Jamestown Audubon Photo Club
The Beaver Pond on France Brook
Today a few members from the Jamestown Audubon Photo Club took a field trip to Allegany State Park for some photographic opportunities!! I took the group to one of my favorite Beaver pond along the France Brook Area and as you can tell the group had a wonderful time with many great pictures.
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New-tropical Migrants [Poem]
Chestnut-sided Warbler
New-tropical Migrants
We have always seen warblers
as brilliancies of the North Woods:
lemon yellow of Black-throated Green
flame wings and tail of American Redstart
But the Redstart is Cuba’s “Little Candelita,”
the Black-throated Green flies his colors from Ecuador
Our boreal yellows, reds, blues are tropical,
burnt orange of Blackburnian,
orange-red of Bay-breasted
What do we send back?
Blackburnian with only the yellow,
Bay-breasted, Blackpoll, Pine we can not tell apart – –
“Confusing Fall Warblers.”
Color them up, we say.
Paint back the cheeks and flanks of Chestnut-sided,
brighten back the pigments of Black-throated Blue
Send these warblers back.
On the Big Day in May
in Sugar Maple and Tamarack
we will check off glories of the rain forest
Palm Warbler
”Western” Palm Warbler
Yesterday evening I noticed a warbler up in the tree bobbing its tail during my evening walk. This warbler was in horrible lighting for a decent photo but I was happy to (CHECK) my first of the year Palm Warbler!
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Morning Surprise at my Feeder
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
I looked out my window this morning and found this Rose-breasted Grosbeak (CHECK) trying to get seeds from my thistle feeder! “Hey Mr Grosbeak . . . your bill is too large for those little thistle holes!! Just look at how the Goldfinch is able to get the seeds!! They have much smaller bills than you do”! We had a frost last night and birds very busy around the feeders! I couldn’t get the sunflowers into the feeders quick enough!!!
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Saturdays moving birds!
Spring is becoming much more apparent the past few days with the leaves bringing us some green colors on our dull brown hillsides. A thunderstorm pushed through Allegany State Park area in the afternoon and this rain was very much needed after a few weeks with only a few sprinkles. Things are soo dry that my County has posted an open fire ban after many small fires have started across Cattaraugus County. Campers are bummed for not being allowed to burn their firewood but I have been enjoying this weather with many great birds pushing through the area!!
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Morning Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher
I have not posted anything in the past few days! Had another dinner Thursday night and Friday night I was busy with some personal things!! I am up and going birding . . . . hope to have something more interesting to post about tonight! Just an update on the past few days . . . Yellow-throated Warbler (CHECK) was first heard yesterday and Thursday brought us three White-winged Scoters (CHECK) on Red House Lake with a raft of Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, Scaup Species, and a female merganser species (maybe Red-breasted Merganser). Can’t wait to see what I come across today!
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Birds and Lecture!
Osprey on the Power Lines!
I am exhausted after a long day but it was also a great day today! In the morning I was outside eating my oatmeal and heard not one but two Northern Parua’s singing (CHECK). During the day had my first Broad-winged Hawk (CHECK) flying overhead! On Quaker Lake I saw my first Barn Swallow (CHECK) and Cliff Swallow (CHECK) flying under the overspill bridge!! Then after dinner I headed up to the Buffalo Museum of Science with some friends to hear Dr. Geoff Hill’s lecture on Bird Coloration!! Did I mentioned that I am exhausted?? I have a dinner to attend tomorrow evening, so I am off to bed to get some sleep!
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Earth Day Findings
Spring Azure from April 2007
I came across a few new species during Earth Day today! The first find was a Double-crested Cormorant (CHECK) swimming in Red House Lake. It’s funny since I almost always first find them over at Quaker Lake . . . . but not this year! We have been working in the same area the past few days and it was nice finding my first Spring Azure (CHECK) fluttering around once the sun got high enough in the sky (yeah to seeing those azure blues)! Then at lunch I saw my first West Virginia White (CHECK) moving down the trail (with only a quick look)! By the end of the day there were multiple Whites flying around and all my co-workers thought I was nuts looking at those white-moth looking butterflies! Hey . . . how often do you get to look at a species of concern up close?
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Happy Earth Day
Common Merganser pair
Happy Earth Day everyone and not only should we look at taking care of our earth on this one day but lets make sure we do this every day! Every little thing you do can help and this is a day to become aware of those little and big things that we can do to help global warming! (more…)
Birding around the Lean-to
Dark-eyed Junco
We could only found 17 species of birds around the lean-to during our three days of backpacking on the North County Trail. But, do note that they were great birds to watch as our entertainment while at camp. Dark-eyed Juncos and American Robins were the most visual of all the birds we saw. The Juncos appeared to have nest building near the water spring and was protecting a territory!
