Cats Belong Indoors
I don’t know if this was a stray, an escapee, or a house cat, but let’s make a New Year’s resolution to keep cat indoors at all times whenever possible, please. You will do them, yourselves, and our environment a great favor. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreSnow Dog
We hope you are enjoying a sensational holiday season with your friends and family, including the fluffy and feathery ones. Make sure you get outdoors together, too! It’s fun for everyone…especially with tasty snow still around.
Read MoreOrchard Oriole
This adult male Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius) is a Stratford Point resident, deftly avoiding our cameras for the most part while feeding mostly in the canopy. Occasionally he drops down closer to eye level, and he has been seen copulating with our resident female. It is likely that we will once again have a nesting pair on site. The family grows up quickly though, and even by the end of July this guy may be heading back to Central America. When they are not vocalizing they can be surprisingly inconspicuous. This is probably the best time of year to get some good views of them without...
Read MoreAmerican Coots
A species such as these American Coot (Fulica americana) entered January finally having to find some open water as the freezing line has penetrated regions like Chautauqua County, quickly locking up the open water of small ponds and waterways. While Lake Erie can still provide a comfortable spot for many waterfowl this winter others will migrate south to the Atlantic Coast and warmer shoreline quarters. These American Coots are actually in the rail family and more closely related to Sandhill Cranes than their duck friends, and if you have ever seen their legs and feet out of the water then...
Read MoreLong-tailed Ducks
Happy New Year! We hope you are flying into a wonderful 2016 like these gorgeous Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis), and we at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History wish you a happy and healthy New Year. Good birding to you and good luck assembling your Big January list this month. Share your sightings and your stories as you tally your list and get outdoors with your friends and family. Don’t forget your Peterson Field Guides, of course, and be sure to show us how much you are putting them to use!
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