Common Loons
Goodbye, October, and welcome to the last month of meteorological autumn. As the fall foliage finally fades into the background we welcome the waterfowl returning to our region. Common Loons (Gavia immer) are losing their brilliant breeding plumage and you will soon be able to find them at many locations along the coast, at inland lakes and reservoirs, swimming, preening and diving for food. Watch for them on Chautauqua Lake, a place that I have seen plenty. These are sizable and stout birds with dagger-like bills – ones you would not want to mess around with! November is a time to...
Read MoreWhere’s the Snow?!
After above-average to historic snowfall in November it has been a slow late fall and early winter season! Western New York saw some absurd snow totals early in the autumn but it has been tough lately with this latest low pressure system coming over us, the southwest flow dragging temperatures to the 50s, pouring down rain and melting snow. Scenes like these have been difficult to find for many places in the Northeast, but we in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region will be feeling an arctic blast with frigid temperatures coming this week. Snowfall will return thanks to the Great Lakes and a...
Read MoreGreat Egret roost
What is this, November in Florida? Nope, I assure you it is New England. Here we have a distant shot featuring four of six Great Egrets that were present in a roost on a sunny November day in Connecticut. I did not want to disturb or flush them from this quiet, isolated area and stayed far away in cover. Waterbirds like this can tough it out in Connecticut thanks to our changing climate. As you can see quite literally it is not simply an aberrant bird or two. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreNashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla)
Happy Thanksgiving! Many Thanksgivings ago I was watching my bird feeders at my parent’s house in Connecticut while waiting for family to arrive and dinner to begin on a cool, rainy day. While looking out the window I spotted, naked eye, an oddly shaped and surprisingly brightly colored bird on a tree branch. I grabbed my binoculars very quickly and had a good look at a warbler inspecting the feeding area and all of the bird commotion below it. It had a yellow body, dark green on the back and wings, a gray hood and very bright white eye rings. It was a Nashville Warbler! Their...
Read MoreSwath of sparrows
This swath of sparrows was below our feeders at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History here in Jamestown, New York. Can you identify all four species? From left to right we have the White-throated Sparrow, a Song Sparrow in front of a Fox Sparrow, and a Dark-eyed Junco. Yep, there is also another hidden White-throated Sparrow! There will be a bunch of busy feeders with hungry birds in the Northeast this Thanksgiving after a Nor’easter dumped a mix of rain, sleet and snow on the Mid-Atlantic and New England, leaving some with snowy holiday morning. Happy...
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