The second day of RTPI’s Bird Fest 2014 took place on Saturday, June 7. The first day featured two excursions focused on wetlands and grasslands while this second day moved us to the forest and the escarpment. The morning trip was to Allegany State Park in Cattaraugus County led by Tim Baird, an exceptional birder and naturalist. It was another lovely day weather-wise in Western New York and the group got to enjoy a lot of warblers in the Red House Lake area.
The most vocal and significant warbler was the Northern Parula, an intriguing find in terms of a nesting species as several pairs were in the same tree indicating they are breeding very locally!
Allegany yielded 59 species overall:
Canada Goose 65
Mallard 2
Common Merganser 2
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Green Heron 2
Osprey 2
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 1
Mourning Dove 2
Chimney Swift 4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Alder Flycatcher 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 1
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Tree Swallow 6
Barn Swallow 5
Cliff Swallow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 4
Gray Catbird 6
European Starling 12
Cedar Waxwing 5
Ovenbird 2
Blue-winged Warbler 1
Black-and-white Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Hooded Warbler 1
Northern Parula 13
Magnolia Warbler 1
Blackburnian Warbler 8
Yellow Warbler 3
Chestnut-sided Warbler 14
Pine Warbler 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 3
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 10
Song Sparrow 7
Swamp Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 4
Scarlet Tanager 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 6
Common Grackle 4
American Goldfinch 4
House Sparrow 3
The second excursion was the escarpment along Lake Erie where the south and the north meet and overlap with more southern species like the Hooded Warbler or Acadian Flycatcher breeding alongside birds more northern birds like Blue-headed Vireo and Hermit Thrush. Terry Mosher was our trip leader and with his expertise we planned to spot some butterflies, wildflowers and more along the way as well.
Our first stop was to the Luensman Overview Park to enjoy the terrific views of Lake Erie while listening for some specific species. One we did not plan on hearing but picked up in the parking lot was the call of the Barred Owl! Here’s the full list from this stop…
22 species:
Turkey Vulture 2
Mourning Dove 2
Barred Owl 1
Chimney Swift 2
Downy Woodpecker (Eastern) 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 2
Acadian Flycatcher 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
Red-eyed Vireo 5
Blue Jay 1
Wood Thrush 2
American Robin 4
Cedar Waxwing 2
American Redstart 4
Black-throated Green Warbler 5
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Scarlet Tanager 4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
American Goldfinch 2
The main destination of this trip was the SUNY College Lodge, a nature preserve where RTPI staff is currently conducting a year-long plant and wildlife assessment to create a comprehensive conservation and management plan. On July 18-19, 2014 from 3PM to 3PM there will be a BioBlitz of the College Lodge, a 24-hour race to record every living thing on the property, with experts from across the region taking part. We encourage you to visit us then and we will be featuring several walks and talks during the event! More details will be posted soon here on our website.
As for the trip itself here is what we saw that afternoon:
43 species:
Wood Duck 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 3
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 3
Acadian Flycatcher 2
Eastern Phoebe 2
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
Eastern Kingbird 1
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Red-eyed Vireo 4
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 4
Tree Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 1
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Veery 2
Hermit Thrush 1
Wood Thrush 1
American Robin 6
Gray Catbird 1
Ovenbird 2
Northern Waterthrush 2
Common Yellowthroat 1
Hooded Warbler 4
American Redstart 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 7
Canada Warbler 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 1
Scarlet Tanager 2
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 3
Common Grackle 1
American Goldfinch 2
Our thanks to Tim and Terry for leading two tremendous trips on another gorgeous day and to all who joined us during RTP Bird Fest 2014 – overall we saw 99 species of birds!
1. Canada Goose
2. Wood Duck
3. Mallard
4. Hooded Merganser
5. Common Merganser
6. Pied-billed Grebe
7. Double-crested Cormorant
8. Great Blue Heron
9. Green Heron
10. Turkey Vulture
11. Osprey
12. Cooper’s Hawk
13. Bald Eagle
14. Red-shouldered Hawk
15. Red-tailed Hawk
16. Virginia Rail
17. Sora
18. Ring-billed Gull
19. Rock Pigeon
20. Mourning Dove
21. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
22. Black-billed Cuckoo
23. Eastern Screech-Owl
24. Barred Owl
25. Chimney Swift
26. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
27. Belted Kingfisher
28. Red-bellied Woodpecker
29. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
30. Downy Woodpecker
31. Hairy Woodpecker
32. Northern Flicker
33. Pileated Woodpecker
34. American Kestrel
35. Eastern Wood-Pewee
36. Acadian Flycatcher
37. Alder Flycatcher
38. Willow Flycatcher
39. Least Flycatcher
40. Eastern Phoebe
41. Great Crested Flycatcher
42. Eastern Kingbird
43. Blue-headed Vireo
44. Warbling Vireo
45. Red-eyed Vireo
46. Blue Jay
47. American Crow
48. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
49. Tree Swallow
50. Barn Swallow
51. Cliff Swallow
52. Black-capped Chickadee
53. White-breasted Nuthatch
54. House Wren
55. Carolina Wren
56. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
57. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
58. Veery
59. Hermit Thrush
60. Wood Thrush
61. American Robin
62. Gray Catbird
63. Brown Thrasher
64. European Starling
65. Cedar Waxwing
66. Ovenbird
67. Northern Waterthrush
68. Blue-winged Warbler
69. Black-and-white Warbler
70. Common Yellowthroat
71. Hooded Warbler
72. American Redstart
73. Northern Parula
74. Magnolia Warbler
75. Blackburnian Warbler
76. Yellow Warbler
77. Chestnut-sided Warbler
78. Pine Warbler
79. Black-throated Green Warbler
80. Canada Warbler
81. Eastern Towhee
82. Chipping Sparrow
83. Savannah Sparrow
84. Song Sparrow
85. Swamp Sparrow
86. Dark-eyed Junco
87. Scarlet Tanager
88. Northern Cardinal
89. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
90. Indigo Bunting
91. Bobolink
92. Red-winged Blackbird
93. Eastern Meadowlark
94. Common Grackle
95. Brown-headed Cowbird
96. Orchard Oriole
97. Baltimore Oriole
98. American Goldfinch
99. House Sparrow
We hope you will come back for the 2015 event or join us for the first time if you were unable to make it previously. Until then keep an eye on our events page and speakers page for other RTPI activities and educational opportunities plus our exhibits page to see what is on display at RTPI.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
