Hot Election Day
It’s November…right? It could be snowing right now! Instead we are pushing 70 degrees in Jamestown with it currently in the mid 60s in western New York. Here we have the temperature departures from the 1981-2010 30-year average, the current hourly temperature, and the stations in the warmest 10% vs. the 30-year data. Enjoy it while you’re heading out to vote on this lovely Election Day. Graphic via Penn State Dept. of Meteorology
Read MoreBald Eagle
This Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) was one of 36 migrant Bald Eagles recorded at the Boothe Park Hawk Watch on September 20, 2015, breaking our previous daily record of 22 that had been set on September 14, 2014. The next two days in the record books were of 20 Bald Eagles apiece, making it an especially strong Sunday. We have been off to a difficult start considering the record-shattering heat in September, but Osprey have been abundant – in fact, we soared by our yearly record of them already! Bald Eagles have also been strong in numbers overall as both formerly endangered...
Read MoreBoothe Park Hawk Watch 2015 Season
We are now well into the fall hawk watch season as sites across the country are staffed by citizen scientists engaged in counting raptors heading south for the winter. Various hawk, falcon, vulture, eagle, and kite species plus birds like the Osprey, Northern Harrier and even some owls can be tallied on conducive flight days at migratory hotspots often situated along ridges or at the edge of a body of water. Counting these birds helps keep track of raptor populations on an international scale, gauging the health of these important predator species that have often been threatened by human...
Read MorePurple Finch and Pine Siskin invasion
Two species have recently flooded the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic according to list serv reports, accounts from friends and my own personal observations – the Purple Finch and the Pine Siskin. The former has been unbelievably abundant in my experience, often being difficult to go outside for any length of time without seeing one in the past month. The latter, while a bit tougher to spot, has nonetheless zipped by in sizable groups and maintained their nomadic feeding habits. Just how massive are these irruptions in our region? I turned to eBird to find out the truth. Here are both...
Read MoreHeavy and low avian migration in Jamestown
This past Wednesday, October 15, I was outside in downtown Jamestown, New York, for much of the night. An area of low pressure had moved by earlier in the day and precipitation had cleared. Clouds were thinning and moving east. There are plenty of unnatural noises to hear on a typical night in the City of Jamestown – music, people shouting, vehicles and often large trucks passing by. There was also an incessant yet subtle chorus of noises coming from the low levels of the sky in the form of avian flight calls! Birds were moving south and in strong numbers with almost endless peeps and...
Read More
