they are critical to our natural world and protecting them is important. Twan mentioned how often shovels are used and how poorly that ends up for the snake. Gloves were used in this case, and everyone ended up happy. Please always feel free to send us wildlife stories or photos.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician


Contributed photo; photo #2 © Twan Leenders

Tiny hummingbird...moth

Usually around this time of year we receive phone calls and emails inquiring about the identity of mysterious creatures that appear in people's yards and which resemble miniature hummingbirds. These small animals visit hummingbird's favorite food plants, buzzing erratically from flower to flower and only stopping a split second at each to collect some nectar.

The Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) is one of three species of clearwing moth found in Connecticut. All three have a hummingbird-like flight and all three favor the red, pink and purple flowers that are often frequented by our local Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.


Hummingbird Clearwings are members of the Sphinx Moth family (Sphingidae) - a large group of fast-flying moths. The clearwings are somewhat unusual in this group in that they fly during the day, while most moths are nocturnal. Different species of clearwings imitate hummingbirds or bees in their appearance and behavior, briefly hovering in front of flowers and slurping up some nectar from each through a long proboscis that acts as a straw. When not in use, this proboscis is rolled up underneath the moth's head. These moths have a very rapid wingbeat of 25-30 beats per second, making it hard to discern their wings at times. Gyrating movements of their wings allow the moth to hover in mid-air and move forward or backward with great ease - similar to a hummingbird's aerial acrobatics.


Occasionally one can see the moth briefly touching a flower with its first pair of legs but generally they feed at a slight distance from the flower. This behavior is thought to help them avoid unwanted confrontations with sit-and-wait predators that perch on flowers, such as crab spiders or praying mantises.

Take a closer look at your favorite hummingbird and butterfly plants during a sunny spell - you may very well spot one of these tiny hummingbird mimics buzzing around your own yard as well!

Twan Leenders
Conservation Biologist

Photographs copyright Twan leenders



ADDITION:

Mark Szantyr kindly shared a few images of a similar and closely-related species that is commonly found in our area, the Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis). This species differs in having a boldy banded black-and-yellow or black-and-orange abdomen, making it more of a bumblebee mimic than a hummingbird look-alike!

Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis)

Snowberry Clearwing Moth pictures copyright Mark Szantyr

Record-breaking heat

The end of last week, and Friday in particular, featured some of the hottest temperatures Connecticut and much of the east coast have felt in recorded history. Daily highs and highest minimum temperatures were shattered across the region. Unfortunately, our small state is covered by three different offices of the National Weather Service, but this summary below from Upton (covering Connecticut's four southern counties) is terrific. Bear in mind that there are only so many official weather stations so us looking at other states these offices cover is inevitable and necessary.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
743 AM EDT MON JUL 25 2011

...PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...

THE FOLLOWING ARE UNOFFICIAL OBSERVATIONS FOR 7/22/2011 AND 7/23/2011
FROM MIDNIGHT TO MIDNIGHT. THIS SUMMARY IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON OUR
HOME PAGE AT WEATHER.GOV/NYC

******TEMPERATURE READINGS AND RECORDS FOR THE 6 CLIMATE SITES******

LOCATION                 HIGH           LOW           DATE
                   TEMPERATURE      TEMPERATURE

CENTRAL PARK NY         104              84        7/22/2011

*104 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF 101 SET IN 1957. THIS TIED THE SECOND
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE ON RECORD WHICH WAS SET ON 7/21/1977 AND AUGUST
7 1918. THE ALL TIME HIGHEST TEMPERATURE REMAINS AT 106 WHICH WAS
SET ON 7/9/1936.
*84 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD FOR HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE.
PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 80 SET IN 1957. THIS ALSO TIED THE ALL TIME
HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WHICH WAS SET ON 7/15/1995,
8/14/1908 AND 7/7/1908.

