Snow Buntings
It is early enough in the avian wintering season that both the earth and the birds – in this case, Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) – are brown. We do not have a solid snow cover yet, and it is amazing how well this plumage is designed to help them blend in to the ground. The Snow Bunting camouflage looks like brown grass and, somehow, a rocky, sandy and rough earth, with their wings showing off the darker pattern of what the tundra and short grasslands look like now. Notice how well these birds keep themselves just off the surface even while engaged in feeding, hiding their...
Read MoreBrown-headed Cowbird
This male Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) was taking a look at all the maple seeds in this driveway, perhaps wondering why it shouldn’t eat all of this abundant and easy to grab food instead of those fast, pesky and tough to spot insects. They do primarily eat seeds, and I guess you have time to wonder these things when you leave the difficult task of raising your young to another species. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MorePine Siskin & American Goldfinch
The feeders of Western New York are brightening up as the surrounding gardens and woodlands are, with birds like this Pine Siskin, on the left, passing through now, and the American Goldfinch, on the right, turning into neon yellow, glowing lights. The American Goldfinch nest so late in the season compared to some of our other resident birds that they can still be using their energy for molting now, taking advantage of feeding on all those also yellow sunflowers later on. The Pine Siskin is more of a nomadic species than anything else, and they will likely be breeding not much further to our...
Read MoreNorthern Cardinals in the Snow
I photographed this pair of Northern Cardinals feeding on a cold and snowy afternoon yesterday, their colors piercing the dull and dark January landscape. All sorts of birds are moving off the snow-covered and frozen earth to feed in the trees on berries and seeds. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreHead-turning Tufted Titmouse
This Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) is a real head-turner! Yes, I will be here all week, every week…but did you know these gals and guys are still expanding their range northward? Back in my grandfather’s (and Roger Tory Peterson’s) day in they were very rare in New York and New England. In the middle of the last century they started a massive surge to the north likely thanks to climate change, the spread of feeding stations, and changing habitats as the suburban and developed landscape opened up for their arrival. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach...
Read More
