Common Redpoll Irruption Update
This is a companion blog entry to the Winter Bird Forecast by Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. The first two forecasts were published recently: “Cloudy with a Chance of Snowys” and “Expect the Unexpected”. The third will be coming soon! The Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea) was predicted to make a “moderate to good flight” this fall and winter due to “variably poor to average” birch seed crops in the boreal forest according to Ron Pittaway’s 2014-15 winter finch forecast. Nearly a month ago I started to notice more reports...
Read MoreGet outside and find Rusty Blackbirds
This gorgeous scene is on the trail at the Akeley Swamp Important Bird Area in Pennsylvania. It is a prime location to find Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus) during migration and October is the right time to spot them. They can be found in wooded wetlands, marshes, ponds and agricultural areas mixed in with flocks of other species like the Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird and Brown-headed Cowbird. If you see any please enter them into eBird! Rusty Blackbirds are one of the fastest declining species in North America and we need all the data and information on them we can get to help...
Read MoreWind, climate change and raptor migration
Earth’s climate and weather play a direct and constant role in the lives of birds. At no point is this impact from mother nature more widely observable than during migration. Global winds shape the timing and track of bird movements across the continents and the sea. In this case I wanted to take a look at September 2014 and how it seems to have been a climatic “throwback” in the Northeast for our birds. If you talk to folks in many portions of New England the Mid-Atlantic about the weather in 2014 you often hear how it was very average in terms of temperature and...
Read MorePlease use eBird!
Are you using eBird? If you are logging all of your bird sightings there, helping scientists around the world via personal observations, fantastic – please share and recommend it to a friend! If not check it out yourself and sign up. It’s fast, easy, and free, and you’ll soon be addicted to entering all of your birds. You’ll have your own data stored forever alongside that of millions of others allowing us to better understand and help global avian populations. We especially need more citizen scientists filling in the blanks here in the Chautauqua-Allegheny...
Read MoreEastern Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera)
The past few sunny days have been enjoyable for humans and turtles alike! This adult female Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera) was in the process of hauling herself out of the water to soak up some rays when RTPI staff and JCC interns spotted her and a few others doing the same along the Chadakoin River. Observational work will continue until the turtles go into hibernation later this fall, and we encourage all of you that may be out seeing or observing them to let us know what you are finding. We love to hear where else they are being found and this information is helpful in...
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