Mon@rch's Nature Blog

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Turning 10 isn’t easy for a cat!

I can remember the day at the SPCA when we found Phoebe sitting alone in a cage! She was the size of my palm of my hand and such a loveable little kitten! I mostly remember her large eyes and very fluffy hair. Of course, coming from the SPCA she had the repertory pneumonia and very sick. The Vets said that if she had been brought to the veterinary clinic a day or two later that she probably would not have survived (she was that sick). I remember sitting in her “sick cat room” and watching the first reports about Princess Dianna crashing in the tunnel. From that point we have always consider Phoebe as a princess in the honor of Princess Dianna!! Read the rest of this page »

Posted by mon@rch | 12 June 2007 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: et al.., Pets | 19 Comments

A day of relaxing!

The female Long Dash was quickly flapping her wings and attracting the male.

Today I spent the day catching up on things I have been neglecting for a while!! Some of these things included sleep, things around the house, spending time with the cats and some time with the family. It was too nice of a day not to enjoy the outside, so I took a quick walk down into the Wolf Run area of Allegany State Park to search for Butterflies (which I have also been neglecting). Read the rest of this page »

Posted by mon@rch | 10 June 2007 | Categories: Allegany State Park, bugs, Butterflies, Flickr, Nature | Tags: checklist, discovery, Fun, Hiking | 10 Comments

NYS Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey (Odonata)

Twelve-spotted Skimmer and group

Today was the Western New York training session for the New York Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey which has been organized by the NYS Natural Heritage Program. Funds for this project have come from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services State Wildlife Grants Program which is administered by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. This year’s training session was held at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute and is the same location where the training was held two years ago. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by mon@rch | 9 June 2007 | Categories: bugs, Dragonfly, Flickr, Nature | Tags: checklist, discovery, Fun | 19 Comments

Great Outdoors Program

group learning

Me with the kids!

This Thursday and Friday the recreation department here in Allegany State Park hosted the Great Outdoors Week program for almost 300 kids from 5 different school districts.

Smiles

The excitement of releasing a hummingbird!

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Posted by mon@rch | 8 June 2007 | Categories: Allegany State Park, Bird Banding, Birds, Flickr, Kids, Nature, Ornithology, Science | Tags: discovery, Fun | 14 Comments

Evening Birding

The group looking for the Yellow-throated Warbler

Last night I joined the “Birding Across the Chautauqua –Allegany Region” field trip to Allegany State Park. This was their 3rd fieldtrip which focused on the birds during the evening and nighttime hours, especially owls!! This field trip is sponsored by the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Jamestown Audubon Society and the Pfeiffer Nature Center. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by mon@rch | 8 June 2007 | Categories: Allegany State Park, Birds, Flickr, Nature, Ornithology | Tags: discovery, Fun, Hiking, spiders | 4 Comments

Opening of the SWAT Station

First bird caught at the SWAT station – Gray Catbird!

Today (Wednesday) was the very first day of banding at the SWAT – MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) banding station. I had to reschedule it after a storm had moved through on Monday morning and I felt bad about rescheduling since a few birding friends were willing to help me out with the banding (since I didn’t know how many birds that I would catch). So I ended up banding alone today. Temperatures ranged from 41F to 58F and we did have a very brief shower around 9am. It had been foggy all morning and the sun didn’t peak out until 10:30am.

. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by mon@rch | 6 June 2007 | Categories: Allegany State Park, Bird Banding, Birds, Flickr, Nature, Ornithology, Science, SWAT Station | Tags: discovery, Fun | 24 Comments

Five Baby Chickadees!

The Black-capped Chickadee is a common and widespread resident who visits our bird feeders. Then you find yourself very excited since one of these cute chickadees is using a nest boxes of yours. Young naturalist C had this happened and was so excited to tell me about her new resident. BTW: This is the chickadee nest that I posted as Cute Wordless Wednesday and thought she did such a wonderful job documenting their birth that she deserved another posting!

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Posted by mon@rch | 6 June 2007 | Categories: Bird Banding, Birds, Flickr, Nature, Ornithology, Science | Tags: discovery, Fun | 26 Comments

Allegany Post by Others

Having some problems with the post I had planned! SORRY! So, here are a few other blog post that I have found that are related to the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage that everyone should check out :

Biological Ramblings – You must see the amazing herps that he found here in Allegany!

A Passion for Nature – Jen had such a wonderful time that I rarely saw her!

Dragonfly Eye – Jeremy is amazing with the Dragonflies! Just check out the Dflies he found! Hint (Common Sanddragon)

Life in the Bristolwood was a blog that I found via a google search!

Jeff – How cool, found also in the google search and Jeff attended my Old Growth Walk! Would have commented but not a my space member.

Bill of the Birds – who was our Saturday evening speaker! Heck, he’s BT3 what else can I say!

While you are catching up on the recent Allegany Nature Pilgrimage post, I will figure out what went wrong with the post I had planned!! BTW: Wednesday morning I am doing my rescheduled SWAT – MAPS banding that was canceled due to he rain on Monday. Expect many more great up close banding photos!

Posted by mon@rch | 5 June 2007 | Categories: Allegany State Park, Birds, bugs, Butterflies, Dragonfly, Frog, Kids, Mammals, Nature, Salamander, Science, Snake, Wildflowers | Tags: discovery, Fun, Hiking, Lecture, moth | 1 Comment

First Day of Banding

Sunday started our 7th season of banding over at the CLDC – MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) banding station. We were concerned over the weather remnants of “Barry” who got close enough that we almost had to close the station down early (due to the rain/thunder). Although we were lucky given that the thunderstorm passed just to the east of us and we received only a few rain drops. Temperatures ranged from 59F to 78F and everyone commented on how humid it was. It was cloudy for most of the morning and I think it was almost 11:00am once the sun finally start to peak through. Read the rest of this page »

Posted by mon@rch | 4 June 2007 | Categories: Bird Banding, Birds, CLDC Station, Flickr, Kids, Nature, Ornithology, Science, Weather | Tags: discovery, Fun | 14 Comments

Allegany Nature Pilgrimage

This weekend was the 49th annual Allegany Nature Pilgrimage held here in Allegany State Park. This is my 12th year attending the pilgrimage and my 9th year as a trip leader. This year I was asked to lead two “Old Growth Forest Hikes” into the Big Basin area. I tried to show everyone a few different forest types so that everyone could have a better understanding of how an older growth forest operates. The two groups I took on the walk were wonderful and I had an opportunity to show the old growth forest to 67 different individuals.

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