CENTRAL PARK NY         100              83        7/23/2011

*100 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF 99 SET IN 1991.
*83 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD FOR HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE. PREVIOUS
RECORD WAS 81 SET IN 1978.

OTHER CENTRAL PARK NY CLIMATE STATISTICS:

*AS OF 7/23/2011, CENTRAL PARK NY HAS HAD 10 DAYS OVER 90 DEGREES AND
2 OVER 100 IN THE MONTH OF JULY. FOR 2011...CENTRAL PARK HAS HAD 12
DAYS OVER 90 DEGREES AND 1 OVER 100. THE TOP NUMBER OF 90 DEGREES
DAY FOR JULY IS 20 WHICH WAS IN 1993. THE TOP NUMBER NUMBER OF 90
DEGREES DAY FOR A YEAR WAS 39 WHICH WAS IN 1993 AND 1991.


NYC/LA GUARDIA AIRPORT   104             85        7/22/2011

*104 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF 101 SET IN 1998. THIS ALSO TIED THE
SECOND HIGHEST TEMPERATURE ON RECORD WHICH WAS SET ON 8/9/2001.
THE ALL TIME HIGHEST TEMPERATURE REMAINS AT 107 WHICH WAS SET ON
7/3/1966.
*85 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD FOR HIGHEST MINIMUM
TEMPERATURE. PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 81 SET IN 1957. THE ALL TIME
HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE REMAINS AT 86 WHICH WAS SET ON 8/2/2006
AND 7/5/1999.

NYC/LA GUARDIA AIRPORT    99             79        7/23/2011

*79 TIED THE SECOND HIGHEST DAILY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WHICH WAS SET
IN 1955.


NYC/JFK AIRPORT          103             76        7/22/2011

*103 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF 98 SET IN 1998. 103 IS NOW THE SECOND
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED AT JFK. THE ALL TIME HIGHEST REMAINS AT
104 WHICH WAS SET ON 7/3/1966.
*76 TIED THE SECOND HIGHEST DAILY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WHICH WAS SET
IN 1998, 1978 AND 1949. THE ALL TIME HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE
REMAINS AT 82 WHICH WAS SET ON 7/6/1999.

NYC/JFK AIRPORT          102             79        7/23/2011

*102 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF 100 SET IN 1972.
*79 TIED THE DAILY RECORD FOR HIGHEST DAILY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE
WHICH WAS SET IN 1978.


NEWARK AIRPORT           108             86        7/22/2011

*108 BROKE THE ALL TIME HIGHEST TEMPERATURE ON RECORD WHICH WAS 105
LAST SET ON 8/5/2001. 108 ALSO BROKE THE DAILY RECORD WHICH WAS 101
SET IN 1957.
*86 BROKE THE ALL TIME HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE ON RECORD WHICH
WAS 84 SET ON 7/10/1993. THIS ALSO BROKE THE DAILY HIGHEST MINIMUM
TEMPERATURE OF 78 SET IN 1978.

NEWARK AIRPORT           102             86        7/23/2011

*102 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF 100 SET IN 1955.
*86 TIES THE ALL TIME HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE ON RECORD WHICH
WAS SET ON 7/22/2011.


ISLIP AIRPORT            100             76        7/22/2011

*100 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF 96 THAT WAS SET IN 1998. THE ALL TIME
HIGHEST TEMPERATURE REMAINS AT 102 WHICH WAS SET ON 7/5/1999.
*76 IS NOW THE SECOND HIGHEST DAILY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE. THE HIGHEST
REMAINS 77 WHICH WAS SET IN 1994.

ISLIP AIRPORT             97             77        7/23/2011

*97 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF 95 SET IN 1991.
*77 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WHICH WAS
74 SET IN 1998, 1995 AND 1990. 77 ALSO TIED THE ALL TIME HIGHEST
DAILY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS SET IN 1994.


