Fall hawk watching is on!
Labor Day and the beginning of September are often seen as the beginning of the fall season despite the fact the autumnal equinox is not until weeks later (September 23 this year). However, many of our birds agree with this assessment as well. You can find migrant passerines beginning to disperse and even some moving south in July. Shorebirds can be found on the way to wintering quarters in terrific numbers in “fall” migration in the middle of what we think of as a hot summer day. Raptors including many species of hawks, accipiters, falcons, eagles, vultures and more start to...
Read MoreRough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) by Twan Leenders
This Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) was recently seen in a snow squall at Dunkirk Airport here in Chautauqua County, New York. RTPI staff and volunteers are continuing to search for wintering Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus) and Short-eared Owls (Asio flammeus) across the region in partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and recording other birds like this along the way as well. Please let us know if you have seen either of the two focal species this season! Email your sightings to RTPI’s Conservation & Outreach Coordinator Scott Kruitbosch...
Read MoreHelp with winter raptor surveys!
The Roger Tory Peterson Institute and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation are teaming up to conduct wintering raptor surveys in Chautauqua County in 2014 and we need your help! The primary focus of these surveys is to determine where Short-eared Owls and Northern Harriers are spending the winter season to roost and feed. Western New York’s NYSDEC Region 9 is a large geographical area and we at RTPI volunteered our time to assist NYSDEC in covering this vast region. We are hoping some of Chautauqua County’s citizen scientists will also volunteer to help out...
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