Happy Halloween!
Happy Halloween! I do not have any cute kids in costumes so I thought I would share my Shetland Sheepdog, Zach, looking the most serious he ever has in his life. That playful boy will be three years old next week and he is a hardcore birder, conservationist and biologist. He was raised as a puppy on hawk watching, waterbird monitoring and waterfowl hazing. He learned to always look up and enjoys watching doves flying around the neighborhood, sparrows scratching at the grass, ducks and geese swimming offshore, gulls feeding on the rocks and raptors screeching by. He has a heck of a life list...
Read MoreWhite-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
If you’re out and about enjoying fall foliage, heading to a farm or a pumpkin field, or spending time in other agricultural, grassy, weedy areas you may be about to see many White-crowned Sparrows like this autumn one. Here in Western New York we can find them in the dozens during the peak of migration. I remember – thanks to my eBird checklist – that I saw 41 of them at the Jamestown Airport this past May. I know there were likely many more present there. See if you can beat that total on a fall birding day!
Read MorePalm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum) & Pumpkin by Scott Kruitbosch
Birds like this Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum) can get into the season, too! They enjoy foraging in farm fields with what is left after the harvest with a variety of species feeding on the produce and others feeding on the insects that it attracts.
Read More
