Continuing 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 MoreWinter raptor surveys with NYSDEC
The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History will be assisting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for a second season of wintering raptor surveys in Chautauqua County in 2014-2015 and we will need your help! 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. Western New York’s NYSDEC Region 9 is a large geographical area and we at RTPI volunteered our time...
Read MoreLeaves are leaving
This is a picture of the Chadakoin River before all of yesterday’s formidable gusts blew away much of our fall foliage here in Jamestown. Yep, the leaves are leaving. What makes me shake my head is how low the water level has been lately as our precipitation has fallen back to near average or below after a very wet summer. We sure could have used these conditions for Spiny Softshell Turtle work the rest of the year when they were more active, nesting and basking in strong numbers. The weather shapes all of the life around us in both positive and negative ways. This is also why active...
Read MoreTurtle time before autumn cold
Intensive surveys and research are underway this fall with SUNY JCC interns on the Spiny Softshell Turtles in and around Jamestown. Yesterday our crew stepped into their world, literally, and got wet in the Chadakoin River. It is time to get busy before we get any further into autumn! The first real blast of cold air will arrive this weekend. It’s now or never for field research…
Read MoreAudubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds thanks volunteers
On Monday evening, September 15, the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds held a thank you party for all of the tremendous volunteers who helped us conduct surveys, monitoring, stewardship, education and outreach across Connecticut in 2014. We thank the Town of Stratford and the Stratford Conservation Commission for allowing us to use the pavilion at Short Beach Park in Stratford. There have been at least 2,200 hours logged by over 379 volunteers in the AAfCW program this year. We have seen 51 species of shorebirds, terns and long-legged waders at nearly 200 important sites in the state....
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