International Migratory Bird Day
Northern Mockingbird
Ya, Ya . . . I am about a week late with this report but it has been a busy few days for me. I have been trying to getting ready for the Allegany State Park Geobash Event that we are having this weekend.
On May 10th 2008 the Cattaraugus County Bird Club headed out for our annual Presque Isle State Park field trip for International Migratory Bird Day. (more…)
Wrap up to an amazing trip
Red-headed Woodpecker
We had such a wonderful time visiting the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area (aka Crane Creek) with seeing so many great birds and having the opportunity of meeting such great birders. I noticed that the Black Snake Bird Observatory’s Banders Blog reported (Friday 9 May) “We also had the pleasure of a few banders from New York and surrounding states. It is always a pleasure to have visiting researchers see our operation and share ideas and talk shop.” and then said . . . “For the day we had a total of 190 new birds including 30 species and 38 recaptures.” Can you believe they had 20 species of warblers that day??? I knew we should have stayed till they closed up nets! Anyways . . . . I would like to thank Kim Kaufman and the many staff members of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory who helped in making our visit so spectacular.
THANKS!
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More Warblers from Ohio
American Redstart
And you thought I posted all my good warbler pictures!!! All I can say is that these pictures can tell the rest of the warbler story!
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Our Banding Adventure
Common Yellowthroat
Young Naturalist J and I take these trips to the different banding stations for helping us explore how these organizations conduct their studies. Each project is different and they always have a way of showing us something that we had never seen before. The Navarre Marsh Banding Station in Ohio and the Presque Isle Banding Station in Erie PA were no exception and both stations were different in many ways. The truth is that we take these trips to enjoy the many wonderful birds that are not normally caught at our banding station (and for us to capture a few photos)!!
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Banding in the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area
Bay-breasted Warbler (CHECK)
Friday morning Young Naturalist J and I were invited to join the Black Swamp Bird Observatory’s “Navarre Marsh Migration Monitoring Banding Station” in Oak Harbor, Ohio. Last Sunday when we made the first plans to visit . . . . we never realized that this station was located on a National Wildlife Refuge and the hoops that we needed to go through to visit the banding station. I guess driving behind a Nuclear Power Plant to band birds requires some security issues to contend with. Without a doubt this adventure was well worth the hoopla because I ended up with 10 year birds (1 being a lifer) and Young Naturalist J ended up with 3 lifers on this trip!
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Finding Purple Martins
While heading to Crane Creek from Presque Isle State Park . . . . Young Naturalist J and I decided to take an alternative route to the thruway. I felt at one point that we were lost but I am glad we continued the adventure because we found this wonderful series of Purple Martin houses (my brakes screeched and I yelled “Purple Martin” (CHECK). Since the business that had these Martin houses were closed . . . we decided to take a few pictures of their birds!!
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Banding at Presque Isle State Park
Northern Cardinal carefully being banded
Young Naturalist J and I joined Toni from A Spattering and Linda from Eries Argonaut over at the Presque Isle State Park banding station this morning to see some migrants up close. We had such a wonderful time together and saw many great birds being banded by Sarah S. from PA Audubon (Thanks for letting us join you Sarah)! Below are just a few pictures that we captured at the banding station:
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more new birds and butterflies
Red Squirrel wondering what birds I am seeing!
I love waking up to my morning alarm clock again and I was extra excited hearing a Woodthrush (CHECK) singing along with my buzzing hummingbirds!! Not bad hearing two great birds before getting out of bed in the morning!! Later in the day I saw my first of the year Indigo Bunting (CHECK) singing up in a tree and didn’t expect in finding the Meadow Fritillary (CHECK), Juvenal Duskywing (CHECK) and American Lady (CHECK) who were also flying roadside! Yeah . . . . to the butterflies!
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New birds from yesterday
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
I almost forgot to let everyone know about my first of the year birds that I saw yesterday!! I put my hummingbird feeder up in the morning and found 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (CHECK) buzzing around the feeders by lunch time (actually the two males were fighting over the feeders territory). I then found an American Redstart (CHECK) singing up in the tree while waiting for some fellow employees (actually it got very close to us and wished I had my camera with me). Later in the day I found a Red-eyed Vireo (CHECK) singing in an area that we were working in . . . . well kinda . . . . I think I had them over the weekend but wasn’t 100% sure it was a Red-eyed Vireo until today’s find.
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Queens of their boxes
Eastern Bluebird Eggs
After realizing that I fetched up my Wordless Wednesday post . . . I decided to come up with something easy to post today. Then I noticed the two females sitting on their nest box in my back yard. . . .
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Birding at Moms House
White-crowned Sparrow
I did a little birding in Allegany State Park this morning and of course it was raining!!! Didn’t see anything unusual but I did capture a picture of a Gray Catbird. It took visiting my mothers bird feeders to add two first of the year birds to my checklist (did I mention it stopped raining by the time I arrived at my parents house?)!! The first bird I saw was a White-crowned Sparrow (CHECK) and the second bird was a Baltimore Oriole (CHECK)!! But didn’t get an opportunity to photograph the Oriole but heard it many times! Below are some of the other birds hanging around her feeder:
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Osprey Dinner
Osprey with trees in the background!
This morning the black flies were unbearable and I didn’t do the birding like I would have wanted to do. Between swatting those black flies and driving around in my vehicle . . . . I saw my first Common Yellowthroat (CHECK) and Gray Catbird (CHECK) for 2008! I know many other great birds are in the area but I just couldn’t take it anymore and had to return to my vehicle.
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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
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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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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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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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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Mon@rch's Nature Blog 