BRIDGEPORT AIRPORT       103             77        7/22/2011

*103 TIED THE ALL TIME HIGHEST TEMPERATURE AND THE DAILY HIGH
TEMPERATURE...BOTH SET ON 7/22/1957.
*77 BREAKS THE DAILY RECORD FOR HIGHEST MINIMUM TEMPERATURE.
PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 76 SET IN 1994. THE ALL TIME HIGHEST MINIMUM
TEMPERATURE IS 80 WHICH WAS SET ON 7/2/2002.

BRIDGEPORT AIRPORT        96             75        7/23/2011

*96 BROKE THE DAILY RECORD OF 94 SET IN 1972.
*75 IS NOW THE SECOND HIGHEST DAILY MINIMUM TEMPERATURE.

LN/JP

Yes, the airport in Stratford (Bridgeport's) hit 103, tying the all-time high recorded amazingly on the same date in 1953. Additionally, Hartford broke their all-time high as they hit 103 on July 22, and they have records all the way back to 1904. Connecticut's record high for the entire state is 106 from Danbury on July 15, 1995. Many educated people cast doubt on that reading, but it is our official record. If I were to list off all of the seemingly crazy new records this would be the longest blog post ever.

What came to mind for me from a bird and conservation standpoint was that fortunately this occurred late enough in the year for most young birds to have fledged. The exceptions would be late-nesting birds or species that nest multiple times in a given year. Many species that nest in boxes or gourds, like Purple Martins, can see their young perish from overheating. Any bird is vulnerable to temperature extremes, though. You probably noticed that most were tucked away in shady areas and less active during the hottest days. Let us hope most of them got through the heat without any harm done.


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Fall migration heating up

There was no pun intended in that title considering all of the heat we have had. We will highlight some of the record-setting warmth later this week. It really has not felt like fall, but for the birds, it has arrived. Many are now moving south from swallows to shorebirds and early warblers. Stratford and Milford Points are filling up with these migrants and our surveys are tallying higher totals of species and birds nearly every day.

We may not have something like a White-tailed Kite hanging around, but we have plenty for visitors to enjoy. The last few weeks have brought mega rarities as well, albeit tough ones to "chase" or photograph, including a Sandwich Tern found by Nick Bonomo and a White-winged Dove found by our Coastal Center Director, Frank Gallo. There have been countless "good" birds that you can see below in this list covering only the last few weeks at the mouth of the Housatonic River:

Brant
Mute Swan
Gadwall
American Black Duck
Mallard
Common Goldeneye
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Glossy Ibis
Osprey
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
American Oystercatcher
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Least Tern
Caspian Tern
Roseate Tern
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Sandwich Tern
Black Skimmer
Rock Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Mourning Dove
hummingbird sp.
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Willow Flycatcher
Empidonax sp.
Eastern Kingbird
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Carolina Wren
House Wren
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

August 1 is not only the one-year anniversary of discovering the White-tailed Kite; it is also the beginning of a month of many more migrants. The list above will nearly double in size very soon. We hope you visit the Coastal Center at Milford Point or the CAS-managed Stratford Point to help us find the next amazing Connecticut record and to enjoy the unique habitats we are working to restore and maintain.


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

2011 Legislative Recap

Here is the 2011 Legislative Recap from Milan Bull, Senior Director of Science and Conservation and Conservation Advocate:


Open Space and Forest Conservation Finds Some Success:

HB 6157 – Establishment of a Timber Harvest Revolving Fund

This Bill allows DEP to recoup a portion of the revenues from timber sales on State Forests for reinvestment in forest management.

HB 6557 – Recreational Land Use Act

This Act now provides liability protection to municipalities and political entities, such as water companies,  that open their properties to public recreation.

SB 1242 – Authorization to Bond for Open Space Program

This Bill provides $5 million in each of the next two fiscal years for open space funding in the bond package.

