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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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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Famous for a Reason [Guest Post]
A Suet Bandit (Pine Martin)
Guest Post by Marg (aka makeupanid)
Last weekend I traveled to Algonquin Park with a Flickr friend and fellow birder. You would think being a birder that I would have been to Algonquin recently but I haven’t been there in years! I wanted to add Gray Jays and Pine Grosbeaks to my Life List-which is the only reason I was willing to get up at 4 a.m. on a weekend. I get enough of that during the week with my regular job! Algonquin has famous the world over and for a good reason. It is a Nature Lovers paradise. The boreal forest sweeps across it and it is full of birds, mammals and I’m sure reptiles too. But I was there for birds and some mammals-a Pine Marten and Fisher were on our species list. No luck on the Fisher but as you can see we got the Pine Marten-you can read all about him by clicking on the photo. This post is about birds.
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Blue for sky . . . Brown for ground!
Blue for Sky!
No time to play with the new camera today . . . . the mission was to get my hair cut and get some groceries. Mission successful! To complete my mission, I had to travel to Jamestown and happen to find 5 Bonaparte Gulls flying along the Allegheny River (CHECK, first for 2008)! I also had someone new cut my hair because Andrea who typically cuts my hair just had a baby last week. I would like to say thanks to Barbara who did a wonderful job with my cut and small world . . . she’s also a bird watcher!! We talked birds and I passed along my blog address for her to view this site! Anyone notice how expensive eggs and orange juice is now days! Ugg . . .
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Click, click, click. . . !
Belted Kingfisher with the new Nikon D300
I got my new camera (Nikon D300) in the mail today and although it is the same . . . it is also very different from my older camera. The biggest difference is that I can’t edit my raw files with Photoshop CS2!! Grrrrr!!! I haven’t figured the raw editor that is offered from Nikon but from what I have seen online, it isn’t anything like Photoshop (big disappointment). I can’t update the editor plugin because Adobe doesn’t support CS2 anymore!! Uggg!! I am also having the same problems with my 400mm lens as I was having with the D70s!! I had hoped those problems would disappear with a new body (but it didn’t). Probably should have gotten a new lens before a new camera body!! O, well . . . with that said I absolutely LOVE the Nikon D300!!
Staghorn Sumac and Birds
American Robin about to feed on Staghorn Sumac
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) is a small tree with hairy twigs, hairy leave stalks and hairy fruit. The tree gets its name for the resemblance the branches have with deer’s antlers when the antlers are “in velvet”. The Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants says “American Indians used berries in cough syrups. Berry tea used for lung ailments. Gargled for sore throats and worms. Leaf tea used for sore throats, tonsillitis. Root or bark tea astringent; used for bleeding”. But do note they remind us; “Do not confuse Staghorn Sumac with Poison Sumac”!!!
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Annual Waterfowl Fieldtrip
Sleeping Bufflehead
Today the Cattaraugus County Bird Club had their Annual Waterfowl Fieldtrip along the Allegheny River and Conewango Wetland Area. We had a wonderful birding day with 53 species of birds and we survived glacial like temperatures!
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Fox Sparrows Arrived
Fox Sparrow photo from November 2007
I had my first Fox Sparrow at my bird feeder this evening (CHECK, first for 2008). I just knew it was only a matter of time until these amazing red/gray birds made their arrival into the area. I didn’t get a photo of them since it was cloudy/snowing and its was getting close to sunset! I expect to see them more of these Fox Sparrow over the next few weeks.
Timberdoodle [Video]
American Woodcock photo by Grace – April 2007
One of the easiest ways of finding the American Woodcock (aka Timberdoodle) is to take a trip into a wet meadow around dusk and then wait. Not long after the sun sets you will witness one the most amazing flight display of any of our birds here in the North East. The male Timberdoodle will do its peent call for about 10 or 15 minutes and then take flight into the sky in a circular direction! The American Woodcock has developed a unique flight feather that allows the bird to create a whistle sound when heading towards the sky! After 2 or 3 circles, the bird will return to the earth with the most beautiful lullabies that you will ever hear! Once it has returned to the same location in which it started . . . the American Woodcock will return in peenting again and then repeat its flight display until it’s too dark to see! Below is the video that I captured on Easter Sunday of their display here in Allegany State Park!
