Boothe Park Hawk Watch 9/12 – 182 migrant raptors
We had a decent day at the Boothe Park Hawk Watch in Stratford, Connecticut yesterday, considering the deep blue sky in control, as we tallied 182 migrant raptors filling in the 9:30-4:30 time frame. Having no clouds in the sky makes it very difficult to spot hawks, eagles, falcons, vultures and so forth flying at altitudes in the thousands of feet. Light clouds, especially cirrus, provide a helpful backdrop to view them on without obscuring any or dumping precipitation which would stop the birds from moving south. In essence many migrants likely flew by right over our heads that we could...
Read MoreBird Fest 2014 day 2
The second day of RTPI’s Bird Fest 2014 took place on Saturday, June 7. The first day featured two excursions focused on wetlands and grasslands while this second day moved us to the forest and the escarpment. The morning trip was to Allegany State Park in Cattaraugus County led by Tim Baird, an exceptional birder and naturalist. It was another lovely day weather-wise in Western New York and the group got to enjoy a lot of warblers in the Red House Lake area. The most vocal and significant warbler was the Northern Parula, an intriguing find in terms of a nesting species as several pairs were...
Read MoreMagnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia) by Scott Kruitbosch
The first night of heavy regional migration thanks to a warm front and ensuing southerly flow meant we were flooded with new arrivals like this Magnolia Warbler singing their hearts out early this morning. Our conservation staff was spread across New York and Pennsylvania today completing field work for birds, plants, reptiles, amphibians, insects and more. The first of many nonstop busy days this spring and summer was a gorgeous and successful one.
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