HB 6263 – 10 Mill Program
This bill allows an owner of forest land who is currently enrolled in the “10 Mill Program” to enroll in the Forest Preservation Program without penalty.  What this means is that Connecticut landowners who own more than 14,000 acres of forest and made a 100 year commitment to protect their land will not see a 20-fold increase in their property taxes.

Beat the heat with a canoe

The following is a message from Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo:

Join us for a relaxing paddle through the Wheeler Salt Marsh this weekend; there's usually a cool breeze. It's an evening canoe starting at 4:15 p.m on Saturday, July 23. Tuesday's trip with our campers produced 10 Yellow-crowned Night Herons, 1 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 9 Great Egrets, 3 Snowy Egrets, 12 Willets (one flock), 2 Least Sandpipers, 1 Pectoral Sandpiper resting in the grass at high tide, 11 Marsh Wrens, 7 Bank Swallows and assorted other birds. We hope you can join us. Please call Louise at 203-878-7440 x 502. For a complete listing of canoe tours, check our webpage at www.ctaudubon.org under Coastal Center (http://www.ctaudubon.org/coastal-center-at-milford-point/) or read below.


Family Canoe Programs
Through the Charles E. Wheeler Salt Marsh
Saturday, July 23 at 4:15 p.m.–6:45 p.m. (evening canoe)
Saturday, July 30 at 10:15 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
Saturday, August 6 at 4:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. (evening canoe)
Saturday, August 13 at 10:15 a.m–12:45 p.m.
Saturday, September 17 at 1:30–4:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 18 at 2:15 p.m.–4:45 p.m.
Join us on a guided canoe tour of the Charles Wheeler Salt Marsh. Steeped in local history, the Marsh offers an abundance of birds and other wildlife, beautiful vistas and a chance to paddle and relax. Bring water and wear shoes that can get wet. Contact the Coastal Center for more information. Trip routes are subject to change due to weather. Wind may cause trips to be canceled, even on sunny days; please call 1-1.5 hours in advance for trip status. Advance registration required. Sign-up early for these popular tours! Inquire about tour dates in October. (* Bring a lunch on these days)

Coastal Center Canoes
CAS Members $25/person, $65/canoe (3 people)
Non-members $35/person, $95/canoe (3people)

Private Canoe/Kayak
$19 CAS Members, $29 Non-members

Not a member? Join CAS here today: http://www.ctaudubon.org/join-us/

What the heck is that?!

That's the question I had in mind when I walked up and saw what is in the photo below. Twan and I were nearing the end of our survey and mapping work for the day at CAS' Banks South Farm last Friday when he went off trail and bent down to look at something. I thought he had found an intriguing plant or mammal mark of some sort. As I came up to him I thought, "Whoa, he saw that from all the way over there?" He has some incredibly sharp eyes from his years of experience across the globe, but some strange bird droppings on a plant on the forest floor from 25 feet away is crazy.

 

 

I was wrong. What is this?!

Go ahead, take a look at it for a minute. Examine it as closely as you can.

Have you thought of anything yet? Any clue whatsoever?

This is your final chance...

It is a Pearly Wood Nymph, a species of moth. It certainly has a fantastic defensive appearance. Not many predators would bother it looking the way it does. Even a tired human like myself would have dismissed it. At a distance it resembled bird droppings even more than this close photo. What made spotting it even better was that Twan had never seen one of them before, either. He can and does find anything and everything.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photo © Scott Kruitbosch

Snapping Turtles

About a week ago, I spotted this snapping turtle moving through my yard on a rainy afternoon.

It was a large one, though not as big as some I have seen passing through here in past years. It was on a mission, walking up from the wet woods through the lawn towards the house, even stopping on the patio. It maintained a steady pace except for when I was near it. Here it is in HD video...

Snapping Turtle from Connecticut Audubon Society on Vimeo.

