Common Terns are a more common sight these summer weeks, especially on both west and east ends of the Island. Step lightly along well worn boulders at Race Point, and bring your binoculars to watch these sea birds hover across rip tides and then dive- plunge to feed on small fish. Observing Common Terns “working” […]
Dawn’s beam shines through Summer’s mist. The fruit of Day’s past ripens towards Ready.
These past days I have observed a lone Surf Scoter off the western tip of South Beach, diving and foraging in and out of the breaking wave zone. Judging from sea duck ID photos it’s a male with white feathers on nape and forehead. Get a closer view through binoculars and you’ll see a […]
It is my observation that Fishers Island does not have a river-that is for certain. I observed this week on the overgrown trails by the swampy woods near Brick Yard that this does not preclude River Otter from visiting and even taking up residence on Island. Becoming familiar with signs of this mostly […]
In April, we wrote about Mike Bottini’s river otter survey on fishers Island. A Conservancy grant funded the survey of river otters on Fishers Island, which included FI School 9th graders and members of the Island community. Shortly following board approval of their proposal, Mike Bottini and a team of three other wildlife biologists visited […]
By Island Sentinel Rob Backhaus. Combing the beaches of Fishers Island, looking for hidden treasures and historical relatives, is a fun and educational experience. Many of the beaches on Fishers Island present opportunities to find hidden treasure. With its famous military dumping background, Race Rock is loaded with hidden treasures waiting to be found.
The Conservancy welcomes our first Island Sentinels, the brother-sister team of Rob and Olivia Backhaus. Rob graduated this year from the Fishers Island School and is headed to college this fall. Olivia will be a senior at the F.I. School this fall. Rob and Olivia settled right into their jobs monitoring sites around the island. […]
These sultry afternoons on the Sound are calm and quiet. It’s perfect weather to drift quietly around by boat and take a peek at colonial waterbird sites. The northwestern tip if Ram Island houses Great Egrets roosting in thick vegetation – with old branches layered high ,the nests are large but hidden well. Farther out, […]
Last winter Great Black-backed Gull communities around the Island were sometimes few and far between-mostly because the largest gull species in the world prefers the colder months at sea. This week I discovered a large flock of “GBBGs” raising their young on Flat Hammock. This small sand spit off the north side of Fishers appears […]
Noon Whistle: It’s lunch time along the bike path with a flit of a Butterfly, a buzz of a Bumble bee and a slight rain shower on a Painted turtle and me.