Snow Buntings
Now that the Horned Larks have had to surrender their crown of “Best Camouflage in the Grasslands” Snow Buntings like this one have claimed the throne. When viewing them from the front at their level the cap and collar stand out a bit with brown and orange tones, but the bird is otherwise becoming one more little pile of snow. If you have a deep snow cover keep an eye on fields, especially agricultural, plus the sides of driveways and roads where plows have scraped up some of the earth. This is the best time of the year to find their fluttering flocks descending on any exposed...
Read MoreWindow Ice
Is it cold enough for you this morning? Here’s a look out the window at the intricate ice that had formed on the glass. This Valentine’s Day will stay frigid but relief is on the way soon with more lake effect snow across Chautauqua County and a mostly wet nor’easter along the Atlantic coast this week. Keep your feeders full! The birds can take the temperatures, but they do need all the calories they can get on days like this. Be sure to bundle up when you venture outdoors, and enjoy this sunny winter day. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach...
Read MoreSnow Bunting
Earlier today I mentioned that the Snow Buntings have taken the current crown for best line of defense with their white feathers blending in to the snow-covered fields and grasslands across much of the continent. This uncommon view of one perched on a tree branch takes away that camouflage but leaves us with a beautiful sight against a perfectly deep, blue sky on a chilly February day. Our birds better hurry up and find a great feeding spot because they are going to need the calories this weekend. Valentine’s Day is going to be utterly frigid as we plunge to below-zero temperatures as...
Read MoreGolden-collared Manakins (Manacus vitellinus)
This is the female and male Golden-collared Manakin (Manacus vitellinus), our second Valentine’s Day pair. This is another manakin species that features the males performing in leks to attract females. The clicking sounds the gentlemen of the species make at lek perches in Panama’s mature secondary forest is one of the most familiar noises you hear in tropical woodlands. This pair was photographed by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Panama while on assignment for the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural...
Read MoreSpotted Antbirds (Hylophylax naevioides)
I thought I would share a couple of pairs today for Valentine’s Day, the first being this female and male Spotted Antbird (Hylophylax naevioides) by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser. As Sean tells it they are a species that follows army ant swarms, feeding on a wide variety of insects that the ants turn up. In the Cocobolo Nature Reserve in Panama there are a wide variety of antbird species that inhabit the mature secondary and lowland primary forest. This duo was photographed by Sean for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project in Panama while on assignment for the Roger Tory...
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