Singing Junco
Snowbirds
What does spring mean to you??? . . . . when do you consider it the first day of spring??? Allegany Tom says “six more weeks of winter” . . . . threecollie brings up a good point “You know we will always have six more weeks up here”! Very true my friend! Another good friend of mine believes that Groundhogs Day should be the first day of spring . . . . why?? . . . it is when you start to notice the birds behaving differently!
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Blue Jays at my feeders!
Blue Jay Smiling for the Camera
This year the Blue Jays appear to be a little too abundant at my feeders and it never seemed to be that way previously. I think my kitties don’t mind the stunning blue colors flashing past the window since I always find them chattering among themselves. Hmm maybe they are cussing the Blue Jays out saying “stop being so greedy”?? Greedy . . . that is an understatement and not only do they grab all the seeds but on occasion you find them stashing the seeds in different hiding places!
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Turkey of a day!
Today I had the opportunity to assist the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) band a dozen Wild Turkeys here in Allegany State Park. This is the final year of their project looking at the harvest and survival rates of the male Turkey in New York State.
That’s me and the Turkey
more birds on sumac [Wordless Wednesday]
Sorry for posting more birds on sumac pictures . . . . “Sumac” seems to be where all the birdies have been over the past few weeks!
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Chickadee Apples and Sumac
Black-capped Chickadee on Sumac
Had the opportunity to watch a bunch of Chickadees feeding on some Sumac and on an Apple Tree today. They were so cute jumping from branch to branch . . . I am surprised these photos were actually in focus!
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What Woodpeckers Eat
The woodpecker’s main diet is insects that are heard from under the bark of the tree. They will drill a hole and then use their awfully long tongue for pulling the insects out. The tongue is sticky at the end which is helpful in grasping the insect from the center of the tree. You can think of the woodpecker as a tree doctor removing the insects that could potentially do harm to the tree (that’s how I think of them)!!
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for the BIRDS [Book Review]
The book “for the BIRDS: A Month-by-Month Guide to Attracting Birds to Your Backyard” was written by three sisters “Anne Schmauss”, “Mary Schmauss” and “Geni Krolick”. I found this book just as cute inside as it appears on the outside cover. The first 50 pages gets into the basics explaining the pro and cons of different seed types, bird suet, nectar, bird baths, and nest boxes that should be used in the habitat that you have created in your backyard. The rest of the book is broken down into a month-by-month explanation of expected birds that you would find at your feeder, suggested seed mixtures to be used and other backyard tips to improve the birds in your yard for that month.
2009 Annual Waterfowl Survey
Today a few of us from the Cattaraugus County Bird Club participated in the NYS DEC / NYSOA annual waterfowl survey. Each January a quarter of a million ducks across New York State are counted by bird clubs, state officials and your average birder. In years past we had participate in the Mid-winter Bald Eagle Survey, where we would help locate Eagles wintering along the Allegheny River (while also looking for waterfowl) . . . . But for some reason these dates did not overlap as they had previously. The results of this survey will help determine the long-term monitoring of waterfowl within New York State during the winter months.
Common Goldeneye in the Snow (more…)
Northern Saw-whet Owls Report for 2008
This year the Allegany State Park (Northern Saw-whet Owl) banding station was open for 15 nights and captured 26 different individuals (not including 1 Barred Owl). We didn’t capture as many owls per day like we did last season but the number of days we could open the station was reduced due to weather conditions. (more…)
The Owls Have Arrived
Northern Saw-whet Owl
We caught our first of the year Northern Saw-whet Owl Saturday night! Been a slow start to their movement but I believe that is due to warmer temperatures and the bright moon shining down on the nets. Their numbers should be picking up in a week or two as soon as the moon starts rising later in the evening!
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The End of Summer
Sunset and Smokey Campfire
Summer has ended and we begin to reflect those many great things we did or didn’t do over the summer. Without a doubt one of the highlights of the summer was backpacking 3 nights along the North Country Trail here in Allegany State Park. Another highlight included the spectacular banding season with an outstanding banding crew!
