Spring Migration Time!
Spring is finally here and new birds are arriving each day. One species that has already returned from their wintering grounds is the Osprey. They rejoin us each March after a very long journey as their winter quarters can be as far away as southern sections of South America. Audubon volunteers from the Menunkatuck Audubon Society have been hard at work for many years to ensure that their homes are sound and waiting for them when they arrive. The return of the Osprey highlights one of the great conservation success stories of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In the 1940’s there...
Read MoreThe Art of Backyard Bird Photography Continues
Please visit the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History to see our current exhibition, The Art of Backyard Bird Photography by Mathew Tekulsky, before it is gone! It will be running through March 8, and you do not want to miss photos like this one of Yellow-rumped Warbler that will help get you in the mood for spring.
Read MoreButter butt season
We are now in the prime time for the butter butts: Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata). When you cannot see their behind they certainly look rather plain in October, like this individual. Nevertheless they are still a joy to watch pouring through our lands in sizable flocks and that distinctive flash of yellow we inevitably see is a reminder of the cold air on its way.
Read MoreYellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)
This was one of 253 Yellow-rumped Warblers I recorded at a single site in Pennsylvania last weekend. Most of them have now moved through as some of the later arrivals, such as Blackpoll Warblers, trickle into our region. After a migratory lull through the weekend we should have one last huge burst next week in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region.
Read MoreMay bird migrants
I’ve spent upwards of 60 hours in the field in the last week with most of my time spent surveying for birds (besides butterflies, dragonflies/damselflies, amphibians, reptiles, plants, you know..basically everything!) and here are more of the photos I’ve taken of a bunch of species. From May 6 to May 10, without trying to accumulate a high count and simply working on specific properties, I saw 141 bird species in Chautauqua County. What were they, you ask? Here’s all of them! Canada Goose Wood Duck Gadwall American Black Duck Mallard Blue-winged Teal Northern Shoveler...
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