Foliage Flight
Goodbye to the fall foliage, and goodbye to those dots – they are Turkey Vultures heading to the south for the winter. Some will try to hang on in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region, but once the snow starts coming and life goes into hiding it becomes very difficult for these scavengers to find food, and the competition skyrockets. We will see them drifting up along Lake Erie again next spring.
Read MoreHermit Thrush Crossing
Why did the Hermit Thrush cross the road? Beats me, but it happened! A cynical person would say because it was too lazy to fly, but I’ll say it wanted to stretch its legs and get some running exercise in. Those wings must have been tired from all that migrating. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreAtlantic Brant
Songbirds are not the only flying objects on the move right now. All of this cold and now freezing weather will really push the waterfowl flights to get underway. Here you can see some Brant (Branta bernicla) geese flying by some still simmering fall foliage a few days ago. Thousands of the species are now migrating along with others like the Common Loon, Red-breasted Merganser, White-winged Scoter, Greater Scaup, Green-winged Teal, and plenty more. Wherever you are, look up! You may spot a very high flying waterbird or a sizable skein (flock in flight), even inland.
Read MoreCooper’s Hawk
I have been posting many photos of migrant songbirds lately, and here is one of their predators – the Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii). This raptor of the forest is an extremely agile and talented flier, able to navigate through thick woodlands in pursuit of prey. You may recognize them from your yard as they are frequent bird feeder guests, targeting hungry passerines. They seem to be less adept at capturing prey in open areas like this one, unable to fully utilize their maneuverability and relative speed as they do in more dense habitat to surprise and outwit songbirds. This...
Read MoreBaby Spiders
I am sorry in advance to those who do not enjoy spiders, but I had to snap a shot of this! Now THAT is a lot of mouths to feed…at least try to remember that all of these spiders will be eating the bugs that actually do bite us. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read More
