Waterfowl Survey
Today I participated in the NYS DEC / NYSOA annual waterfowl survey. Each January a quarter of a million ducks are counted across New York State by bird clubs, state officials and your average birder. While out looking for ducks, we also participated in the National Winter Bald Eagle Survey that is conducted at the same time each year. The results of these two surveys will help determine the long-term monitoring of waterfowl and Eagle populations within New York State during the winter months.
Today was our target date for the waterfowl survey and the weather man wasn’t predicting the best of weather. There were predictions of freezing rain and lucky the whole morning the temps stayed above 36° F. But, we did have continued rain the whole day which made visibility extremely tough (and not great photos). I felt that the Eagles and Ducks were tucked in very tightly which resulted in our need to work harder in finding great birds.
|
2006 |
2007 |
|
| Bald Eagle |
8 |
1 |
| Canada Goose |
125 |
185 |
| Mallard |
89 |
96 |
| Black Duck |
7 |
3 |
| Common Merganser |
26 |
46 |
| Hooded Merganser |
2 |
3 |
| Bufflehead |
2 |
|
| Common Goldeneye |
|
1 |
| Long-tailed Duck |
|
1 |
| TOTAL DUCKS |
259 |
336 |
We had a total of 29 species observed (except Tim & Mike who heard a Titmouse which I missed because I was a little behind arriving). Highlights included the Northern Shrike (see photo below), Common Raven (displaying), American Coot, Long-tailed Duck and Common Goldeneye.
I am off to bed after this long day making me totally exhausted.
A few of my bird feeders
I got this squirrel proof feeder three years ago after my old barn feeder was chewed open by a Gray Squirrel. It didn’t take long before the squirrels tried every trick in book to steal those seeds from me. It was hilarious watching them with their continued failed attempts and I think the squirrels have finally given up trying. But, it didn’t take long before I learned that the feeder was not Raccoon or even Black Bear proof. Now I take the feeder down each night and place it back up in the morning. This is a wonderful bird feeder which I would recommend to anyone that has problems with Squirrels!
This is a lean-to feeder which allows birds to hide under it when eating their seeds. It was made by some friends who made it for me after I complemented how much I liked theirs. I have found that the sparrows, chickadees and dove species are the most commonly found birds using it.
This shelter allows the birds a safer location to feed from predators like the Sharp-shinned or Coopers Hawk.
Fancher Swimming Pool
Allegany State Park – History Flashback
The historic Fancher swimming pool was first opened to the public during the summer of 1926, which measured 40 x 100 feet.
During the spring of 1934 the Fancher pool was replaced by a larger concrete pool (50’ x 100’) built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The funding for the new pool came from the late Senator Albert T. Fancher who passed away on the 30th of July 1930. Senator Fancher was one of the main people who helped develop the park in the early 1920’s.
This pool is always remember by its freezing cold temperatures, its size and socializing destination point for many of the campers, locals and employees. The picture below is just one of the numerous post cards which focused on people swimming in the Fancher pool.
I have been told that some of the reasons the beach was closed was due to a newer beach being developed over on Quaker Lake, failure to be able to repair cracks and that the park couldn’t keep water in it fast enough. It was last used Labor Day weekend in September 1981. It was finally demolished and filled up with gravel during September 1985. This pool is the currently location of the Fancher Bath House over on the Quaker Side of Allegany State Park, NY.
If you remember swimming in this pool, please feel free to add comments about some of your memories. I will be adding posts from time to time on Allegany State Park’s historic flashbacks. These are historic pictures from Allegany State Park’s archives (I do not know the dates of these pictures).
Can birds learn?
Now you can officially accuse me of bring my nature studies into the office!! It started two summers ago when I placed a hummingbird feeder just outside my office window. Quickly these little green birdies started dazzling everyone by there charm and beauty. You never knew when someone was just outside my window taking pictures or video taping the 10 or so hummingbirds fighting for that perfect perch. Ultimately good things always come to an end and this happened when the hummingbirds decided to make their migration south for the winter. 
I found myself with a desire to bring nature back to the office again. Sunflower seeds were an excellent tool for inviting these birds back to my office and keeping me entertained. Birds like the Black-capped Chickadee, American Goldfinch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse and Dark Eyed Junco are now regular visitors of mine. But, who would have expected birds like the Pine Siskin, Downy Woodpecker or even the Purple Finch to make numerous occurrences in my office window! Last year I even had friends from Buffalo make the hour trip south for the “possibility” of seeing an Evening Grosbeaks in my office window!!
You wonder how these unusual visitors are able to learn where I have placed a small pile of sunflower seeds in an unusual location like a window frame on the 2nd floor? Well, those nosy chickadees arrived within the first day and probably were investigating the disappearance of the hummingbird feeders (they must have known that this was a bird friendly window). Other species started visiting the window after learning that somewhere these chickadees were getting sunflower seeds. The learning process didn’t stop here; believe me when I tell you it continues.
Towards the end of the season last year I started to hear some knocking sounds. I turned around and found this White-breasted Nuthatch doing something that I have never seen before.
The nuthatch would grab a seed and bring it over to the edge of the window. Then it would place it between the metal frame and wooded base of the window and …..
put its full body into cracking open the seed!!
After a few hits the nuthatch would pull the seed out and continue the process all over again (or until the bird got sick of having my face 2 feet from the window watching)! If the seed fell out, the nuthatch would drop instantly down (see its position) to catch the seed in mid air!!
Now, I would call this very clever of this nuthatch to have figured out how to crack open these seeds. Quickly those nosy chickadees learned that this nuthatch would leave leftovers in the frame which were already shelled from the seed. Soon those curious chickadee were also giving the window thing a try.
