Birding in the Old Lyme Area

…Osprey, Clapper Rail, waders, shorebirds—including nesting Willet and the occasional Whimbrel (uncommon)—Common and Least Terns, and Saltmarsh and Seaside Sparrows in summer. Spotted Sandpipers are fairly common nesters, while American…

The Dreaded Spotted Lanternfly

…at the Connecticut Agricultural Research Station in New Haven, seems to be the only healthy, mature tree the lanternfly can kill outright. As for the long-term threat it poses, says…

The Aftermath of the Great Floods of 2023

…Valley News – Jennifer Hauck. These floods in particular raised the obvious questions: What is different today from previous storms—especially the Great Flood of 1927 which severely impacted Vermont—from major…

Following the Fishers in Connecticut

…by two closely watched indicators: actual sightings and tagged pelts from trappers. In 2018, for example, only 17 fishers were sighted in the entire state, compared with 174 in 2005;…

The Marsh Wren

…will entertain at least a small community. Yet the bird is often equally at home within lush stands of sedges (Carex spp.), bulrush (Scirpus), wild rice (Zizania), and other tall-stemmed…

Let’s Go

…Land Conservancy (Excellence in Community Engagement Award), Connecticut River Gateway Commission (Special Award for Excellence in Conservation), Madeline McClave (Katchen Coley Award for Excellence in Conservation), and Granby Land Trust…

My Connecticut River, cont…

…Peterson Estuary Center (RTPEC). Early on the founders of RTPEC had solicited the help of the Mentoring Corps for Community Development (MCCD), a collection of very capable people, mostly retired…

Geology of the Connecticut Valley

…compression and extension, the continents we know today. While Pangea was literally coming apart at the seams, some of those seams called rifts were more successful at breaking free than…

It’s All About the River’s Water Quality

…of 1984. “Voluntary compliance” was replaced with “mandatory compliance with penalties.” The die was cast. Industries, farms, and individuals made the necessary investments. The Connecticut River rose from a Class…

Riverbend Project and
the Mayor of Middletown

…cannot properly dilute the waste man dumps into it, its attraction to the eyes is overbalanced by its repulsiveness to the nose.” Swimming, boating, and fishing had become rarities. Even…

From Dream to Long Table Farm

…the Hornbakes soon found they had much in common. Not long after, the Hornbakes began the process of transferring their property to Baylee. The purchase was completed in 2019 and…

One Photograph: Writ Small

…for instance: it packs in both comedy and pluck. The Bufflehead is roughly the same size, but a dull duck he is, with nothing of the Ruddy’s arch, upright composure,…

Cold Weather Safety

…Hampshire or, as noted above, in the comparatively balmy south where the River meets the Sound. Ambient temperatures do not have to be below freezing for it to creep up…

Where Have All the Birds Gone?

…survey in 1966. For example, Red-winged Blackbirds have declined nearly 35 percent between 1966 and 2015, Common Grackles by nearly 58 percent, Wood Thrush by more than 60 percent, Field…

On My Mind…

…million people to the outdoors, and secured and spent over $90 billion in federal funding. They have completed projects in all four states throughout the Connecticut River watershed. In the…

A Beauty and A Beast

…and, thrive, with little competition. And, as we have seen before, these plants also have effective survival and dispersal strategies. Yellow iris, for example, have robust spreading roots in the…