07 | January | 2007 | Mon@rch's Nature Blog

Sunday Birding

Today I forced myself to get outside and do a little birding for a few hours. I only wished that the sun was around longer!! But, I did enjoy myself and had some great birds show up.

I started off tottering around Wolf Run trying to explore the work done by the beavers this winter. With a lack of birds I figured it was time to head over to the Allegheny River and try to locate some Bald Eagles. Quickly 5 Bald Eagles were located gathering around something dead on the waters edge. Trying to focus the spotting scope better, I felt the hair on the back of my neck start to raise …. then turned around with a juvenal Bald Eagle flying over me. Lighting made it difficult but I was able to get in a few shots in before the bird disappeared into the trees. While getting back into my truck I was dazzled by 4 American Robins taking turns feeding on some sumac. I have been wondering were all my orange bellied friends have been hiding this winter. It is amazing how you have no birds all day and then surprise!

Once I made it back to Allegany, I spend some time searching Quaker Lake for some waterfowl. I only located a small raft of Hooded Mergansers and unsuccessfully searched the 100+ starlings for other blackbird species. Birds continued to be very quite in the France Brook area and then I finally hit a jackpot. There was a stunning pair of Common Mergansers and a Great Blue Heron hanging out at one of the Beaver ponds. Might not have been the best birding day but I just enjoyed getting out hiking around (and away from the computer for a little while).

7 January 2007 | Categories: Allegany State Park, Birds, Flickr, Nature | Tags: discovery, Hiking | 3 Comments

BIRDS – My 2006 Nature Checklist

I decided to split up my 2006 Nature Checklist into 5 different categories; Butterflies & Skippers, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals and Birds! The birds are the next family of critters which I will be reporting on my findings here in 2006 in Western New York State. Since the list has 159 birds listed and so large, I decided to break it down to the 69 non-passerines and 90 passerines.

This has been such a fun year with the birds, I have NO idea where start and decided to leave everything up to the numerous pictures that I have taken! But, I would like to thank all of my volunteers and banding assistants who helped make this another successful year at the banding station.

Here is my list of non-passerines which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):

1. Canada Goose	36. Red-shouldered Hawk
2. Tundra Swan	37. Broad-winged Hawk
3. Woodduck	38. Red-tailed Hawk
4. Gadwall	39. Rough-legged Hawk
5. American Wigeon	40. American Kestrel
6. American Black Duck	41. Merlin
7. Mallard	42. Peregrine Falcon
8. Blue-winged Teal	43. American Coot
9. Northern Shoveler	44. Killdeer
10. Northern Pintail	45. Greater Yellowlegs
11. Green-winged Teal	46. Spotted Sandpiper
12. Ring-necked Duck	47. Wilson’s Snipe
13. Lesser Scaup	48. American Woodcock
14. Long-tailed Duck	49. Bonaparte’s Gull
15. Bufflehead	50. Ring-billed Gull
16. Common Goldeneye	51. Herring Gull
17. Hooded Merganser	52. Great Black-backed Gull
18. Common Merganser	53. Rock Pigeon
19. Red-breasted Merganser	54. Mourning Dove
20. Ring-necked Pheasant	55. Black-billed Cuckoo
21. Ruffed Grouse	56. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
22. Wild Turkey	57. Eastern Screech Owl
23. Common Loon	58. Great Horned Owl
24. Pied-billed Grebe	59. Barred Owl
25. Horned Grebe	60. Northern Saw-whet Owl
26. Red-necked Grebe	61. Chimney Swift
27. Double-creasted Cormorant	62. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
28. Great Blue Heron	63. Belted Kingfisher
29. Green Heron	64. Red-bellied Woodpecker
30. Turkey Vulture	65. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
31. Osprey	66. Downy Woodpecker
32. Bald Eagle	67. Hairy Woodpecker
33. Sharp-shinned Hawk	68. Northern Flicker
34. Cooper’s Hawk	69. Pileated Woodpecker
35. Northern Goshawk
.

Here is my list of passerines which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):

70. Eastern Wood-pewee	115. Magnolia Warbler
71. Acadian Flycatcher	116. Black-throated Blue Warbler
72. Alder Flycatcher	117. Yellow-rumped Warbler
73. Willow Flycatcher	118. Blackthroated Green Warbler
74. Least Flycatcher	119. Blackburnian Warbler
75. Eastern Phoebe	120. Yellow-throated Warbler
76. Great Crested Flycatcher	121. Pine Warbler
77. Eastern Kingbird	122. Prairie Warbler
78. Northern Shrike	123. Palm Warbler
79. Blue-headed Vireo	124. Blackpoll Warbler
80. Red-eyed Vireo	125. Cerulean Warbler
81. Blue Jay	126. Black-and-white Warbler
82. American Crow	127. American Redstart
83. Common Raven	128. Ovenbird
84. Horned Lark	129. Northern Waterthrush
85. Tree Swallow	130. Mourning Warbler
86. Northern Rough-winged Swallow	131. Common Yellowthroat
87. Cliff Swallow	132. Hooded Warbler
88. Barn Swallow	133. Canada Warbler
89. Black-capped Chickadee	134. Scarlet Tanager
90. Tufted Titmouse	135. Eastern Towhee
91. Red-breasted Nuthatch	136. American Tree Sparrow
92. White-breasted Nuthatch	137. Chipping Sparrow
93. Brown Creeper	138. Field Sparrow
94. Carolina Wren	139. Fox Sparrow
95. House Wren	140. Song Sparrow
96. Winter Wren	141. Swamp Sparrow
97. Golden-crowned Kinglet	142. White-throated Sparrow
98. Ruby-crowned Kinglet	143. White-crowned Sparrow
99. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher	144. Dark-eyed Junco
100. Eastern Bluebird	145. Northern Cardianl
101. Veery	146. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
102. Gray-cheeked Thrush	147. Indigo Bunting
103. Swainson’s Thrush	148. Bobolink
104. Hermit Thrush	149. Red-winged Blackbird
105. Wood Thrush	150. Eastern Meadowlark
106. American Robin	151. Common Grackle
107. Gray Catbird	152. Brown-headed Cowbird
108. European Starling	153. Baltimore Oriole
109. Cedar Waxwing	154. Purple Finch
110. Blue-winged Warbler	155. House Finch
111. Nashville Warbler	156. Pine Siskin
112. Northern Parula	157. American Goldfinch
113. Yellow Warbler	158. Evening Grosbeak
114. Chestnut-sided Warbler	159. House Sparrow
.