This year for the first time the Downy Woodpeckers started visiting the window!! Not one but I have identified three different individuals coming to my window (how do I know three?? One female was banded by me, another female is bandless and there is a bandless male coming around)!!
As you probably expected, these Downy Woodpeckers have also learned how to crack open their seeds from their “birding” piers!! I can’t help but visualizing that these birds had to sit in a class room (taught by the ovenbird) on “how to crack open a seed in Tom’s window”!! So, learning is something done by not only humans but by birds also! I would love to hear how others have noticed birds learning!!
Goofy Weather Goofy Animals
This year the El Niño weather in New York State has made this the most unusual winter than I can ever remember. It almost feels like a roller coaster with temperatures last week above average, this week average and then soon to be above average again next week. I have never experienced anything like this before and have started to wonder what effects this could have on our local animals?
You wouldn’t think that warm temperatures in January could affect our local butterfly communities this summer. Take a caterpillar that hatches from an egg in the early spring and takes advantage of the spring wildflowers, tree buds or even early leaf development. After constant warm temperatures in January the caterpillars could emerge extra early and now starve from not finding enough food. Numbers for that population could drop drastically overnight and take it numerous years before the population returns back to normal. Looking one step further, this could affect the migrant birds searching for food on their journey north, etc….
The Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) will winter in underground caves, sometimes hundreds of miles away from their nursery colonies. These nursery colonies are typically in buildings, hollow trees or even in bat boxes (which we have placed here in Allegany). While hibernating they will wake up every few weeks and fly around when warm near their wintering cave. So, how is this weather affecting Little Brown Bats?? Last Thursday I was asked to move this Little Brown who found itself in an unwanted location. We rarely find them in this area of the park until March at the earliest and I never expected to find this species here in January. They should be further south in Pennsylvania, but with warmer temperatures this year; they are able to survive closer to their nursery locations than they could in previous years. This could benefit the bats if temperatures stay good but if we get a cold spell it might make it harder for them to survive?? At this point it is hard to tell!
Photo by flickr friend annkelliott so please be sure to visit her photostream! Thanks for permission to use this picture!
In the northern latitudes the Long-tailed Weasel will go through a color change from its basic brown with (whitish – yellow) on its belly to its alternate color phase of all white except a little black tip on its tail. Annkelliott told me this interesting fact when I emailed her for permission to use her picture. She said “I found it interesting to read that the reason the Long-tailed Weasel has a black tip on its tail is so that for example, a hawk, would see the dark tip and grab that instead of the body, allowing the Weasel to escape”. With that in mind, you have these bright white weasels running around with no snow on the ground!! Predators like hawks, owls or even the fox can now easily see this prey from a good distance and reduce its chances for survival.
Good or bad the El Niño year is part of the life cycle and animals have survived years like this before! While some species are benefiting from the warmer temperatures; some could have their cycle disrupted and lose their life. Currently we are under a snow advisory with 6 inches of snow expected tonight. I can’t believe that just last week the average low temperature was 33°F and the average high was 49.6°F.
Sunday Birding
Today I forced myself to get outside and do a little birding for a few hours. I only wished that the sun was around longer!! But, I did enjoy myself and had some great birds show up.
I started off tottering around Wolf Run trying to explore the work done by the beavers this winter. With a lack of birds I figured it was time to head over to the Allegheny River and try to locate some Bald Eagles. Quickly 5 Bald Eagles were located gathering around something dead on the waters edge. Trying to focus the spotting scope better, I felt the hair on the back of my neck start to raise …. then turned around with a juvenal Bald Eagle flying over me. Lighting made it difficult but I was able to get in a few shots in before the bird disappeared into the trees. While getting back into my truck I was dazzled by 4 American Robins taking turns feeding on some sumac. I have been wondering were all my orange bellied friends have been hiding this winter. It is amazing how you have no birds all day and then surprise!
Once I made it back to Allegany, I spend some time searching Quaker Lake for some waterfowl. I only located a small raft of Hooded Mergansers and unsuccessfully searched the 100+ starlings for other blackbird species. Birds continued to be very quite in the France Brook area and then I finally hit a jackpot. There was a stunning pair of Common Mergansers and a Great Blue Heron hanging out at one of the Beaver ponds. Might not have been the best birding day but I just enjoyed getting out hiking around (and away from the computer for a little while).
BIRDS – My 2006 Nature Checklist
I decided to split up my 2006 Nature Checklist into 5 different categories; Butterflies & Skippers, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals and Birds! The birds are the next family of critters which I will be reporting on my findings here in 2006 in Western New York State. Since the list has 159 birds listed and so large, I decided to break it down to the 69 non-passerines and 90 passerines.
This has been such a fun year with the birds, I have NO idea where start and decided to leave everything up to the numerous pictures that I have taken! But, I would like to thank all of my volunteers and banding assistants who helped make this another successful year at the banding station.
