Winter Raptor Internship
There are a number of bird species that call Chautauqua County their home. In particular, there are two species, Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus) listed as ‘threatened’ and Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus), listed as ‘endangered’ in New York. The Roger Tory Peterson Institute is now in its third year of helping the DEC conduct surveys for these birds. The primary focus of these surveys is to determine where Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls are spending their time to roost and feed during the winter months. The Northern Harrier is rather distinctive from a long distance with a slim,...
Read MoreLimosa Harlequin Frog (Atelopus limosa)
This is what it is all about – being able to see healthy Limosa Harlequin Frogs (Atelopus limosus) in their natural environment and trying to unlock the secrets of this population through our research in Cocobolo Nature Reserve, Panama. Hopefully we can we help to expand the size of this population through careful habitat management and apply the lessons learned elsewhere to allow other populations of this, and some of the many other endangered amphibians in the world to return where they belong: in a healthy environment. Twan Leenders RTPI President
Read MoreLyme Disease Sign
Here is a terrific educational notice that I enjoyed seeing on the wall during a recent veterinarian visit with my dog. Using artwork created by children to help teach the public educates both the visitors and the children who are creating it. We use the same outreach techniques in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds with signs drawn by hundreds of school children which we then laminate and post on beaches and offshore islands to let beachgoers and boaters know there are endangered birds nesting in the area. We certainly see less damage to them than other more generic, bland and...
Read MoreCitizen Science Update; HWA Survey Results
This past Saturday, staff from RTPI and the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, along with JCC students and community volunteers, conducted a Hemlock Woolly Adelgid survey on the Cassadaga Creek Preserve in the Town of Stockton, NY. This preserve is a high priority monitoring site because it has one of the highest densities of hemlocks out of all of the CWC preserves, and also because it’s position along a stream creates a potential corridor by which birds and other wildlife could potentially transfer the invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid insect pest. As you may glean from the photograph in...
Read MoreA Look at Hemlock Trees through the Eyes of a Conservation Intern
Written by Bryce Alexander, Conservation Intern Edited by Melanie Smith, Communications Coordinator Every time I walk through the local woods, I am always surprised by the number of Hemlock trees that are found in our forests. It’s weird to think though, that these trees are in great danger from an invasive species known as Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, also known as HWA. I have personally observed a large number of Hemlock trees, and luckily none of these appear have been affected by this invasive pest yet. Hemlock trees are an important part of the ecosystems in which they are found, and should...
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