Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation on Long Island Featuring the Photography of JR Aurature

The diversity of Long Island’s wildlife is dramatically underrated. From its year round residents to seasonal visitors, our bountiful habitats are full of beautiful creatures ranging from insects to mammals; birds to amphibians and lizards. That doesn’t even factor in the important marine ecosystems that exist along our shores and inland lakes, ponds, and rivers.

With so much life and vibrancy right in our backyards, it’s important for Long Islanders to be responsible guardians of our land. Our actions can have a myriad of consequences, and when they cause harm or distress to the other creatures who call Long Island home, it’s important that we proactively work to remedy the situation. Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers are integral to successfully assuming this responsibility.

#NTVArtists - Made in Menhaden: How an Unassuming Baitfish Fuels NY’s Marine Ecosystem (featuring footage + photos from Tim Regan (@SouthForkSalt))

They go by many names - Bunker, Menhaden, American Sardine, Pogy (not Porgy!), Mossbunker, Bug-head, Fat-back. No matter the nomenclature, it is indisputable that these pedestrian-looking baitfish are an important cog in the machine of the marine ecosystem around Long Island. They filter our water, they are an amazing source of omega-3 proteins with a myriad of human-based uses and, perhaps most importantly, menhaden are the primary food source for a lot of our ocean’s top predators. As Paul Greenberg pointed out in his 2009 NY Times Op-Ed, “Nearly every fish a fish eater likes to eat eats menhaden”.

#NTVArtists: A Sampling of Long Island Songbirds Through the Lens of Carolyn Novak (@crnphoto)

It’ officially summertime, and New York State is starting to open back up just in time for the weather to prod us all into spending more time outside. No matter what corner of Long Island you call home, one element of the natural world that remains constant is the serenity of songbirds soundtracking your outdoor experience.

For this month’s blog, we’re taking a look at some of those singers through the lens of the incredibly talented Long Island photographer, Carolyn Novak. We highlighted 24 species here, but that number far from encompasses the entirety of the different songbirds that call our little island home in the spring and summer.

If you enjoy the photography in this blog, please make sure to follow Carolyn on Instagram for more incredible captures of songbirds, raptors, shorebirds, waterfowl, and all sorts of other great wildlife and landscape photos.

#NTVArtists: April Showers Bring May Flowers Through the Lens of Kelly Teleglow

We may be stuck in isolation as the cold, damp month of April is giving way to warm, sun-soaked May afternoons, but at least we can begin to enjoy the life that is blooming all around us! As one of my favorite Long Island photographers, Kelly Teleglow, points out there is beauty even in the weediest corners of our lives - from the flowers in our own backyards to random clusters on the side of the road. Hopefully, we can all take a ray of hope from the beach blooms and accented park views that flowers provide. Even a walk around the block is a special thing this time of year and, while the rest of our lives may be in a state of disruption, we still have that opportunity to look forward to each day.

This month’s blog will be another #NTVartists feature; this time around Kelly’s exquisite captures of the flowers we all enjoy on Long Island this time of year and what they symbolize. In the midst of a pandemic, it feels even more fitting to feature Kelly, as I really admire her ability to utilize different perspectives, colors, edits, moods and natural settings to find something extraordinary in everyday experiences -something we all need to try to do with the current limited state of things.

#NTVartists: Raptors of Long Island Through the Lens of Shane Etter (@BigOleMrKanish)

While I may not ‘love’ social media, Instagram has provided the opportunity to develop friendships with a lot of awesome people in the Long Island wildlife and photography communities. One of those friends is Shane Etter, a prodigiously talented photographer whose bird portraits are always a highlight of my Insta-feed.

Last February, Shane and I collaborated on a #NTVblog featuring his photos of the various owls that can be found on Long Island at different times throughout the year. Today, I am excited to post our follow-up, exploring the diverse non-owl species of raptors that can be found here as well.

For more of Shane’s photography, please follow him on Instagram.

The Fall Run Is Upon Us! A look at the Fall Striper Blitz with Photos and Video from Tim Regan (@southforksalt)

Long Island fisherman, rejoice! The summer doldrums are behind us and soon enough those monster Stripers are going to be hitting your line like a freight train again. Of all of the amazing species we have in our waters at various points in the year, few garner more respect than New York’s official State marine fish, The Striped Bass.

Morone saxatilis is an incredibly dynamic species - athletic and complex in their behavior - that deserves every bit of their reputation as a prized game fish. For this month’s #NTVBlog, we take a deeper look at the Striped Bass and the sacred Fall run Long Island gets every year.

Luckily, we are honored to have photography and video content from a great Long Island fisherman and photographer, Tim Regan (@SouthForkSalt). In addition to his amazing Instagram and YouTube pages, Tim also does a weekly Long Island Fish Report for On The Water Magazine, which you can check out here.

The Rich Geological History of Long Island's Gold Coast!

For most people familiar with the area, Long Island’s north shore conjures images of palatial estates and the serene waters of the Long Island Sound. Members of New York’s cultural elite have been making their homes on the Sound’s beautiful beaches long before F. Scott Fitzgerald drew international acclaim for his portrayal of “East Egg” and “West Egg” (based on Port Washington and Great Neck respectively) in The Great Gatsby. It’s safe to say that the “Gold Coast” has a long and storied history for New Yorkers, but what isn’t spoken about as often is the fact that the area’s geological past runs much deeper and is just as interesting.

#NTVartists: Owls of Long Island Through the Lens of Shane Etter

Shane Etter is one of the most talented bird photographers on Long Island. His patience and keen eye has resulted in breathtaking shots of some of our Island’s most elusive residents and winter visitors, owls. It’s not uncommon for Shane to spend hours in search of his muse - fighting the biting coastal winds of the frigid south shore or navigating the woods in search of these beautiful birds.

Those willing to brave the cold have seen an increase in owl sightings on Long Island over the past few years. For this month’s blog, we are highlighting Shane’s beautiful owl photography from around Long Island and giving some background on his incredible subjects.

For more of Shane’s photography, please follow him on Instagram.

#NTVartists: Daniel Imperial (Photographer)

Daniel Imperial is a rising photographer from Port Jefferson. He excels in a lot of different photography environments from the natural world of Long Island to the urban landscapes of New York City. He was kind enough to answer some questions for us ranging from the craft of photography to some of his favorite places to shoot on Long Island. Here is our interview.