Here is my list of non-passerines which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):
| 1. Canada Goose | 36. Red-shouldered Hawk |
| 2. Tundra Swan | 37. Broad-winged Hawk |
| 3. Woodduck | 38. Red-tailed Hawk |
| 4. Gadwall | 39. Rough-legged Hawk |
| 5. American Wigeon | 40. American Kestrel |
| 6. American Black Duck | 41. Merlin |
| 7. Mallard | 42. Peregrine Falcon |
| 8. Blue-winged Teal | 43. American Coot |
| 9. Northern Shoveler | 44. Killdeer |
| 10. Northern Pintail | 45. Greater Yellowlegs |
| 11. Green-winged Teal | 46. Spotted Sandpiper |
| 12. Ring-necked Duck | 47. Wilson’s Snipe |
| 13. Lesser Scaup | 48. American Woodcock |
| 14. Long-tailed Duck | 49. Bonaparte’s Gull |
| 15. Bufflehead | 50. Ring-billed Gull |
| 16. Common Goldeneye | 51. Herring Gull |
| 17. Hooded Merganser | 52. Great Black-backed Gull |
| 18. Common Merganser | 53. Rock Pigeon |
| 19. Red-breasted Merganser | 54. Mourning Dove |
| 20. Ring-necked Pheasant | 55. Black-billed Cuckoo |
| 21. Ruffed Grouse | 56. Yellow-billed Cuckoo |
| 22. Wild Turkey | 57. Eastern Screech Owl |
| 23. Common Loon | 58. Great Horned Owl |
| 24. Pied-billed Grebe | 59. Barred Owl |
| 25. Horned Grebe | 60. Northern Saw-whet Owl |
| 26. Red-necked Grebe | 61. Chimney Swift |
| 27. Double-creasted Cormorant | 62. Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
| 28. Great Blue Heron | 63. Belted Kingfisher |
| 29. Green Heron | 64. Red-bellied Woodpecker |
| 30. Turkey Vulture | 65. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
| 31. Osprey | 66. Downy Woodpecker |
| 32. Bald Eagle | 67. Hairy Woodpecker |
| 33. Sharp-shinned Hawk | 68. Northern Flicker |
| 34. Cooper’s Hawk | 69. Pileated Woodpecker |
| 35. Northern Goshawk | |
| . |
Here is my list of passerines which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):
| 70. Eastern Wood-pewee | 115. Magnolia Warbler |
| 71. Acadian Flycatcher | 116. Black-throated Blue Warbler |
| 72. Alder Flycatcher | 117. Yellow-rumped Warbler |
| 73. Willow Flycatcher | 118. Blackthroated Green Warbler |
| 74. Least Flycatcher | 119. Blackburnian Warbler |
| 75. Eastern Phoebe | 120. Yellow-throated Warbler |
| 76. Great Crested Flycatcher | 121. Pine Warbler |
| 77. Eastern Kingbird | 122. Prairie Warbler |
| 78. Northern Shrike | 123. Palm Warbler |
| 79. Blue-headed Vireo | 124. Blackpoll Warbler |
| 80. Red-eyed Vireo | 125. Cerulean Warbler |
| 81. Blue Jay | 126. Black-and-white Warbler |
| 82. American Crow | 127. American Redstart |
| 83. Common Raven | 128. Ovenbird |
| 84. Horned Lark | 129. Northern Waterthrush |
| 85. Tree Swallow | 130. Mourning Warbler |
| 86. Northern Rough-winged Swallow | 131. Common Yellowthroat |
| 87. Cliff Swallow | 132. Hooded Warbler |
| 88. Barn Swallow | 133. Canada Warbler |
| 89. Black-capped Chickadee | 134. Scarlet Tanager |
| 90. Tufted Titmouse | 135. Eastern Towhee |
| 91. Red-breasted Nuthatch | 136. American Tree Sparrow |
| 92. White-breasted Nuthatch | 137. Chipping Sparrow |
| 93. Brown Creeper | 138. Field Sparrow |
| 94. Carolina Wren | 139. Fox Sparrow |
| 95. House Wren | 140. Song Sparrow |
| 96. Winter Wren | 141. Swamp Sparrow |
| 97. Golden-crowned Kinglet | 142. White-throated Sparrow |
| 98. Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 143. White-crowned Sparrow |
| 99. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 144. Dark-eyed Junco |
| 100. Eastern Bluebird | 145. Northern Cardianl |
| 101. Veery | 146. Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
| 102. Gray-cheeked Thrush | 147. Indigo Bunting |
| 103. Swainson’s Thrush | 148. Bobolink |
| 104. Hermit Thrush | 149. Red-winged Blackbird |
| 105. Wood Thrush | 150. Eastern Meadowlark |
| 106. American Robin | 151. Common Grackle |
| 107. Gray Catbird | 152. Brown-headed Cowbird |
| 108. European Starling | 153. Baltimore Oriole |
| 109. Cedar Waxwing | 154. Purple Finch |
| 110. Blue-winged Warbler | 155. House Finch |
| 111. Nashville Warbler | 156. Pine Siskin |
| 112. Northern Parula | 157. American Goldfinch |
| 113. Yellow Warbler | 158. Evening Grosbeak |
| 114. Chestnut-sided Warbler | 159. House Sparrow |
| . |
I can’t wait to see what birds in 2007 will bring me.
MAMMALS – My 2006 Nature Checklist
I decided to split up my 2006 Nature Checklist into 5 different categories; Butterflies & Skippers, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals and Birds! The mammals are the next family of critters which I will be reporting on my findings here in 2006 in Western New York State. Most of these sightings are coming from mammals getting into my trash, destroying my banding nets or even trying to get into my house. But, on occasion I do come across those few individuals who are just remarkable in every way. I don’t plan on doing every species but here are just a few that I would like to share.
The most memorable mammals for the 2006 year was “marshmallow” the albino woodchuck. Without a doubt, marshmallow became the talk of Allegany and if not anything else, the most photographed mammal of the park this year. I always saw him drawing attention from our patrons who would have him approach while trying to having their picnic at the picnic grounds. He always would stick very close to the road and almost cause numerous accidents by individuals trying to get his picture! It was a sad day on the 11th of August when marshmallow ran into the road and was hit by a vehicle while marshmallow was trying to avoiding someone’s dog.
