Black-crowned Night-Heron photographed along the Bird Island Pier.
Scoping April
The month of April starts big and ends big! The onslaught of migrants begins in earnest this month.
We start with waterfowl and raptors, move into temperate migrants and then the early arriving Neotropicals! On the second Sunday of the month is the BOS's annual April Bird Census. We always need volunteers to help cover the BOS's vast study area. If you'd like to help, please contact Celeste Morien, the compiler, at Celeste.morien@gmail.com
This is the best month to spend some time at the local hawk watch in Hamburg. This all-volunteer hawkwatch will have an official counter stationed here daily, unless it's pouring rain. April offers the best diversity for migrating raptors. In addition to highlights of Golden Eagle, Goshawk and Rough-legged Hawk, other species such as diurnal migrant Short-eared Owls, Sandhill Crane, Snow Goose and other rarities have occurred. Pileated Woodpeckers frequently fly through the woods here and this is one of the best spots to cross paths with a Vesper Sparrow during migration.
Iroquois NWR is booming with migrant waterfowl now. Drakes in their full alternate plumage are dazzling to see. Herons and egrets are newly returned and displaying in their rookeries. Osprey are back on their nesting platforms throughout the refuge system. American Bitterns and Virginia Rails will be calling in the marshes. Another gem to be found here is the Black Tern, the last nesting colony in WNY!
Our local migrant hot spots are receiving lots of attention as passerines begin filtering back into town; Hermit Thrush, Brown Thrasher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Warm fronts at the end of the month will usher in the first warblers and vireos of the season. Get your hummingbird feeders out as Ruby-throateds and Baltimore Orioles will be looking for fuel. Get your rest! May is up next!
The Buffalo Ornithological Society, Inc. (BOS) was established in 1929 to promote the study of the birds of the Niagara Frontier Region. Annual grants are awarded by the BOS to fund member-sponsored avian research projects. We are proud of our extensive scientific research databases, our continuing involvement in environmental and conservation activities that impact birds, and our promotion of the enjoyment of ornithology.
The BOS coverage area includes Western New York and parts of nearby Ontario, Canada. This region is rich in bird life with over 380 species and 25 recognizable subspecies of birds recorded. Explore our site to learn more about where to report and find birds, both regional specialties and rare visitors.
The Buffalo Ornithological Society has something to offer to anyone passionate about birds: from the backyard feeder- watcher, the avid lister or the environmental activist, to the dedicated citizen scientist or the professional ornithologist. Society activities include regular programs, field trips, intensive long-term bird counts, checklist and date guide development, varied research activities, and involvement in local conservation efforts. We invite you to join in the activities of the society!
JOIN the BOS
Final Year for the NYS Breeding Bird Atlas - New Criteria!
We are entering the last year of the NYS Breeding Bird Atlas Project. Completion data has shown that we need to make some significant changes to ensure we collect as much statewide data as possible this year. Read more about changes for 2024 here: 2024 ATLAS CHANGES
Upcoming Field Trips and Events
For a full list of our upcoming field trips, meetings, and events, visit our calendar page. You don't have to be a member to join our field trips or meetings! (Note that meetings run from September through June.)
Apr 27, 2024 (Saturday)
Field Trip - Montezuma NWR
Details: (click for more info)
Montezuma NWR
April 27, 2024 (Saturday) 8:30 AM Field Trip - Montezuma NWR with David and Debbie Suggs. Meet at the Visitor's Center, 3395 US-20, Seneca Falls, NY. The refuge is a two hour drive from Buffalo. Plan for a full day to explore the main pool and the extensive Northern Montezuma areas. DSuggs@Buffaloornithologicalsociety.org.
|
May 04, 2024 (Saturday)
Field Trip - Tifft Nature Preserve with Seaghan Coleman
Details: (click for more info)
Tifft Nature Preserve, 1200 Fuhrmann Boulevard, Buffalo, NY 14203
Meet at 7:30am on the bridge just past the Visitor Center.
Leader: Seaghan Coleman (716-435-7753 or seaghanc@gmail.com)
This trip will focus on newly arrived neotropical migrants as well as lingering waterfowl and sparrows. Tifft holds the distinctive honor of having the highest number of species recorded on premises in our region - 268; with the latest being last October’s American Avocet! The list of highlights is long and includes Kentucky, Connecticut and Yellow-throated Warblers, Summer Tanager, Sedge Wren, Barn Owl, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and so much more.
