Glossy Ibis
This is not a bird you expect to fly by low over your head, nor one you are ready to turn up and shoot…but here is the Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), a wader of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The species is actually present on six continents, and because it is a long-legged wading bird found in our coastal marshes it is one of the many species we tally in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. Protecting their habitat, tracking their populations, and studying where they are and when all helps us learn more now and utilize better conservation management practices later. Scott...
Read MoreYellow-throated Vireo
The Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) seen here did plenty of singing and foraging for me on a recent spring morning while his mate tended to their new nest. They were located, as always, on the edge of a large forest, and while they love the cuts they do need sizable, unbroken woodlands. If you take a look at them from afar you may wonder why they have such a plumage…but if you look at some of my photos you may not have to ponder that anymore. What a perfect camouflage, especially in the spring! I have no doubt those looks help the species coax their insect prey into easy...
Read MoreBobolink
The Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) are back! This bird of the grasslands is returning to those habitats and fields or farms across the region. This is a good time to find males like this one perched on tall grass or hedgerows, fluttering and calling out with their bubbly, rich song. You may find migrant flocks with a bunch of them all quite conspicuous – at least for now, before nesting season begins. This individual perched on a white pine along with a few others while overlooking a grassland. There is no better reason than hosting some families of Bobolinks to let your grassland,...
Read MorePrairie Warbler
This male Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) put on a sensational display for us last Sunday all while singing away and finding plenty to eat after his journey the previous night. It took a few hours to finally see the bird after hearing the rising, buzzy song repeatedly in the morning. The sun was shining brightly high in the sky by the time he came out into the open, giving the yellow warbler an even brighter glow while foraging in these willows. The Prairie Warbler is one of those species that perplexes me in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region. I feel like there should be more of them in...
Read MoreDynamic Habitats
I got a text the other day from my dad saying, “Hey if you can, bring your boots over so we can investigate the beaver pond.” Behind my parents home is a beautiful wetland system that sits right in the valley, with forested hillsides surrounding. What was once a stream has since been turned into a marsh thanks to the work of some busy beavers. With dams on either end of the marsh, the water has been held back and has created great habitat for many birds, amphibians and reptiles. The marsh is full of snapping and painted turtles, peepers that are so numerous that their peeps...
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