The bears obviously put on a show this year along with many other furry critters. Being able to visually identify the fisher with those strange screaming sounds at night was my most amazing find for the year. I have already decided that since I am unable to take its picture in 2006 that for 2007 I will be spending my time trying to record its vocalization. They have woken me out of a deep sleep numerous times this year and this time I will have the microphone always ready.
Raccoons are always fun to watch along with numerous deer that cross my path on a daily basis. Beavers being found in the window well are another unique situation that I never expected to be seen in 2006. Although, I didn’t identify any shrews or moles like in previous years. I also missed out in the Gray Fox and one of the Weasels which I occasionally find.
Here is my list of Mammals which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):
1. Eastern Chipmunk |
2. Northern Flying Squirrel |
3. Black Squirrel |
4. Gray Squirrel |
5. Fox Squirrel |
6. Red Squirrel |
7. Beaver |
8. Muskrat |
9. Porcupine |
10. Woodchuck |
11. Opossum |
12. Big Brown Bat |
13. Little Brown Bat |
14. Northern Long-eared Bat |
15. Black Bear |
16. Coyote |
17. Fisher |
18. Red Fox |
19. Mink |
20. Raccoon |
21. Eastern Striped Skunk |
22. White-tailed Deer |
23. Eastern Cottontail |
24. Deer Mouse |
25. House Mouse |
26. Meadow Jumping Mouse |
27. Meadow Vole |
28. White-footed Deer Mouse |
. |
I can’t wait to see what mammals in 2007 will bring me.
REPTILES – My 2006 Nature Checklist
I decided to split up my 2006 Nature Checklist into 5 different categories; Butterflies & Skippers, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals and Birds! Reptiles are the next family in my series of species that I have kept track of within Western New York State. I have also taken the Reptiles and split them up between Turtles (4) and Snakes (6).
Some turtle species like the Eastern Painted Turtle can be consistently found in the same area day after day. Then if you’re lucky you could find turtles which are more secretive and it then becomes blog worthy. Last spring I had one of these experiences with a snapping turtle that approached me while I was out in the water searching by flashlight for spring peepers. Suddenly I felt something hit my rubber boots and this large snapping turtle climbing over my foot. I quickly tried to grab it but within a blink of an eye it crawled under a clump of grass. I did my best to grab it but was out of reach and I did not want to loose any fingers. We had so much fun that night.
The next exciting day was on the 1st of June 2006 where I didn’t find one but two unusual turtle encounters. Earlier in the day we had a male Wood Turtle crossing one of the dirt roads here in Allegany. Each year I sometimes come across one or maybe two Wood Turtle here in Allegany. What was so exciting about this find was that this guy was in an area which I had never seen them in this area before. That wasn’t the highlight of the day, it came later heading into town to get some pizza. I found this female Snapper looking for a place to lay her eggs in the gravel. This Snapping Turtle was very laid back and surprisingly it allowed me to get very close for a few pictures! I quickly took a few shots and let her do her thing. I did return later in the evening to find that she had successfully crossed back across the road without any harm.
Then you have those unusual encounters where you find this strange thing stuck in the middle of the road (or bridge). In late July this happened to an Eastern Spiny Softshell and luckily a concerned individual safely removed it from being run over by passing vehicles. It happened to have gotten stuck in the middle of the bridge and couldn’t figure out how to get over the edge. You might wonder how I ended up getting involved; well this person placed this turtle into a bag and brought it to my office for me to identify for him (people bring me unusual presents all the time). Shocked by this unique find, I quickly knew what this funny looking turtle was a Softshell and that we needed to return it back to the lake. I found it amazing how quickly it dashed into the water once we released it.
Here is my list of Turtles which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):
| 1. Common Snapping Turtle | 3. Eastern Spiny Softshell |
| 2. Eastern Painted Turtle | 4. Wood Turtle |
| . |
This year I didn’t spent too much time looking for snakes and only really missed out on seeing the Eastern Milk Snake from my previous years checklist. The highlights this year had to have been seeing three Smooth Green Snakes. Typically I only find green’s squished on the road and rarely lucky enough to find them alive! While at the Audubon Nature Pilgrimage this year, Rex had two live ones that he had found (and let me hold one). Then in late June while leading a group of people into the Old Growth Forest we happen to find a Smooth Green in some of the vegetation. I think we also found a Garter that day and the walk quickly turned into a reptile talk. We released the snakes where we found them and continued back talking about forest ecology. It was one of those few times that I didn’t have my camera with me.
Regarding other species of snakes, the Northern Ring-neck Snake truly put on a show for me year. I found some tiny ones around the admin building and even found one while it was snowing out in October. I was successful this year in photographing a Northern Water Snake after numerous unsuccessful attempts throughout the summer. Common Garter snakes were just as common as always and can’t wait believe where they were being seen.
Here is my list of Snakes which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):
| 1. Northern Water Snake | 4. Eastern Garter Snake |
| 2. Brown Snake | 5. Northern Ring-neck Snake |
| 3. Red-bellied Snake | 6. E. Smooth Green Snake |
| . |
I can’t wait to see what reptiles in 2007 will bring me. Maybe even a Timber Rattlesnake??
AMPHIBIANS – My 2006 Nature Checklist
I decided to split up my 2006 Nature Checklist into 5 different categories; Butterflies & Skippers, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals and Birds! Amphibians are the next family in my series of species that I have kept track of within Western New York State. I have also taken the Amphibians and split them up between Salamanders (8) and Frogs (7).