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Returned from Backpacking
This weekend Young Naturalist J, his father and I did some backpacking along the North Country Trail here in Allegany State Park. We stayed two nights at this lean-to on the western side of the park and you can tell from the pictures that we had an amazing time.
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Common Flicker
What is this looking out of my box?
While out backpacking . . . . I wanted to continue my post with this woodpecker who I found inspecting my Screech Owl box on Friday!! Of course every year the only thing that uses the box is European Starling (which I always need to evict)!! Maybe this will be the year for the Flicker??
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Backpacking this Weekend
At the Lean-To During our August 2007 Trip
The three amigos are backpacking again along the North Country Trail this weekend. We have not decided if we are doing one night or two nights (will decide Saturday morning)!! I will update everyone with multiple photos once we return (don’t think I will have cellphone service here, so no blog posting while out on the trail this time)
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Eastern Comma
Ok, I guess I can’t officially call this my first of the year due to seeing one back in February. But, temperatures reached the high of 75°F today (warmest for 2008) and was fun seeing them flying around (also had Mourning Cloaks flying around)! I anticipate the next butterfly species that I will find will be the West Virginia White or maybe a Spring Azure?? Can you believe that they are talking that the temperatures will be reaching 80°F by Saturday??
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Blue-headed Vireo’s arrived!
Blue-headed Vireo (photo from Oct 2004)
I was working in the same area today and just after noon heard the call! CHECK . . . first for the year Blue-headed Vireo! I went looking for the Louisiana Waterthrush after work today . . . didn’t see them and maybe they will return tomorrow??
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My Nature Update
Common Loon
There are many great birds moving through the Western New York area right now. Loons seem to be arriving on a daily basis and we had a very large flock of Buffleheads on Red House Lake today. Other new birds into the area today included 10 or so Bonapart’s Gulls and one Field Sparrow (CHECK).
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Happy Kids
Tom has the camera again!
Having some satellite internet problems this evening and been with tech support for the past hour! I thought instead of doing anything nature related (because I can’t upload the pictures I took today) that I would just post some cute pictures of my nephews that I took on Sunday. Did I mention how much Hughes Network sucks? They want me to pay my bill on time but when I am getting 24kbps download and 14kbps upload . . . . I have to do speed test for 3 to 4 days because they can do anything for me! Hello . . . I did those speed tests back in February . . . still having the same problems! Dial-up was slow but at least it was reliable! Ok, enough venting and will try my best to catch up on everyone’s sites (if I can get them to load).
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Visit with friends!
Bonapart’s Gull
Friday evening Marg spend the night at my house and we had some laughs catching up since our last visit. I left extra early on Saturday morning to pick up Young Naturalist J for the 85th annual Eastern Bird Banding Association meeting at Presque Isle State Park. Young Naturalist J was excited to hear that Marg and Richard would be joining us at this conference. He didn’t expect to see many other banding friends of ours and make a few new friends.
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Feathery Friday
Mourning Doves in the grass!
I woke up with Common Flicker’s (CHECK) out in the yard this morning! Yesterday I had my first Pine Warbler (CHECK) and on Wednesday had my first Winter Wren (CHECK) for 2008!! I didn’t get any pictures of the Warbler and Wren since I was working . . . . but I was still ecstatic for their return into the area. I just love this time of the year because you just never know what you will see next!!
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Lets Go for Bluebirds [Poem]
“Let’s Go for Bluebirds!”
Grandfather would call on a March morning,
snow sparkling in the sun.
Pulling on his wool cap,
He’d lead me down the cow path,
crusts of ice crackling under our boots
“Wait. Let’s look around,” he’d whisper
when we reached the orchard,
searched rows of apple trees,
gray trunks gnarled,
branches craggy
If I heard the singer,
blue-backed, red-breasted thrush,
I waited for Grandfather to point,
trying to keep his voice to a hoarse whisper,
“There he is. On that high branch.”
And what did he always add?
“A piece of sky has landed in the trees!”
Northern Visitors [Video]
Common Redpoll and Pine Siskin
For the past few weeks my northern guest have continued visiting my bird feeders! Three years ago the Pine Siskins actually stuck around all summer and nested in my back yard! Wouldn’t it be neat to have both Pine Siskins and Redpolls spending the summer with me this year??
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Sunny Sunday
Osprey with nesting material!
I enjoyed today’s Sunny Sunday with temperatures reaching above 60°F. I finally opened my windows for the first time and let the kitties get some outside smells. At the entrance of Allegany State Park, I observed the Osprey pair doing some nest building. The male would go down into the grass and bring back a talon full of grass/sticks. I knew it was the male because I also watched them do a little copulation before gathering some of the nesting material!
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Mon@rch's Nature Blog 