I just saw a Blue Heron flapping it's way over my back yard. Anyone know if they overwinter here? I don't recall seeing any others over the winter. I read one article that says they winter in Central America or northern South America, but I also saw a migratory map that listed NY as a year round habitat?
Any birders out there with info?
I'm not sure. Maybe you went to these sites already.Originally Posted by cookie
I just saw a Blue Heron flapping it's way over my back yard. Anyone know if they overwinter here? I don't recall seeing any others over the winter. I read one article that says they winter in Central America or northern South America, but I also saw a migratory map that listed NY as a year round habitat?
Any birders out there with info?
Wikipedia says the northern birds do
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blue_Heron
but Birdwed says no.
http://birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=41
this one says the northern ones do
http://www.heroncam.com/wildlife/migration.html
oye!
I think the Northern ones do, unless they are being fed like the geese were and have no reason to leave.
First Amendment rights are like muscles, if you don't exercise them they will atrophy.
I am watching a friends Parakeet for a couple of weeks while they are in Europe.
The little guy is fun and sings all day. Almost thinking about getting one as it is nice to here him "sing" in the morning.
Anyways, the bird is in a travel cage and the owner only left food for him. Is there a safe treat that you can give a Parakeet? Do not want to hurt him but the poor little guy is in a small cage and want to do something nice.
Any suggestions?
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I would go to PetSmart, they seem to know alot about the animals they sell.
First Amendment rights are like muscles, if you don't exercise them they will atrophy.
Good advice.
I had friends that gave theirs orange wedges and I know most birds are crazy about the millet "sprays".
Good luck lefty!
Thanks for the info Mesue, wikipedia was one of the sources, I don't remember the other one.
I thought I saw a blue heron a couple of weeks ago. Since they are fishing birds, I think they will stay where there is open water. Most winters, Chautauqua Lake freezes solid enough for people to ride snowmobiles on it but it's been partly open this year -- as have numerous creeks and rivers as well as Lake Erie.
A lot of birds (and other animals) change their habits in response to habitat changes. I think the two biggest examples are Canada geese and deer. Thirty years ago, there were no resident (non-migratory) populations of Canada geese in WNY. In fact, for many years, the only time Canada geese could be seen in WNY was during migration. Cleaning up water pollution and changing farming practices have created an ever growing nesting population of non-migratory Canada geese. I think DEC is going to have a special season for these birds in the early spring to try to decrease their numbers.
The now ubiquitous whitetails were rarely seen anywhere outside of Allegany State Park and the Southern Tier in the 1950s, but the abandonment of farms and the regrowth of scrub and second-growth forests as well as the expansion of suburbia out into abandoned farmlands has created large populations of deer that live close to people to take advantage of a good food supply (landscape plants and home gardens) and safety from hunting. Nowadays, you're more likely to see deer while driving through North Tonawanda or Amherst than you are through Allegany State Park!
My girlfriend in Gowanda has a red bellied woodpeck visiting her suet feeder this winter. A red-bellied woodpeck looks like a large flicker: a tannish-brown bird with black barring on the wings with a lighter belly and a good sized red patch on the back of his head. Red bellies also have some red on their bellies, but it's not really noticeable compared to the red mark on their heads. I saw the guy when I was out there a couple of weeks ago. He's very spectacular.
I have at least one downey woodpecker coming to my suet feeder. They like to come during the middle of the day, so I don't seem them all that often unless I'm off work, but the suet cakes keep shrinking so I know they're there.
There's also a hairy woodpecker "working" the thicket near my camper. When we had the break in the weather in February, I was out there checking things out, and spotted him. Hairy woodpeckers look like giant downeys, looking to be about twice the size, although they probably aren't really that big.
There are pileated woodpeckers living and nesting in the woods around College Park/Roger Tory Peterson Institute as well as the woods in Bergman Park in Jamestown, so they are somewhat of a common sight to those of us who frequent these spots. Pileated are large black and white birds with a large red crest (similar to a blue jay's or cardinal's). They have an unusual call that sounds like a hysterical laugh, and when they drum on trees to get insects or create a nest hole, it sounds like somebody pounding fence posts into the ground with a sledgehammer.
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My MIL loves birds. She can name most of them. She used to live right behind Steiglemier Park. It was great walking the trails with her, or just sitting by the window where the feeders were. She would point to the different birds and name them. Now she's in NC and learning new ones.
First Amendment rights are like muscles, if you don't exercise them they will atrophy.
Yea, I might have to do that. Did not want to take the trip if there is something in the house they like. You never know.
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They may tell you that there is something in the house that the birds like.
First Amendment rights are like muscles, if you don't exercise them they will atrophy.
They are migratory birds. I too have seen them in the last few days. It seems early to me, but with the fish coming up the creeks, they have food. So, it's obviously time for them to come back.I just saw a Blue Heron flapping it's way over my back yard. Anyone know if they overwinter here? I don't recall seeing any others over the winter. I read one article that says they winter in Central America or northern South America, but I also saw a migratory map that listed NY as a year round habitat?
Any birders out there with info?
My dog and I witnessed a red-tailed hawk hunting in Como Park today. We were up on the ridge above the flood plain, on the treed path east of the Boy Scout shelter. It was a good view because at certain times we were higher than the hawk, sort-of-a bird's eye view. I don't have hawk eyes and couldn't see what he was hunting. But he seemed to be focused in on something.
Spring must be on it's way because I've got a lot of different birds in my feeders. All winter long I've had cardinals, chick-a-dees, and (oh poop, I forgot what they're called). All the sudden, there's all these different birds.
Every year we have one living around Union and Walden
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For the past week or ten days, I've noticed there are more and different bird songs/calls in the park where I walk my dog in the morning before work. I know that's a sure sign of spring, although we've still got a lot of snow on the ground here in Jamestown.
When I lived in an apartment on Kenmore Ave we had 2 red tailed hawks, a Cooper hawk, downy woodpeckers, red bellied woodpeckers, golden finches, and all of the assorted smaller birds, several pairs of nesting ducks, plus one deer eating my flowers!
Just a bunch of city dwellers.
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