This year I had hopes of finding a Hellbender or Long-tailed Salamander along the Allegany River Valley but just didn’t take the time to get out and find them. Maybe 2007 will bring me these two species as “lifer” yet alone 2007 Salamanders that I don’t normally find. I also didn’t take the time to head out to Audubon’s property to see any of the Four-toed Salamanders which I had done in years past.
The “Salamander Night” occurred on the 12th of March 2006 this year which is much earlier than I can ever remember in years past. There were no larger numbers of them migrating to the vernal pools this year but more scattered visits over the whole week (than just one night). If you have never heard of “Salamander Night”, it is the first “warm” rainy night in the spring where the Spotted Salamanders migrate to vernal pools to breed. Many other critters like Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers can also been seen on this big night as many of us naturalist brave the elements to assist these Salamanders in crossing the road’s (and not get squished).
Here is my list of Salamanders which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):
| 1. Red-spotted Newt | 5. Northern Slimy Salamander |
| 2. Northern Dusky Salamander | 6. Wehrle’s Salamander |
| 3. Allegany Dusky Salamander | 7. Spotted Salamander |
| 4. Red-backed Salamander | 8. Spring Salamander |
This was a wonderful year for me taking Frog pictures and I was able to capture all 7 species of frogs that I had seen this year! I was most proud of capturing my first ever “pictures” of a Bullfrog and Pickerel Frog. I wasn’t that successful in finding any Gray Treefrogs within the Allegany State Park area (the one species which I missed out on this year). I did see someone’s pet gray but they don’t count for my list! As most know, I have fallen in love with the Gray Treefrog ever since I first saw them in Michigan many years ago. Next years goal is finding this species here in the park (which they have been recorded vocalizing in years past). Expect the blog world to be woken up with my excitement when that happens!
Here is my list of Frogs which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):
| 1. American Toad | 5. Northern leopard Frog |
| 2. Spring Peeper | 6. Pickerel Frog |
| 3. Bullfrog | 7. Wood Frog |
| 4. Green Frog |
I can’t wait to see what amphibians in 2007 will bring me.
BUTTERFLIES – My 2006 Nature Checklist
I decided to split up my 2006 Nature Checklist into 5 different categories; Butterflies & Skippers, Amphibians, Reptiles, Mammals and Birds! I would like to start this series with my 45 Butterfly & Skipper species found within Western New York State. There is no doubt that my 2006 numbers are slightly lower than previous years and this is primarily due to it raining every weekend from Late July through Columbus weekend in October. The rain kept me from getting out in the field each weekend and shortened the amount of time which adults were able to be located flying around during the late summer/fall months.
Here is my list of Butterflies and Skippers which I have listed in taxonomic order by common name (I would be happy to send you their Latin name for any species in question):
|
1. Black Swallowtail |
16. Meadow Fritillary |
31. Common Ringlet |
|
2. E. Tiger Swallowtail |
17. Pearl Crescent |
32. Comm Wood-Nymph |
|
3. West Virginia White |
18. Baltimore Checkerspot |
33. Monarch |
|
4. Cabbage White |
19. Question Mark |
34. Silver-spotted Skipper |
|
5. Clouded Sulphur |
20. Eastern Comma |
35. Dreamy Duskywing |
|
6. Orange Sulphur |
21. Gray Comma |
36. Juvenal Duskywing |
|
7. American Copper |
22. Mourning Cloak |
37. C. Checkered Skipper |
|
8. Striped Hairstreak |
23. American Lady |
38. Least Skipper |
|
9. Eastern Tailed Blue |
24. Red Admiral |
39. European Skipper |
|
10. Spring Azure |
25. White Admiral |
40. Indian Skipper |
|
11. Summer Azure |
26. Red-spotted Purple |
41. Peck’s Skipper |
|
12. G. Spangled Fritillary |
27. Viceroy |
42. Long Dash |
|
13. Aphrodite Fritillary |
28. Northern Pearly-eye |
43. Hobomok Skipper |
|
14. Atlantis Fritillary |
29. Eyed Brown |
44. Dun Skipper |
|
15. Silver-bordered Fritillary |
30. Little Wood-Satyr |
45. Pepper n Salt Skipper |
My first butterflies were located on the 11th of April with 4 Eastern Comma’s and 1 Mourning Cloak along Bay State Road. My peak of butterflies observed was 22 species within 3 hours on the 21st of July 2006. In past years I have broken 30 species within a day’s time.
Even with this strange weather, there were a few butterfly highlights which I could not forget to report! The first had to be relocating a Baltimore Checkerspot on the 13th of July. This is the first which I have seen these guys flying around since 2002. I also enjoyed photographing the Common Checkered Skipper over at the Jamestown Audubon on the 10th of September 2006. The Silver-bordered Fritillary’s were wonderful while spending the day with Jeremy Martin on a flickr get-together at the Zaepfel Nature Sanctuary. My last memory was raising and releasing so many Monarch Butterflies this year for their migration south!
I can’t wait to see what butterflies in 2007 will bring me.
American Coot
To someone that doesn’t normally get to see the American Coot, I truly enjoyed myself watching them as if they were a rare bird! Of course, they are not that rare and when they do show up they don’t let me to photograph them like what I captured here. Lucky we found two individuals that let us sneak up on them and watch them feeding around the docks. It was soo cute; they were slowly bopping up and down in the water looking for some vegetation to eat! Sibley stated that they floated like a cork! I could see that for sure with these birds!
When I first saw them, I couldn’t figure out what the heck they were doing! Then I realized that they were picking the vegetation growing along the dock’s edge! But, not all of the coots that we saw were feeding on the docks edge. A good majority of them were feeding on some kind of vegetation (probably seaweed of some kind) or maybe some small fish. I just couldn’t get enough of these American “cutes” and I just had to make them their own post!
