Grasshopper Sparrow
I photographed this Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) last week on a dreary and foggy morning in grasslands known to be a spring migratory site for the species. It was busy feeding in the mist, generally avoiding any picturesque views, as is typical for the species. It had even been singing the previous day! RTPI staff documented confirmed breeding of Henslow’s Sparrows and Grasshopper Sparrows at the Chautauqua County/Jamestown Airport (KJHW) during the summer of 2013. Both species are listed as New York endangered species with the Henslow’s Sparrow classified as ‘threatened’ and...
Read MoreGray Ghost Northern Harrier
This is a “Gray Ghost” Northern Harrier, an adult male soaring through the sky and hunting over grasslands. The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History has been assisting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for a second season of wintering raptor surveys in Chautauqua County in 2014-2015. 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. As we...
Read MoreWinter 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 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 MoreShooting Snowy Owls at airports
By now you have probably heard about this story but at 2:25AM on Monday, December 9 the New York Daily News posted an article detailing Port Authority ‘wildlife specialists’ that were now shooting and killing Snowy Owls at the New York City metro airports. Snowy Owls are currently in the middle of a massive irruption with sightings all over the Great Lakes and Atlantic Coast regions, a movement we thought could be coming even before it started in earnest. A Port Authority source told the NYDN that three Snowy Owls had already been killed with shotguns at JFK. They were added to...
Read More