We will hike the trails in search of early-arriving warblers, thrushes and other long-distance migrants as well as look over the marsh for rails and bitterns. If we are lucky, we may see late migrant raptors.
This will be an easy walk over level ground and boardwalks, possibly muddy trails. The trip will span the morning hours so make sure to bring snacks and something to drink. Remember that the south end of Tifft is plagued by red ants, the biting kind, so wear appropriate footwear.
This photo of an American Bittern was taken by Tony Dvorak at Tifft NP on April 19, 2021.
|
May 08, 2024 (Wednesday)
Meeting - Dr. Gregory Cunningham St. John Fisher University Topic TBD
Details: (click for more info)
Buffalo Museum of Science
Meet at 7 pm in the Cummings Room.
Dr. Gregory Cunningham of St. John Fisher University will present on a topic that is yet to be determined.
|
May 11, 2024 (Saturday)
Field Trip - Letchworth SP with Matt Nusstein
Details: (click for more info)
6773 Trailside Road, Castile, NY 14427
Leader - Matt Nusstein (Matthew.Nusstein@parks.ny.gov; (716) 446-3376)
Location - Meet at 8am at the Humphrey Nature Center, 6773 Trailside Road, Castile, NY 14427 (see map link above).
Scenic Letchworth State Park, embracing the Genesee River, boasts incredible numbers of migratory birds in May and June. In addition, more than twenty species of warblers nest in the park annually making for an exciting birding destination. This list includes the local Louisiana Waterthrush as well as gems like Hooded, Blue-winged and Mourning Warblers. Acadian Flycatcher is another local species we hope to cross paths with during our outing. We will be birding along the gorge making various stops with short hikes as we go. The trip could last 5-6 hours and we will have lunch overlooking the river. Carpooling is suggested. Bring a lunch, snacks and beverages.
Photo of a male Common Yellowthroat taken by Sue Barth on June 26, 2019 at Letchworth SP.
|
May 12, 2024 (Sunday)
Field Trip - Chautauqua County Hotspots with Katelyn Davis and Devin Banning
Details: (click for more info)
Dunkirk City Pier, 8 Central Avenue, Dunkirk, NY 14048
NOTE: Rescheduled from May 18th
Meet at 8:00am on the Dunkirk Pier (parking available on the pier and by the shops right before the pier).
Leader: Devin Banning (716) 260-8889, Devin.Banning@Fredonia.edu
This trip will be targeting various habitats around the Dunkirk-Fredonia area. After looking over Dunkirk Harbor, we will continue to Point Gratiot where we will look and listen for newly arrived migrants as well as the local Red-headed Woodpeckers. Point Gratiot serves as a migrant trap in the city of Dunkirk and funnels northbound migrants into the DEC woodlot; the crown jewel of the park.
In years past, Gratiot has produced such coveted rarities such as Harris's Sparrow, Worm-eating and Kentucky Warblers, Summer Tanager and others.
Our next birding destination will be dependent upon the weather and migration patterns on the days leading up to our outing. We may travel to the Dunkirk Airport for grassland species including nesting Grasshopper Sparrow, Berry Road Marsh and/or Lake Erie State Park.
Last year's trip report can be viewed here
https://ebird.org/tripreport/171944
Photo of a Harris's Sparrow by Gale VerHague at Point Gratiot on May 19, 2021.
|
May 19, 2024 (Sunday)
BOS May Bird Count
Details: (click for more info)
Throughout the BOS Study Area
Sunday, May 19, 2024
All BOS members will hopefully participate in the 86th annual May Bird Count.
BOS members are encouraged to participate. Please help us add to the decades of records that the BOS has collected reflecting population dynamics of the area birdlife. You can be part of a field team or simply count birds at your backyard feeder. All observations are important! If you don't know what section you live in, please contact Bob DeLeon who will put you into contact with the correct section compiler. Please visit the May Count information page on the website at the address below. Thank you so much!
More about the May Count: more info »
Photo of a male Blackburnian Warbler by Josh Ketry at Wilson-Tuscarora SP on May 22, 2019.
|
See Our Full List of Events