Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) is an odd-looking creature, especially when you watch one creeping slowly through the salt marsh or perched high up in a tree. I do not want to add the demonic or monstrous label to them because they are lovable in their own way, but it feels like an appropriately strange species to highlight as we near Halloween. They can be found active throughout the day, but their somewhat secretive crepuscular and nocturnal feeding habits add to that feeling. I took these photos of a bird at a nest site earlier this spring. It was still working on...
Read MoreFish Crow Marauders
This is a marauding Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus), as identified by voice, flying through a neighborhood and searching for nests to raid. If you have a lot of experience with them you can get used to picking out the slightly smaller Fish vs. American Crow as well. Whether it is tiny hatchlings or developing eggs the many nests that fill our lands, from forest to shore, are often extremely tempting targets for corvids at this point in the season. Both a male and female Baltimore Oriole were aggressively attacking this bird until it vacated the area. Groups of Fish Crow are an enormous threat...
Read MoreSnowy Owl in Dunkirk, New York
This tremendous photo of a Snowy Owl at Wright Park Beach in Dunkirk, New York was taken this morning by our friend Gale VerHague. She used a basic point and shoot camera showing how easily we can safely photograph these birds from a distance thanks to a good zoom, especially if you have a scope. Giving them space is important so that they can rest during the day and hunt at night – in this case, likely waterfowl on Lake Erie. It is all the more necessary when, as Gale told me, birds like American Crows have honed in on the raptor as they were harassing this individual. Please try to...
Read MoreAmerican Crow hunting acorns
I spotted this American Crow having a delightful time watching all of the action around it as more American Crows plus Blue Jays, squirrels and chipmunks all eagerly grabbed countless acorns under an oak tree. In this shot it almost seemed like it was gleefully sizing up the tree, taking an account of how much stock was left in this giant store. There are feeding frenzies going on all around us with wildlife storing food for the winter during a very helpful warm November stretch. That is about to end as colder than average temperatures are coming for the mid-month with some snow in the...
Read MoreAmerican Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
The American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) is one of those birds that are so well known to nearly everyone that we rarely stop to take the time to view them properly. Thankfully they are more common now in the east than they had been as the initial part of the 21st century saw significant losses to even this abundant species thanks to the West Nile Virus. Areas that were richer in species diversity saw fewer losses due to the virus, likely signaling the strength of a healthy ecosystem to battle a pathogen. Conservation needs to focus on certain species at times – as we at RTPI often do...
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