Such an interesting bird, wish they would come inland more!
Lake Erie Birding
As, I had mentioned in my previous post! I spent the day with Jordon birding along Lake Erie in Chautauqua County, NY. I wanted to try to add a few birds to my 2006 year list. We had lots of fun trying to identify many duck spots that even the spotting scopes couldn’t help bring in closer. Lighting wasn’t the best but we did get a few good looks of some waterfowl that cooperated. Highlight of the day had to be two Red-necked Grebes that we had at one of our pull over areas.
We also enjoyed watching the Hooded Mergansers and American Coots feeding in-between the docks. It was nice to closely approach them without too much startling. We also came across some Greater Scaup and A Belted Kingfisher around the dock area which I never expected to find.
Here is my list of birds that we saw which isn’t in any particular order.
Bufflehead – 16, Common Goldeneye – 12, Great Black-backed Gull – 52, Common Merganser – 14, Red Breasted Merganser – 5, *Red-necked Grebe – 2, Horned Grebe – 6, American Crow ~, Common Grackle – 1, Double-crested Cormorant – 82, Herring Gull ~, Ring-billed Gull ~, Mallard ~, Black Duck – 1, Canada Goose ~, Pied Billed Grebe – 4, *American Coot – 50, Hooded Merganser – 57, Belted Kingfisher – 1, Greater Scaup – 7,
* My first for my 2006 list and in a few days, the list starts all over again!
Great Black-backed Gull
It has been a few weeks since I have gone out and done some real birding. I ended up taking the day off of work and took this opportunity to have Jordon show me around to some of his favorite birding spots. So, today I was up along Lake Erie with the hopes of adding a few species to my 2006 year list(which I did do). I will post our results tomorrow once I get a chance to edit more photos.
The Great Black-backed Gull’s was a species that I have been dieing to photograph for some time and never expected to find some putting on a show for us. Luckily we found a few of these guys right along the road fighting over a fish. I figured they deserved their own posting and as you can see I was very happy with how these shots turned out.
They are easily identified by their black back and one of our largest gulls seen around the Great Lakes. They have a very deep voice and these guys made me wish I had my sound recording equipment on me to get a recording.
I am soo glad that I wasn’t that fish they kept on fighting over.
My 2006 blogging review of this site
There is always that one moment in your life when something happens and your life is turned upside down! This could be your first up close encounter of that colorful small bird. You then find yourself becoming a birdwatcher within a matter of seconds. You remember those brown streaks down its body as clearly and those mini sideburns on its head. That’s right “how could I have forgotten its bright yellow ball cap on its head”?? You’re then looking through a line up of birds in your new field guide trying to figure out what it could be? Well, this Chestnut-sided Warbler wasn’t the bird that started my new love of blogging but a Black Bear visiting my bird feeder is what did me in!
For as long as I live, I will never forget my heart pumping almost 100 miles per/hour and this bears trashy mildew smell following it (the original post can be seen HERE). Yes, I have come across bears on numerous occasions but this one encounter was very special! It was me and the bear eye-to-eye and I had never been so scared in my life! Luckily I was able to capture a few photos before my neighbors dog started barking.
This was a time period which I had started visiting some of my flickr friends blogs and something just clicked that this would be a great experience to share through a blog? I find myself 6 months after starting this blog and excited that this will be my 100th post here on “Mon@rch’s Nature Blog”. I can’t believe how quickly time has gone by and I never would have expected to have so much to say to everyone.
I guess this is the perfect opportunity to reflect on a few of my favorite post from 2006 which I think you should go back and revisit again (or visit for the first time).
Back in August we rescued this Beaver who somehow got trapped in one of the Administration Buildings window wells. This is something that I could have never imagined having to save but there is no doubt that this has to be my all time favorite post for 2006. To see more go to: Is that a …. Your kidding me …
My saddest post for 2006 would have to be the loss of “Marshmallow” the albino woodchuck who everyone in the park tried to see but still fell in love with. This poor little thing lost its life when given the option of challenging a dog or taking its chances with a vehicle. To see more go to: It’s not my fault that I am a mutant!
My most proud moment of 2006 was when the kids and I were able to complete our two day adventure backpacking along the North Country Trail. We started from my house and hiked to the kid’s parent’s campsite. To see more go to: Day 1 and Day 2
I think one of the most interesting discovery I had for 2006 was the young Woodturtle we found that had a broken shell. To be honest, that whole day was fun discovering wildflowers, herps, birds, ect… but this Woodturtle is a critter that I think about all the time. To see more go to: Young Woodturtle
There is no doubt that I banded many wonderful birds this season. I also had an amazing year banding the Northern Saw-whet Owls and documenting each day on this blog. But, I have to give this Barred Owl the award for my largest bird banded in 2006. To see more go to: An unusual visitor at the banding station
Lycopodium by Maxwell C. Wheat is such a wonderful poem and one that I have been thinking about using for Christmas for quite a while now. I have to give this post the award for the longest planned blog for 2006. Do expect more poems by Max to be posted here in 2007. To read the poem go to: Lycopodium
There were so many posts in this blog that I wanted to include but I needed to keep it down to only a few of my all time faves! So, please take the time to review the others from 2006 and I would love to hear which post were your favorites.
Might 2007 bring many wonderful things to blog and Happy New Year to everyone!
Lycopodium
Lycopodium
by Maxwell C. Wheat, Jr.