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Easter Sunday
My Easter Squirrel
I used my off day to spend a little time looking for birds before the family Easter dinner today. I woke up to some beautiful sun that was shining through my bedroom window and although temps were below freezing . . . I couldn’t have asked for a better day. Everything was wonderful except I just didn’t have what it took for any good pictures!
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Saturday Birding
Tundra Swan and Canada Goose
Mike and I went out to do some Saturday Birding over at Swamp Road in Randolph today. We were not disappointed with an outstanding array of waterfowl, which included: Tundra Swans, Canada Goose, Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Redhead Ducks, Bufflehead, Northern Pintails, Scaup species, Common Golden-eye, Ring-necked Duck and American Wigeon. Highlights of the day included a Red-bellied Woodpecker (CHECK), American Coot (CHECK) and Rough-legged Hawk (CHECK). All of which were first for 2008’s for me!
Mid March Waterfowl
Hooded Merganser
This morning I headed out with Mike D to find some mid March waterfowl that are moving through the area. Actually, it was more of a trip to enjoy nature and get a few birds checked off my year list. We ended up locating 39 species of birds and 8 of which were my first for 2008!
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Daytime Barred Owl [video]
A hunting Barred Owl in the Rain
This evening I went on a dusk birding trip for some Short-eared Owls within our county (with my birdclub friend Mike D.). This has been a fun project that we have been doing for many years and are never successful in finding any owls (of course). We went a little early this time to look for waterfowl (scouting for tomorrows trip) and came across this bird. We discussed this large bird we found and trying to decide if it was a Red-tailed Hawk or Rough-legged Hawk (something didn’t look right). We moved my truck for a better angle, pulled the spotting scope out and noticed this bird had dark eyes. Could this have been a Short-eared Owl?? Naaa just a Barred Owl!! Wait . . . it wasn’t even dusk yet??
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Raccoon Hike
Prints walking towards the sunset!
After work, Grace (aka Ninehtotoo5) and myself headed out to the France Brook area of Allegany State Park to enjoy a hike along the Snowmobile Trail. We quickly saw the Raven’s doing their courtship display and then heard the Red-shouldered Hawks screaming (CHECK) as if they showed up on cue. The truth is that we were after capturing a photo of this Buteo . . . which never really happened!! But we did capture some adorable Raccoon pictures.
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Wild Turkey [Wildlife Wednesday]
Wild Turkey in the corn field
I wanted to give the “Wildlife Wednesday” thing a try since Young Naturalist J started using it over on his blog. High five to his family for coming up with the great idea. Yesterday I located a huge flock of turkey along the side of the road while heading out to photograph the nesting Eagles. The Turkey were just clucking along and probably one of the largest flocks I have seen this year! Happy Wildlife Wednesday everyone!
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Our Nesting Eagles
An adult Bald Eagle on the Nest
I got a phone call from a birding friend that one of our Bald Eagle pairs started sitting on her nest last week. After work I jumped into my truck and headed over to see if I could find the nest again. The nest looked a little different from the last time I saw it because a windstorm damaged it last fall. After spending the winter rebuilding/repairing, the pair finally was able to get their eggs laid. Young should hatch in just over a month and the young will be fledging from the nest by mid July. I just love this time of the year.
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Nature Haiku [Poem]
Photo by Marg (thanks Marg)
Nature Haiku
Mockingbird at night
would disturb the universe
and sing forever
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Meadowlark
After this weekend’s big snowstorm that hit us, there is nothing like finding a burst of yellow to brighten our day. Obviously you can tell from my photos that I located my first Eastern Meadowlarks for 2008 (CHECK). Because of the fresh snow on the ground, these two birds were found along the road in areas that had been dug up by the snowplow. They were very skittish and any time a vehicle would pass. . . . they would spook and fly away. I just parked my vehicle on the side of the road and let the meadowlarks come to me (which they did).
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Fledged the Nest
An Ovenbird photo from 2006
It was only a matter of time till one of the Young Naturalist team members would fledge the nest and started their own Nature Blog!! The first to fledge was Young Naturalist J who is now doing “The Ovenbird”!!! Last summer I started getting him involved with this site and we have been working on learning code, ect… Then after I was falling behind with my birdQUIZ blog. . . . he decided to help out and get the blog back on track (which he did). With the excitement of many of our birds returning this summer and with him getting his new camera for Christmas . . . he was ready to start sharing “his” nature adventures with everyone!
So go check out “The Ovenbird”!
He is also a member of the and could use your views! (more…)
Mon@rch's Nature Blog 