Winter Raptor Surveys
The Harriers have arrived! This is a migrant Northern Harrier hunting over coastal grasslands in November. The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History will be assisting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for a third season of wintering raptor surveys in Chautauqua County in 2015-2016. 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. We need your help,...
Read MoreHot Election Day
It’s November…right? It could be snowing right now! Instead we are pushing 70 degrees in Jamestown with it currently in the mid 60s in western New York. Here we have the temperature departures from the 1981-2010 30-year average, the current hourly temperature, and the stations in the warmest 10% vs. the 30-year data. Enjoy it while you’re heading out to vote on this lovely Election Day. Graphic via Penn State Dept. of Meteorology
Read MoreRemnants of Hurricane Patricia
As the remnants of Hurricane Patricia passes over Western New York, high winds and rain are churning up Chautauqua Lake. This morning I quickly snapped off a few shots in between rain drops of this raft of American Coots riding the waves, hopefully they don’t get seasick! Elyse Henshaw Conservation Technician
Read MoreMorning Frost
Typically autumn is a time of color, warm apple cider and cool crisp air that brings much enjoyment across the region. While we have had lots of vibrant color, and speaking for myself lots of cider, its been missing the cool crisp air…until now. Thanks to the weekend’s passing cold front, the area got its first hard frost of the season. A little later than normal, the frost coated the landscape this morning and made a pretty scene in our front yard and gardens. What did your yard look like this morning?
Read MoreAutumn Field Surveys
While the field season never completely ends, projects shift and our attention will soon be focused on other seasonally appropriate surveys during the upcoming cooler months. As the temperatures continue to drop as well as the leaves, our stream work surveying for the elusive Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) is winding down. This week we got out to take more samples and carry out more rock lift surveys. So far we have found that the stream we have been working in has a good number of Mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus) and has a lot of interesting macroinvertebrates, all of...
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