Brown Thrasher
The Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) was another photographic target of mine this spring. I typically do get to enjoy the species a bit each April and May, but they are difficult subjects to shoot. Part of the problem is that they have dramatically dropped in abundance since Roger Tory Peterson’s time which makes me appreciate moments like these all the more. For a species that was a tolerably common breeding bird for many people, including Roger’s homes in New York and Connecticut, is now often a ghost in both behavior and population. Habitat loss and degradation, competition with...
Read MoreNorthern Mockingbird
Hey, keep it down over there, will ya?! Northern Mockingbirds will not only sing all day long, they’ll sing all night! Any time you have been startled awake to the sound of a fake car alarm coming out of a bush at 3AM you do not forget it. In this case this bird was rattling off hits like, “Common Tern” to “White-eyed Vireo” while not caring much for what I was up to whatsoever. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreFebruary Arrives
The transition from January into February is usually one without many colors, though this sunset on the final night of January was spectacular over the water. The pink glow from the sun below the horizon makes me think of everything from Valentine’s Day to the Northern Cardinal males beginning to sing in our yards on the warm and sunny days as they stake out their territories and sound out for mates, if they do not already have one. The same shade reminds me of the House Finch males that have also been calling out their cheery melodies frequently as of late. This January seemed to move...
Read MoreSongless Song Sparrow
This is the songless Song Sparrow, a member of the now much quieter species as we head out of the breeding season and into migration. It is almost frightening to have a sudden lack of song from these prolific singers. In only a couple months there will be hundreds upon hundreds filling up all sorts of earthy habitats around us, making me wonder – as always – what bird is of what subspecies and if we shouldn’t have more than one thing that we call a “Song Sparrow”…then again, Melospiza melodia works so well. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach...
Read MoreChestnut-sided Warbler Singing
Frost in the morning – sunny cheer by lunchtime. It’s spring in Chautauqua County! This Chestnut-sided Warbler seemed excited about it all…
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