Twan, being a herpetologist, helped me out with the details on it. He said that based on the smooth shell - the dorsal keels being almost entirely gone - it had to be a relatively old individual. It is difficult to put this into precise years, but likely over ten. Given where it was and based on the relatively small head, he felt that it was a gravid female looking for a good spot to lay her eggs. He also said that snapping turtles look for sun-exposed and relatively dry spots to lay their eggs. This might even be in the middle of a residential yard.

Twan and I saw at least four snapping turtles in the pond at our John W. Field Sanctuary in Fairfield yesterday while conducting mapping and survey work. This likely explained why there were no young Canada Geese there with the adults. However, there were at least five little Wood Ducks being watched over closely by mom. She will have to be quite vigilant to protect them all.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photo and video © Scott Kruitbosch

Watch for color banded Purple Martins!

One week ago today the Connecticut Audubon Society teamed up with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to band all of Gazebo Phil's (http://www.gazebophil.com) Purple Martin chicks. The Department of Environmental Protection was recently merged with the Department of Utility Control resulting in that new agency now referred to as the DEEP or CT DEEP. DEEP staff and their volunteers along with CAS staff formed an assembly line of sorts to take the chicks out of their gourds, band them, age them, weigh them, and return them to their homes. We banded 185 (!) Purple Martin chicks in just over 3 hours, and you may have seen the HD video of the event here: http://ctaudubon.blogspot.com/2011/07/purple-martin-banding-hd-video.html

Each of these young birds was banded with a silver federal band and a special Connecticut color band. CT DEEP's Geoffrey Krukar has banded Purple Martin chicks with these color bands at six of the largest colonies in Connecticut this year. Two were in Kent (purple and yellow), one was in Clinton (blue), two at Hammonasset State Park (green and orange), and Gazebo Phil's (red). His intention is to band the same locations with the same colors again next year. Something will be up on the DEEP website soon to report sightings of color banded individuals. You can email me (skruitbosch 'at' ctaudubon.org) with sightings and I will pass them along, too. As always, more information is better. If you see a color banded martin and only get the color that's great, and we would love to have the details of your sighting. If you can read the numbers from the color band this will help even more.

 Silver federal band on the left, red CT color band on the right. Photo by CAS Conservation Biologist Twan Leenders.

The DEEP's color banding project was funded by the Connecticut Endangered Species/Wildlife Tax Check-off Fund. CT DEEP hopes to secure future funding for more banding work such as this through that fund. I cannot wait to see how many of these birds are spotted here in Connecticut and further south. Thanks to CT DEEP and their staff/volunteers and to all of you in advance for your sightings and continued support.


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photo © Twan Leenders

Purple Martin banding HD video

On Friday, July 8, Connecticut Audubon Society visited Gazebo Phil with the now consolidated Connecticut Department of Energy and Environment to band all of his Purple Martin chicks. We knew this would be a monumental task given that nearly every gourd of the two large trees was full of young birds. However, this DEEP group is very efficient at what they do, creating a fast-moving production line to remove birds, band them, age them, weigh them, and record all of this data. We ended up banding 185 chicks in a little over three hours. You can see the entire operation in the HD video below.





Banding Purple Martin chicks from Connecticut Audubon Society on Vimeo.

In the video, you will note that two bands were put on each Purple Martin chick, one on each leg. The silver band is the standard federal United States Fish & Wildlife Service band placed on any banded bird with a unique number. The other band is a special Connecticut one. The red color is unique to this colony, and each has a unique number, too. CAS Conservation Biologist Dr. Twan Leenders also explains this in the video with one of the newly-banded chicks. The video also shows us removing the cam gourd chicks from their special home. All five look to be doing well right now.

We will soon post another entry with still photos from the effort along with more information on the Purple Martins banded in Connecticut in 2011 and how to report a sighting of one.


