Golden-winged Warbler
RTPI President Twan Leenders and RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser, among other friends and colleagues, are back from a very productive and thrilling trip to Costa Rica. They saw or netted a tremendous variety of species, and Sean thinks the most amazing was catch was a neotropical migrant bird – this Golden-winged Warbler. He waited a long time to see a Golden-winged Warbler, his favorite warbler in North America, ironically finally netting one in Costa Rica. Spectacular bird!
Read MoreWinter Raptor Internship
There are a number of bird species that call Chautauqua County their home. In particular, there are two species, Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus) listed as ‘threatened’ and Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus), listed as ‘endangered’ in New York. The Roger Tory Peterson Institute is now in its third year of helping the DEC conduct surveys for these birds. The primary focus of these surveys is to determine where Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls are spending their time to roost and feed during the winter months. The Northern Harrier is rather distinctive from a long distance with a slim,...
Read MoreRusty Blackbird Blitz Begins
Citizen scientists – the 2016 Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz is now a go, and coming to a state near you! I am the statewide Connecticut coordinator for the Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz, running from March through mid-June across the continent and focused in Connecticut from mid-March through April. This effort to save the one of the fastest declining once-common landbirds in North America needs your help. You can see more about the species in the below two-page informational document about the Rusty Blackbird (PDF downloadable here) and on the International Rusty...
Read MoreHorned Lark
Last week I showed you the Horned Lark in a bare field that very much resembled the feathers of its back and wings – brown soil with twigs and roots. Here is the opposite as one fed among a flock of its kind in the snow with only bits of grass and vegetation poking up here and there thanks to the wind and their work at the earth. I thought it was funny and perhaps rather smart when it perched on a rock for a minute. Not only did it get out of the snow but I suppose that is the best kind of camouflage it could now find. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach...
Read MoreRusty Blackbird Blitz 2016
Citizen scientists – the 2016 Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz is coming to a state near you! I am the statewide Connecticut coordinator for the Rusty Blackbird Spring Migration Blitz, running from March through mid-June across the continent and focused in Connecticut from mid-March through April. This effort to save the one of the fastest declining once-common landbirds in North America needs your help. You can see more about the species in the below two-page informational document about the Rusty Blackbird (PDF downloadable here) and on the International Rusty Blackbird Working...
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