Snow for Mary
Yesterday evening we had 6 more visitors (people) at the Northern Saw-whet Owl banding station here in Allegany State Park. I was lucky to have Young Naturalist J here to help with banding the 5 owls we captured and he will continue to be around for tonight’s banding (if the weather allows). Read the rest of this page »
Pine Siskin and Common Redpoll (Feb 2004)
I woke up and found a Common Redpoll feeding with a flock of American Goldfinch this morning! OMG – that was my first for the year Redpoll (CHECK)! I think it has been since the winter of 2003-04 since I have seen one of these guys and there it was sitting on my birdfeeder! (THINK TOM) I quickly scattered to get my camera and of course it flew away just as I was pulling my camera up to take its picture!! So, after getting my hair cut . . . I spent the day trying to capture a picture of that Redpoll! Read the rest of this page »
Phoebe watching Cat TV
Being off from work this week has allowed me to spend some valuable time watching Cat TV with my kitties. They needed some bonding time and “they” say I have been ignoring them past few months. I figured I could take this opportunity to watch for winter finches that everyone “else” has been seeing (and not been to my feeders yet). Read the rest of this page »
This tiny Fungus has nearly wiped out all of the American Chestnut Trees
Osprey in flight (from March 2007)
Birds use the ability to fly for finding food, escaping from predators and even migrating to areas that can better support them when there are fewer resources available. Obviously their feathers are not permanent to their body and they need to replace their older (worn) feathers with new (sturdy) feathers. The molting (loosing and growing new feathers) patterns on the wing of the bird can help us banders understand the age of the bird (well sometimes). Read the rest of this page »
What is wonderful about watching birds is that you can enjoy them anywhere you go in the world and you can also enjoy them in multiple ways! I have some friends who are just backyard birders and they just want to be sociable with others. Then I have those friends who are “listers” and will travel multiple miles just to see one species of bird that accidentally shown up in their state. Most birders fit somewhere between those two extremes and of course I am not sure where I fit!! I spent multiple months studying them via the Ornithological side (which is more the job side of birding) but I do enjoy the sociable and recreational side of birding (which is the fun side of birding). It seems like the Ornithological side always gets in the way when I am just trying to enjoy the bird around me. This is exactly what happened to me today!
Eagle photo from my spotting scope!.
Photo by Young Naturalist J.
We had another busy night at the Northern Saw-whet Owl banding station here in Allegany State Park. We had a fellow birdbander and 3 others from the Allegheny National Forest visit us this evening. They were able to see 2 of our Saw-whet Owls being banded and then be released (before heading home). We also had Sarah from Jamestown Audubon visit for most of the evening (and she was able to see 4 of the birds)! I tried to convince her to stay later but she needed to head home. I know that she made the right decision since we did not catch anything again until the wee hours of the night. It has been wonderful with so many visitors visiting the banding station this week. Read the rest of this page »
Young Naturalist J glad to be banding again!!
We had more visitors at the Northern Saw-whet Owl banding station this evening than owls! I need to high-five Grace 🙂 for helping locate our 70th bird of the season (in the mist net) and then allowing me to barrow a book that I need to read. Mike and Terry decided to head home early after banding our first 2 fluff balls (thanks for visiting). Grace left only minutes before we captured our 3rd bird and then recaptured the 2nd bird again (The owl must be net happy). Read the rest of this page »
Kids smiling for moms picture!
I had some smiling little visitors at the Northern Saw-whet Owl banding station tonight. I expected a “big” night with North-West winds but was only able to banded 3 different individual owls. Not sure why the other evening I captured 4 individuals with southern winds?? I assume science will just keep us guessing with unexpected answers! At least our future birders were happy and of course they didn’t want to head home!! Dad promised they could come back again before the end of the season. Read the rest of this page »
Welcome to the mon@rch nature blog and I hope you join us in some of our nature adventures through the Allegany State Park area!
I am a naturalist, field biologist and nature photographer from the Western New York area. I have started exploring nature writing through this blog and it truly has been fun sharing my numerous adventures with everyone. Thanks to the many other authors that help me with my post and they will be sharing some of their nature explorations.
I have always had a latent interest in birds and photography and have been lucky enough to find time to explore these interests over the last few years. I am very thankful to the Cattaraugus County Bird Club for getting me started, sharing their wealth of knowledge and for their wonderful programs. And many thanks to Tom for letting me share some of my adventures and photos on the Monarch Nature Blog.
Thank you for taking the time visiting and commenting on this blog.
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