Snowy Akeley Trail
This is a very snowy trail at the Akeley Swamp Important Bird Area in Warren County, Pennsylvania. Doesn’t just looking at this make you want to make the hike all the way to the end? You may want to put your skis or snowshoes on first…
Read MoreAmerican Tree Sparrow
The American Tree Sparrow is one of those birds that were named differently than they probably should have been. You will most often find them outside of a tree, whether it is on the ground in open areas such as short grasses, dunes, trails, and beaches or in shrubbery and other smaller ground vegetation. This individual is from a beach long before snow and ice covered it this winter. Do you have any visiting your bird feeders this year?
Read More“Leaving Only Footsteps? Think Again”
Here’s an interesting opinion piece in the New York Times that details how even passive recreation can have an unexpectedly high impact on wildlife. These are all issues we as scientists have dealt with at one time or another, from how placement of trails in preserves is vital to protect certain species and the fact they create unsuitable edge habitat, how passive recreation activities like hiking can have negative impacts in the same way something like snowmobiling could (or more, as they can occur in all seasons and not just winter), and that a day at the beach disrupts birds like...
Read MoreCell Phone Tour Work Continues
Now that the harvest season has come to a close, Thanksgiving has passed and all the leaves are finally on the ground, we are getting ready for the snow to fly and for another year of our “Nature at Your Fingertips” cell phone tour to hit the snowmobile trails! Development of this tour was made possible in part through support from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. This past weekend we bundled up and erected more of our signs in preparation for the season opener on December 17th (weather willing of course!). This year’s tour will feature 25 stops packed full...
Read More‘Help Me!’ Local Trees Are Calling for Help
Area conservation organizations and citizens join hands to prevent spread of devastating forest pests Collaborative Forest Pest Project – Information Session December 4th from 6:00-7:30pm at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History, 311 Curtis Street, Jamestown Quietly infiltrating the great expanse of forests throughout New York State, invasive pest species are wreaking havoc on countless ecologically and economically valuable trees. As potentially devastating pests such as Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA), an aphid-like insect targeting Eastern Hemlock trees, and Emerald Ash...
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