They are the elves’ Christmas trees
Grandfather would say
of Ground Pine and Cedar
Once in the sun I laid on snow
eye level to see colored lights and bulbs
the size of frozen dew drops
They are lycopodiums, he’d say
teaching me again to pronounce the name
because scientific words have the sounds of poetry
Lie-ko-po-dee-um
You’ve got it, he’d laugh
his hearty red face broadening behind his white beard
his abundant frame rollicking
When I return home for the holidays
I always walk back to our woods
think of Grandfather assuring a small boy
Yes,I’ll see that the elves have a happy Christmas
I am glad lie-ko-po-dee-um is evergreen
Used by permission All rights reserved
Wheat, M.C. Jr. (2000) Following Their Star – Poems of Christmas and Nature. Cow Meadow Promotions. p.27
winter solstice triggers changes in the birds
In the Northern Hemisphere the Winter Solstice officially occurs on the 21 st of December at exactly 7:20pm EST. At this point the sun will reach the Tropic of Capricorn making this the shortest day of the year. Here in Allegany State Park, NY we will have just over 9 hours of sunlight which I plan on celebrating by catching up on my sleep. We will begin to increase daylight hours until the Summer Solstice on the 21 st of June when the sun reaches the Tropic of Cancer. That is when I will be celebrating with very little sleep due to looking for many birds and butterflies.
It shouldn’t be too long before the birds start courting each other and being their nesting. Yep, I said that the birds will begin nesting here soon! By mid to late January there will be Great Horned Owls sitting low in an old hawk nest or they could even be in a squirrel nest. Mid February you can expect our Bald Eagles to be busy adding sticks to their nest and then sitting low through numerous snowstorms that will hit us. Ravens will disappear in the top of a hemlock tree deep in the forest with only a few occurrences of that bone-stuck-in-their-throat sound. Once groundhogs day arrives many of our songbirds will show changes in their behaviors with their songs being a common occurrence. Red-shouldered Hawks will be displaying high in the sky and Bluejays will be tricking me with their mimicking of numerous hawk species. Once warblers arrive, most male birds will have their testosterone at their highest levels and territory lines will be laid out. O, how spring is my favorite time of the year!!
Summer Solstice will be here in no time and I will then be discussing their fledging of nestlings and preparation of migrating south for the winter. How time flies when having fun with the birds.
White-Blue Peacock
White-Blue Peacock, originally uploaded by chi liu.
Isn’t this an amazing photo of this half white and half blue peacock? Saw this today on flickr and thought this would be perfect to add to the blog! No photoshop was used on this bird, it is the real thing! Would love to hear what you think about it!
Sorry that I haven’t posted anything recently, I have been quite busy doing the holiday thing and currently my truck is being inspected, ect… gives me little time to travel around the park.
Regarding nature related things going on; Sunday December 17th, 2006 we had both Big Brown Bats and what looked like Northern Long-eared Bats still out and about. It was fun watching them flying up and down the road in search of insects. I would have expected them to be in hibernation already but with this mild winter…… I guess anything is possible! For sure this has been the latest in the year that I have seen any bats species flying around.
Last nights walk around the lake brought some fun activity with a Northern Cardinal. I took my Audubon squeakier with me and they came right up to me! Of course, too dark to try to take any pictures, so I just enjoyed the moment! Besides that, everything has been very quite outside.
Along the Allegheny River during the CBC
After working in section 3 during our Christmas Bird Count last Saturday, I ran into Tim starting the second part of his section along the Allegheny River. I was excited to join him and I just knew that being down along the river that I would be doubling my species (as I did).
We hiked through the riparian old field with hopes of waterfowl or anything else unusual!! Of course it was unusually quite with no birds!! Then, as we were getting closer to our vehicle we heard a flurry of birds! Hard to decide which way to look first – over there it’s a woodpecker! Quickly we identified it as a male Red-bellied Woodpecker – cool!! We were able to check off; 5 Black-capped Chickadee – 2 Blue Jay – White-breasted Nuthatch – Downy Woodpecker – 2 Hairy Woodpeckers!! Wonderful – there is not just one but a pair of Cardinals! It is about time that the birds started getting good!! Then, we come across another woodpecker! Isn’t that the Red-bellied?? We discuss how we saw it fly away – could it be the same bird?? Nope, female – red only on back side of its head! Another check – 2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers!
It is funny how within a matter of seconds we are finding all these birds together where we were hiking in very suitable habitat for an hour without a single peep. During the winter months, there are many birds that almost seem to follow the chickadees around as if they were the pied piper. Why might you ask? Hard to tell but these birds are working together as a team with each bird filling a different ecological nitch. As the nuthatch is looking under the bark, the chickadee is at the end of the branches and cardinals are feeding on the seeds on the ground – ect… It is easier to work together as a team than when by yourself! This can also be true as humans who have different skills. Next time you’re out birdwatching this winter, just check out the chickadees and I bet there will be other birds flying around with them.
As we changed directions along the Allegheny, we come across many other wonderful birds like the White-throated Sparrows, Tree Sparrows, Red-tailed Hawk, and even a Great Blue Heron! But, what I truly enjoyed was exploring this section of the river without 2 feet of snow on the ground. We saw many mussels on the river bottom and could have almost picked up this Bald Eagle bait (I think it’s a sucker) along the rivers edge. It was reinsuring this river system is doing so well after seeing all this out in the field after discussing the Upper Allegheny River Basin at the Nature Conservancy meeting last week.
While avoiding stepping on the numerous Skunk Cabbage plants poking out of the ground, we had a wonderful afternoon. Although the birds didn’t appear as we had anticipated but we saw a wonderful diversity of wildlife along the Allegheny River. I would love to see this area during the summer months.
