Gray Ghost Northern Harrier
This is a “Gray Ghost” Northern Harrier, an adult male soaring through the sky and hunting over grasslands. The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History has been assisting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for a second season of wintering raptor surveys in Chautauqua County in 2014-2015. 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. As we...
Read MoreAcadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens)
Similar to the Snowy-bellied Hummingbird, the Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens) seen here is another species on the rise in terms of banding captures, possibly because it prefers young secondary forest as wintering habitat. 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 History.
Read MoreFeeder Pine Warbler
We are getting to the time of year where you may be fortunate enough to find a Pine Warbler visiting your feeders. These early and uncommonly wintering birds will end up at your suet if conditions are poor or there are not enough insects to be found yet. I absolutely love to see such a vibrant and stunning shade in the late winter as a taste of things to come. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreWinter Raptor Count – RTPI on WGRZ TV
A tremendous thanks to Terry Belke of WGRZ TV in Buffalo for producing this article and video segment on the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History’s winter raptor surveys for his popular series “2 The Outdoors”. The video features RTPI President Twan Leenders and some footage and photos of our target species, the Northern Harrier and Short-eared Owl. There is some seriously wonderful video to be seen, so please check it out! RTPI is assisting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for a second season of wintering raptor surveys in Chautauqua...
Read MoreShare Connecticut eBird Checklists!
Do you live in Connecticut or have you visited the Nutmeg state to bird thus far in 2015? If you entered your sightings into eBird and they included ANY shorebirds, terns, or long-legged waders like this Snowy Egret please share your eBird checklists with us at the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds using the eBird share function and our email address: ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. This will allow us to learn more about our various target species in multiple ways including habitat and site selection, abundance, distribution, migratory, wintering, and breeding ecology and more. These...
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