Northern Harrier January sightings
What is wrong with this January eBird map of Northern Harrier sightings? It certainly seems to be very well correlated to human population. Nevertheless I definitely believe there are more birds out there that are not being entered into eBird. My friends in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region know we at RTPI are surveying for Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls this winter for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, with Chautauqua County being our target area. While some neighboring areas, such as Allegheny National Forest, have no sightings as expected, I would have to...
Read MoreFind Winter Raptors in Chautauqua County
If you are one of our friends in Chautuauqa County please remember that we at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History are assisting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for a second season of wintering raptor surveys in 2014-2015 and need your continuing help! The primary focus of these surveys is to determine where Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus), ‘endangered’ in New York, and Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus), ‘threatened’ in New York, are spending the winter season to roost and feed. Western New York’s NYSDEC Region 9 is a large geographical area and...
Read MoreSavannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
Here we have an attentive Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), a winter landbird species that you should be on the lookout for mixed in with other sparrows. They can be found especially near any farmlands, fields, grasslands and coastal areas, looking for seeds to devour. If there is a snowfall you can find them seeking out areas near water or plowed habitat that provides unexpectedly helpful access to grasses. This is a more typical Savannah Sparrow, but if you live on the Atlantic Coast be mindful of finding the large, pale “Ipswich” Savannah Sparrow on beaches and...
Read MoreIdentify these three winter species
Can you identify all the wintering birds in this photo? There are five individuals of three species here. They do enjoy hanging out with one another and this year it seems plenty of people have been lucky enough to spot them together in various parts of the northeast. They all enjoy open areas like grasslands, farms, beaches, roadsides and fields. The answers will be listed after this photo so don’t cheat! Do you have them all? If not look away now! The birds are, from left to right, a Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), another Snow Bunting with a Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris)...
Read MoreSnow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) by Twan Leenders
Are you participating in a Christmas Bird Count sometime in the next month? Our local counts are this weekend with tomorrow in Warren, PA and Sunday in Jamestown, NY. It’s always a great time to get the whole family outside. Even if the terrain is frigid and covered in white you can still enjoy seasonal birds like this Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis).
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