Did the Christmas Bird Count Today
Today I participated in the 57th Saint Bonaventure Christmas Bird Count or also known as the 107th Audubon Count. Tonight the group reflected the past 57 years in counting birds in this circle. I learned that Dr. Eaton has participated in every St. Bonaventure count since he started it back in 1950. He told us that “back in the early years that they would be happy with 20 species of birds”. Over time they slowly increased their numbers which currently averages around 50 species. With low numbers this year we found ourselves discussing better optics and other ways to increase our numbers (like taking a boat down the Allegheny River).
My day started today in section 3 with an American Kestrel stirring up 70 European Starlings. I then hiked through the woods for an hour with only a handful of chickadees. Hmm, so is this what the day is going to be like?? Quickly I learned that this year we needed to work for our birds but working hard would result in good birds!! I did have many new finds for my section and satisfied in the total numbers of birds that I observed.
The Cattaraugus County Bird Club as a team recorded 40 species and individually counted 3026 different birds. I was able to see 28 of those 40 species in 2 of the 6 sections within the circle. These numbers are much lower than our typical 50 species days from years past. I would have to believe that these numbers are low because of the unusual warmer temperatures and I can’t wait to see how other circles have or will do this season.
In between counting birdies, I did find many photographing opportunities but for most of the morning I was having all kinds of problems with my camera. Ever try taking pictures with a 400mm lens with it manually set on F22 ? When the sun came out, most everything was strongly washed out due to the auto ISO requiring it to be set on 1600. It wasn’t until I completed section 3 and move over to section 1 that I realized my F stops were so high!! I missed some very close encounters of a Golden Crowned Kinglet showing its colors on his head. I also missed out on numerous Sparrows and Chickadees that came close to investigating my pishing. The only picture which I would say was acceptable to publish was this Common Merganser. A good rule of thumb is once your camera is working again, the birds will not cooperate like this White-breasted Nuthatch mooning us.
I will include all 28 species that I saw in the comments box. I can’t wait to see how everyone else did.
St Bonaventure Christmas Bird Count
This Black-capped Chickadee is counting its seeds at the feeder! Tomorrow I will be counting the birds during the 107th Christmas Bird Count in the Saint Bonaventure circle here in Cattaraugus County, NY. I have been doing this circle since 1994 and been doing section 3 for the past 8 maybe 9 years now. After the count we all have dinner together to discuss who had the best birds of the day.
If you would like to participate in a count near you, please visit this “Audubon CBC” site. Stay tuned to hear what birds we end up finding in this circle.
Late December Bat
I took a quick walk around Red House Lake this evening with temperatures around 50 degree’s. Things really seemed like spring weather. Snow has mostly melted away and half of the lake has already started thawing out. We are only lacking the singing birds and spring time butterflies. I did find something unique though. To my memory, I have never seen a Big Brown Bat flying around looking for food this time of the year. This winter is starting to become a very interesting season!
Upper Allegheny Basin Workshop
Recently I have been involved in a two day workshop sponsored by the Nature Conservancy and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. They have brought together many scientist, universities, governmental partners and natural resource professionals to assist in putting together an in depth conservation plan for the Upper Allegheny River Basin.
This was the second of four workshops scheduled for completing this plan. This workshop was focused on establishing the threats of the Upper Allegheny Basin. Back in April 2006, they had their first workshop and kicked everything off by bringing everyone together for the Allegheny Biodiversity Symposium. I presented an oral paper on the Changing Butterfly Fauna in Allegany State Park and one of 50 papers/posters presented that day. I felt honored to be involved in this important long-term conservation plan for the Allegheny River System and can’t wait to see the finished product.
Evening Birdwatching
Tonight a few of us from the Cattaraugus County Bird Club went in search of the Short-eared Owl! It has been a few years since anyone has recorded them within the county and I would like to add them to my county list. In years past we have traveled to see these birds in the neighboring counties. I still remember that one owl in Genesee County that landed on a telephone pole right next to our vehicle. It would hunt the field right next to us and then return back to that same pole. If only I had my camera on me!! Then there were those 5 or 6 Short-eared Owls in Niagara County that decided to roost in someone’s Christmas decorated shrubs right next to their house. They looked like very large ornaments but these ornaments would disappear one by one once it got dark. I now wonder what we might encounter here in Cattaraugus County?
We started the adventure in an area heavily population by the Amish because they have what we think is the Short-eared Owl’s preferred hunting habitat (hay stacks, large open fields and fence post). Early evening we located our first of the seasons Northern Shrike and light phased Rough-legged Hawk (sorry about the picture below, it was quite a distance away). I hope that in the next few months that I will see more of them and get some better pictures to post.
About 20 minutes before dusk, Tim saw an accipiter in the tree which we needed to investigated closer. It was spooked and as soon as it took flight we were confident that it was an immature Coopers Hawk. But, what we didn’t expect was that it would be chased by another bird of prey. Tim was outside the vehicle with a better view and asked if we had seen the Merlin!! Mike and I quickly jumped out of the vehicle and said, “Merlin”?? Tim pointed to the tree that it was sitting in (photo below) and became very excited. After we all got some wonderful looks we tried to get closer and of course it took flight again. We tried to follow it but the Merlin disappeared while chasing some starlings. I strongly cropped this picture to make it full framed but the picture of it in flight shows its field marks better. This is a species who’s population in this area have been increasing over the past few years and could be our first winter record for this bird. No doubt that it was the best bird of the night.
Obviously we didn’t find any Short-eared Owls but we did had a fun trying. I will be attending a workshop organized by The Nature Conservancy for the next few days. I am not sure when I will be able to update the blog again but I promise to put some good stuff on here soon.
Mon@rch's Nature Blog 