Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)
While our winter raptor surveys have been rather quiet lately, we have caught glimpses of some other visitors from the high arctic: the Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis). Our intern, Alex Shipherd, and I have seen these small sparrow-like birds for the past several weeks hanging out around the airport eating grit off the road’s edge and waddling through the deep snow in the fields. I have to say these have become one of my favorite seasonal birds as they just look like winter! Elyse Henshaw Conservation Technician
Read MoreCan You Spot the Snowy?
Can you spot the Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) in this photo? The owl is relatively noticeable sitting along the edge of the field; however, they aren’t always very easy to see. This individual in particular is very white, blending in with the mounds of drifted snow nearby. It often takes a hard look to see these perfectly camouflaged predators sitting in a field or along a beach. Makes you wonder how many more Snowy Owls are in the area that just haven’t been noticed yet? If you decide to bundle up and search for some visiting species, remember to log your sightings in eBird and...
Read MoreRough-legged Hawks Irrupting
This is a companion blog entry to the Winter Bird Forecast by Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. Be sure to watch for our fifth forecast, coming soon! Wherever you are across the Northeast you have likely seen or read a report about a Rough-legged Hawk nearby this winter. This beautiful raptor, available in both a light and dark color morph, has irrupted across a broad swath of the upper parts of the Lower 48. The wintering specialty is at home in open and coastal areas such as marshes, grasslands, airports – hey, a lot of the same places the...
Read MoreThrowback Thursday – Snowy Owl
This Snowy Owl was a Jamestown discovery made by Twan on an unexpectedly sunny day around this time last winter. It is a Throwback Thursday of gorgeously epic proportions. At least four Snowy Owls were at the Dunkirk Airport yesterday. This year’s irruption is definitely continuing to be a strong one. Keep your eyes open across Chautauqua County for more birds and we will update you on their distribution and overall sightings soon!
Read MoreRainy Red-tailed Hawk
This drenched Red-tailed Hawk was another bird being impacted by the weather and seen yesterday by our friend Gale VerHague, this time at the Dunkirk Airport. It doesn’t feel like rain today in Chautauqua County, does it? That will be the end of that for some time! Let’s see how much snow we can bank up this week.
Read More