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Video © Scott Kruitbosch

Dr. Twan Leenders on turtles - HD video

Below is a video of CAS Conservation Biologist Dr. Twan Leenders discussing the snapping turtle and more with students from Housatonic Community College and summer campers from the Coastal Center at Milford Point. The location is Mondo Ponds in Milford. You can find more information about the day in this post. If you would like to watch a larger version click through here to watch it on the Vimeo website or click in the lower right of the video to maximize it on your screen.

Dr. Twan Leenders on snapping turtles & more from Connecticut Audubon Society on Vimeo.

While you may know us individually and CAS collectively as avian experts, our focus is on all of Connecticut's wildlife and habitat. Twan is a herpetologist by training with more than 20 years of experience from across the globe. This is a terrific sample of the lesser-known work we do every single day.


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Video © Scott Kruitbosch

Science by Housatonic Community College students and CAS summer campers

A fantastic merger of science and education took place at Mondo Ponds in Milford last week. Dr. Tony Pappantoniou's students from Housatonic Community College, who you may have read about in this post, continued their biological survey work in conjunction with Connecticut Audubon Society. This field work involved summer camp kids from the Coastal Center at Milford Point. Finally, CAS Conservation Biologist Dr. Twan Leenders and Conservation Technician Scott Kruitbosch also joined everyone. You can see another part of this adventure right here.

Dr. Pappantoniou and his students kindly donated their time and knowledge to help the campers learn about the turtles and fish of Mondo Ponds. With Twan present, a herpetologist by training who has been doing research on amphibians for 20 years, we had a group of experts and kids eager to get into the water. The students started off with seining, which is in effect fishing with a large net that goes from the surface of the water to the bottom. This net is brought to the shore then lifted to capture fish and other life in the pond. Below is a photo of Dr. Pappantoniou and two of his students doing just that.

 

Various young of the year species, like largemouth bass and sunfish, were most of what was captured. Photographs and data were collected for them all. The campers got a chance to hear what the students had to say about these finds and get a great look at them up close in special containers. I snapped a shot of these tiny fish before they were transferred immediately back into water.

Next, we moved on to check the turtle traps that had been placed in the ponds the day before when we visited to capture and test amphibians. They were baited with sardines and cat food. Two of them were put in the surprisingly deep water near the pond's edge. The first one came up empty as you can see in the photo below.

 

Turtles can swim into these traps, but not back out. We always place them in the late afternoon and check them the next morning so that they are not in the trap for any significant length of time. The second trap contained three turtles - one snapping turtle and two eastern painted turtles. This really got everyone excited as students helped remove them while campers looked on, listening intently to all of the facts and information the experts offered. We examined all of the turtles, identifying sex, age as best as possible, subspecies, looked for leeches or signs of illness, and so forth.

The snapping turtle was of particular interest to the kids due to its large size and imposing features. Twan handled it like the professional he is, allowing everyone to get an up-close view of what would be a dangerous creature to corral for anyone without years of experience. Lastly, Dr. Pappantoniou and his students marked the turtles so that they could possibly be rediscovered in seasons or years to come.

This is done safely and harmlessly by really only one method - making small notches in the edge of the shells. It is really no different or more painful than filing a person's nails. Two different letters are notched in each turtle so that they can be uniquely identified quickly if recaptured. This would help shed light on the lifespan of these turtles as well as their movement, if any. After explaining this process in detail the students proceeded to make the notches while we looked on. All of the turtles were released back into the water unharmed shortly after.

A big thank you to Dr. Pappantoniou and the students who came out to give us their time and knowledge. Everyone had a fantastic afternoon. We have a special video of Twan discussing the snapping turtles and more with everyone while he holds the one we captured that will be posted tomorrow. You do not want to miss it. Watch it here!