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Roger Tory Peterson
Roger Tory Peterson
Born: 28 August 1908 Birthplace: Jamestown, New York
” . . . the man who made America
a nation of birdwatchers.”
William Zinsser
Writer and Critic
Your dashes are arrows
in A Field Guide to the Birds, the green-bound “Peterson”
tucked into belts, pushed into pockets, stuffed into backpacks
Arrows that lead eyes of millions,
squinting through binoculars,
to the red-brown cap and black “stick-pin”
identifying the passerine in snowy branches.
“That’s it,” the new birder exclaims,
pulls out list, checks off the “Winter Chippy,”
American Tree Sparrow
Arrows that glide to crest and black necklace of Blue Jay,
“golden slippers” of Snowy Egret,
yellow “spectacles,” black sideburns, of Kentucky Warbler,
purple throat, green crown, decurved bill of Lucifer Hummingbird,
white tail tip of Eastern Kingbird.
The Bald Eagle with white head and tail is “all field mark.”
In the salt marsh in May, the birder thinks “Life Bird?”
Focuses on shorebird
prodding mud flat with Short-billed Dowitchers,
Red Knots, Ruddy Turnstones. Greater Yellowlegs,
Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers,
Semi-palmated and Black-bellied Plovers.
She has identified all with the dried, wrinkled pages of her “Peterson.”
She studies what she knows to be a plover,
concentrates glasses on this bird feeding
by greening shoots of Spartina grass.
Again, she stares at your art,
your arrow guide slanting to the back.
She rereads your description:
“spangled with golden spots above.”
Suddenly, her freckled face is a loud smile,
her whisper a bursting
“Golden Plover!”
Field Guide, 1996
The Roger Peterson Institute of Natural History
Some Birdies
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Here are some cool birdies that I photographed and should have posted while bird banding the past month! Thanks for all your kind comments . . . . you guys are all wonderful!
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Birdfreak Visit
Birdfreak, Little Kingfisher, Ed’s Father and myself
Today I had a wonderful visit by the Birdfreak Blogging Team as they passed through the area while heading to a birding festival (for Swarovski) in Rhode Island. We only had a few hours to chat but we looked for a few birds . . . Little Kingfisher (Dakota’s All Natural Experience) had the opportunity to band some baby Bluebirds . . . . and then headed up to the Thunder Rocks area to climb on some “big” rocks!! I am sure you will see many of Ed’s and Dakota’s pictures on their own blogs within the next few days (so go visit their blogs). Little Kingfisher told me that if I didn’t go home and blog something . . . . that I would owe him $50 dollars!! I didn’t want to disappoint this great young birder (and owe him $50 bucks) . . . . so here is my blog post for the day!! 🙂
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Scarlet of a Day
Scarlet Tanager
Last Saturday we had a scarlet of a day banding at the CLDC station! We capture 10 different species and handled 36 individuals (18 newly banded birds and 18 recaptured birds)! Highlights were the Scarlet Tanager, Blue-winged Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warblers and Cedar Waxwing! Will turn this into an “almost” Wordless Wednesday! The pictures will tell you how exciting our day went!
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Fledgling Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Fledgling Northern Rough-winged Swallow
While walking around Allegany State Park (Red House Lake) yesterday, I found these two fledgling Northern Rough-winged Swallow being fed by mom. I knew the mother bird would return with more bugs and so I waited . . .
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Checking on the Ospreys
Osprey Nest
Thought everyone would like to get an update on some of our nesting Osprey! Babies are growing up fast and theu are already starting to look like mom and dad. Shouldn’t be too long before they start flying!
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Eastern Kingbird
I also had an Eastern Kingbird who allowed me to get close for a few photos on Sunday! Did I mention that Wolf Run is one of my favorite places in the park to visit??
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Half a morning of banding
House Wren (baby)
This Saturday morning we had a superb start at the CLDC MAPS banding station but then . . . . (to be continued)!!! We banded only 6 species, recaptured 9 individuals and placed new bands on 8 birdies (17 total captures). Species banded included Blue-winged Warbler, Gray Catbird, Song Sparrow, Field Sparrow, House Wren and a first for the year bird for me (also to be continued ).
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Mon@rch's Nature Blog 