Winter Raptor Count – RTPI on WGRZ TV
A tremendous thanks to Terry Belke of WGRZ TV in Buffalo for producing this article and video segment on the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History’s winter raptor surveys for his popular series “2 The Outdoors”. The video features RTPI President Twan Leenders and some footage and photos of our target species, the Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl. There is some seriously wonderful video to be seen, so please check it out! RTPI is assisting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for a second season of wintering raptor surveys in Chautauqua...
Read MoreNorthern 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 MoreContinuing Winter Raptor Surveys
This a friendly request and reminder that we at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History are surveying for wintering Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls in Chautauqua County, two state-listed raptors that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is tracking in Western New York. Fortunately they share habitat with other beautiful birds like the Snowy Owl and you may end up being in productive locations for them often in the next few months. If you find any of the two species from now until spring please let us know with as much information on the sighting as...
Read MoreBoothe Park Hawk Watch 9/12 – 182 migrant raptors
We had a decent day at the Boothe Park Hawk Watch in Stratford, Connecticut yesterday, considering the deep blue sky in control, as we tallied 182 migrant raptors filling in the 9:30-4:30 time frame. Having no clouds in the sky makes it very difficult to spot hawks, eagles, falcons, vultures and so forth flying at altitudes in the thousands of feet. Light clouds, especially cirrus, provide a helpful backdrop to view them on without obscuring any or dumping precipitation which would stop the birds from moving south. In essence many migrants likely flew by right over our heads that we could...
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