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photos © Scott Kruitbosch

Belly Rubs and Frog Slime: Young Citizen Scientists help study Amphibian Disease in CT

In the past 20 years, a deadly fungal pathogen has decimated amphibian populations on all continents and in all kinds of habitats, ranging from undisturbed rainforest areas to (sub)urban developments. The fungus, Batrachochytridium dendrobatidis (or Bd as it is usually referred to) can cause the deadly disease chytridiomycosis in frogs, toads and salamanders. Some amphibians may act as carriers of the fungus and can be infected without developing the disease, while other species tend to die shortly after becoming infected. The exact mechanism behind this resistance is not well understood yet, but there appears to be a correlation with animal's ability to produce specific peptides in their skin. Initial studies in 2010 by Yale University, Connecticut Audubon Society, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and White Memorial Foundation revealed that roughly 30-35% of Connecticut amphibians tested were carriers of the fungus, although no signs of frogs, toads or salamanders dying of the disease were noted.

Many amphibians such as this Spotted Salamander are very secretive and their populations are difficult to monitor. As a result amphibian species have gone extinct before anyone noticed any problems.

As reported previously in this blog and on our website, summer campers, student interns and other field assistants helped CAS Science & Conservation staff to collect amphibians so that we could increase the sample size and geographic coverage of the study. Every frog, toad and salamander caught gets a little 'belly rub' with a toothpick to collect some skin cells, which are later analyzed at a lab at Yale University for the presence of fungal DNA. The animals are then released unharmed back into their natural habitat.

Danielle Breakell (L) from Brown University and Emily Allen (R) from the Kent School volunteer their time and frog catching skills to help CAS Science & Conservation staff survey amphibians in our Croft Preserve in Goshen. Skin swabs from 27 individuals of 6 different species were collected in a few hours.

This year, Connecticut Audubon Society continues its cooperation with Yale University to better understand the status of our native amphibians and to assess whether they are at risk of developing catastrophic population crashes, as has happened in many places worldwide. All field work on CAS sanctuaries now includes attempts to collect skin swabs from local amphibians, and extra efforts are made to gather samples in sanctuaries with particularly good habitat or with known populations of state-listed amphibians.

An additional component to the study of Bd was added this year by Yale University's Hannah Bement and Samantha Attwood who investigate how our native amphibians are protected from the fungus and from developing the disease. In order to do so, they collect skin secretions from amphibians to study their antimicrobial properties. Hannah and Samantha accompanied us to Mondo Ponds in Milford recently to collect samples from frogs that were caught by summer campers from our Milford Point Center. Many hands make light work and there are no better frog-catchers than kids!

Unfortunately, heavy rains in the preceding days had raised the water levels in Mondo Ponds to extreme levels and in spite of our concerted efforts we only managed to catch one single Bullfrog. However, it donated some nice frog slime to the project and will hopefully help Hannah and Samantha with their research. Even though we did not catch many frogs that day, everyone involved learned lots about amphibians in Connecticut, got to participate in some real and important research and most of all had loads of fun!

Hannah Bement (L) and Samantha Attwood (R) from Yale University collect frog slime from a recently captured Bullfrog while explaining the process to summer campers

There will be several more attempts this summer to collect additional frog slime and we are all primed and ready after our first trial run of the season. If you want to help out, please contact our Fairfield center for summer camp schedules in a CAS center near you at (203) 259 6305, extension 109.


Posted by: Twan Leenders, Conservation Biologist.
All photographs Copyright Twan Leenders

Coastal Center summer camp

Twan and I spent a lot of time in the past week at summer camp at the Coastal Center at Milford Point. Our enormously popular program was focused on "Aqua Quest: Catch & Release" for 8-11 year-olds. Coastal Center Director Frank Gallo made extra space for more kids than expected. We wanted to give them a glimpse of the conservation work and research we do every day, having them participate in netting and banding birds, finding horseshoe crabs, trapping turtles, testing for amphibian disease, and more. We will post a few more blog entries this week on some of these activities complete with photos and information on the work the summer camp kids and students from Housatonic Community College helped us complete.

