Male House Finch
Here is a recent photo of a male House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) on a snowy afternoon. The beautiful red shades of this guy really stand out against the drab surroundings, and their cheery songs can already be heard here in February on some of the warmer, sunnier days. It is one of the first signs of “spring” as the days began to grow longer. The Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) is a similar species and often confused with the House Finch, especially because both enjoy coming to backyard bird feeders. Roger Tory Peterson described the Purple Finch as having been...
Read MoreWinter Blues
Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) can look so vibrantly blue on sunny days, but blue coloration in animals is very rarely created by blue pigment. Instead, their stunning hues are created by refractive colors of light, breaking on microscopic structure of the feathers. Minute barbs on their feathers are specially modified to scatter light in a way that makes them appear blue, rather than showing the brown melanin that their feathers are colored with. Yes, Blue Jays are not actually blue!
Read MoreBrown Thrasher Visit
This Brown Thrasher came to my feeders today! Talk about a welcome visitor…it ended up spending the day eating with various feathered friends, using that long bill to dig seed out of the snow. It was a delightful surprise for one of the more quiet times of the year. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreDark-eyed Junco
The Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) is one of our most familiar backyard feeder birds. They are a species we can find year-round as they nest in some of our woodlands in western New York. They used to be known as the “snowbird” likely because of their abundance in pouring down from the north into all of the continental United States during the winter. Their plumage, grays and browns above with white below, also seem to fit so perfectly on a snowy landscape. This bird was photographed during a recent snowstorm looking regal as can be while living up to its name. Have you ever...
Read MoreTreasure Hunt Tuesday; A Revolutionary Naturalist’s First Tools
Roger Tory Peterson’s obsession with birds prompted a lifelong interest in photography – what better way to capture fleeting encounters with his feathered fascinations? The following photograph depicts a 4×5″ Auto-Graflex camera of the type that Roger Tory Peterson utilized to photograph birds in his early career. Below that is a photo of a young Peterson in the field with his photographic tools. Over the course of his lifetime, Peterson amassed a collection of some one-million photographs; most of these reside in the RTPI archives as 35mm transparencies. ~ Learn it, Love it,...
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