On Tuesday, the focus was on the creatures that inhabit the Coastal Center's marshes, beach, and upland areas. The morning started in the classroom with some artwork and creative construction. All of the campers made replica horseshoe crabs having spent time studying the real thing. Frank also discussed the mechanics of flight with them, showing how feathers and wings work, and letting all of the campers have a look and a touch at some very special real ones. They also came up with the right answers to many questions from discussions on hot and cold-blooded creatures to naming flightless birds - he asked for five and they got them!

The highlight of the day was definitely banding birds. We had opened the nets at Milford Point earlier in the morning, taking in an adult Gray Catbird and a young American Robin. After the campers were divided into two groups, each one of them had a chance to witness the process of banding a bird. This includes determining the species, the age and sex if possible, the size band needed, applying the band, measuring the wings and weight, and recording all of this information. All of the campers got an excellent look at each bird and their anatomy. Below is one of the groups watching Frank measure the weight of the robin.

Just after examining one of the mist nets but before closing it up, we actually caught another Gray Catbird. This allowed the campers to see how they work beyond our explanations. They also saw how carefully yet quickly an expert like Frank can remove a bird from the net. After lunch we set out to find some birds on our own, scoring points for each species we managed to find at the beach and then from the Coastal Center tower. Frank and I each led a group allowing them to help us conduct a survey somewhat like we do each day. Everyone in my group had good looks at both egret species through their binoculars. We scoped out the American Oystercatchers on the sand bar. The highlight of the trip was a female Greater Scaup, definitely a strange bird for the end of June, which the campers saw scoped as well. Everyone also loved scoping out the Osprey cam family sitting on the nest platform. We ended the day finding and discussing crabs, an activity the campers were particularly adept at.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Purple Martin progress

It has been about a month since we mentioned Gazebo Phil's Purple Martins. The six beautiful eggs are long gone having been replaced by six rapidly growing nestlings. Thankfully, all of them are doing very well right now. Mom and dad are feeding them nonstop, and every day you can see them getting larger and purpler with more feathers popping out. Their eyes are open and they are taking up much more space in the gourd. I encourage you to check the site to see viewer-submitted questions, Purple Martin facts, and information I post regularly about the stage the birds are in.


Look at this picture Gazebo Phil posted with a four-minute old hatchling being fed. The date was June 21.

Now look at this photo from this morning - they are not even two weeks old yet! 

In related very cool news, Stratford Point has had two pairs take up residence in our gourd tree. Milford Point has several breeding pairs, as usual, but Stratford Point's are new as we just installed the gourds last summer. One of the pairs built a partial nest, not sufficient for breeding and what we felt was too late in the season. However, just yesterday I saw a Purple Martin carrying a bright green leaf back to the gourd, one of the last parts of a soon-to-be nest. It definitely seems very late, especially considering Gazebo Phil's martins, but you never know...


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Crazy climate stats

We are all aware that climate change is altering the Earth quite rapidly. We are also frequently subjected to various statistics that demonstrate this change, and while some are very alarming, others fail to resonate with people. If we have no context to put them in then how can we truly understand what is happening? While reading the timeline on the CAS Twitter account earlier this week I saw a couple of stunning statistics that made me do a double-read.


The stats were in tweets from Justin Kenney, the NOAA director of communications and external affairs. The first was directed at this May 2011 National Climatic Data Center summaries concerning national and global temperatures and precipitation. The tweet was that May was the 120th (!) consecutive month with below-average Arctic sea ice extent. The last month that had above-average sea ice extent was then, of course, May 2001. That is an indisputable trend.


The second tweet was even more unbelievable to me. May 2011 was the 315th consecutive month with a positive global temperature anomaly. What?! The NOAA data goes all the way back to 1880 which you can see in dat form here. I am 25, and this streak is longer than I am old. That is some staggering data showing even more horrifying realities. Connecticut Audubon Society works each day to understand what climate change is doing to our state through survey work, research, and analysis. We hope to do more climate-specific projects focusing on habitat and bird populations in the near future.


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician