Buffalo Ornithological Society
Birding Western New York and the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario

Winter Wren - © Sue Barth

Leader - Matt Nusstein
matthew.nusstein@parks.ny.gov
(716) 446-3376

The Big Sit: Saturday October 7th, 8:00am (8 hours, onsite)

Meeting location: Silver Lake State Park Boat Launch

Founded in 1992, The Big Sit is an annual, international birding event similar to a bird-a-thon. The catch is that all observations must be made from within a circle no more than 17 feet in diameter. Our count circle will overlook the southern portion of Silver Lake. You can stay for as little or long as you’d like to help with the count or to learn more about the birds of Silver Lake. Bring a picnic lunch if staying for the lunch hour. At the very least, you will have Matt's undivided attention for the duration! This is in Wyoming County for those of you looking to beef up your eBird list for Wyoming Co!

Meet at 7 pm in the Cummings Room.

Members, please bring your photos from your summer birding highlights and travels! After the business part of the meeting, we will share our photos.

Saturday, October 14th, 2023

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 Marcie Jacklin who will put you into contact with the correct section compiler. Thank you so much!

Compiler: Marcie Jacklin (mjacklin@brocku.ca or 905-871-2577)

More about the October Count: more info »

Eastern Towhee at West Seneca Wetlands on October 7, 2021 by Sue Barth.

Saturday, October 28, 2023 - Lake Ontario Plain Field Trip for fall migrants.
*PLEASE be mindful of the weather date which will be Sunday, October 29, 2023.

Meet at 8 AM at Tops Market in Wright's Corners. This is on the east side of Route 78 and Route 104, north of Lockport.

Leader: Willie D'Anna (716-751-3637 or dannapotter@roadrunner.com)

This trip is a car caravan of sorts, plying the rural roads of Niagara County in search of late fall migrants. Every year is different, but with all of the fields and open space habitat we will check, it is reasonable to see Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, and possibly early winter arrivals such as Northern Shrike and Rough-legged Hawk. Horned Larks should be added to the day's list as well. A few stops along the Lake Ontario shore lookouts should produce Horned Grebe and several species of scoters and other diving ducks.

PLEASE NOTE - this field trip can be moved to Sunday as a rain date. This will be an annual standing possibility due to the likelihood of inclement weather at this time of year!

© Photo by Sue Barth of a Northern Shrike

Meet at 7 pm in the Cummings Room.

The meeting topic is to be determined.

Leaders: Katelyn Davis and Devin Banning (716-260-8889; bann3094@fredonia.edu; katelynmdavis@gmail.com)
Date: Saturday November 18, 2023
Meeting time: 8:00am

Place: Dunkirk Harbor Pier
Alternate meeting place (to be used if pier is closed): Dunkirk Memorial Park (just west of the pier on Route 5)

This trip will be targeting newly arrived waterfowl that use the Dunkirk Harbor and the surrounding area to winter. We will also be looking for gulls and shorebirds along the way, as well as the Harbor’s resident Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons. Bring a scope if you have one, if not we can share! This trip is purposefully planned during the break in waterfowl hunting season. This trip will be target birding the harbor and Point Gratiot and possibly extending to Main Street Beach, Wright Park Beach and Cedar Beach for late shorebirds. Dress for the weather, there is often a breeze coming off the lake.

Photo of a Glaucous Gull at Dunkirk Harbor taken by Bruce Robinson on 11/30/21.

Annual Holiday Celebration at 7:00 PM in the Cummings Room of the Buffalo Museum of Science.

Please bring a treat to share and enjoy an evening of birding friendship. We will also elect officers for the year 2024.

UPDATE!
There are still 2 spaces remaining…please speak up if you are interested!

The itinerary is set. The dates for the 2024 trip to Ecuador are Friday, February 2 - Thursday, February 15, 2024. If you are interested in this trip but these dates do not work for you, I will be planning for another trip in winter 2025, so let me know so I can keep you informed!

As of 3/26/23, our guide is currently working up an itinerary for this trip. It will be very similar to the trip I arranged this past February and will run for 2 weeks. As soon as the dates and cost become available, I will send out the info to those that have already expressed interest. This trip will be limited to 8 people including myself (Alec Humann).
I took a few BOS members to Ecuador this past February-March (2023) and it was ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! Our two week trip netted close to 500 species. Everything ran so smoothly! Our guide was superb as was the lodging, the food, the large/comfortable bus and expert driver, the BIRDS. Highlights included close to 70 species of hummingbirds, 10 Antpittas SEEN, Andean Condors, Oilbirds, several owls, birds coming to moth lights at dawn to feast on insects, hand-feeding hummingbirds, loads of tanagers, Hoatzin, two species of Mountain-Toucans, Cock-of-the-Rock lek, Torrent Duck pair with a days-old duckling, Toucan Barbet, Paradise Tanager, and SO MUCH MORE! With that said, I would be more than happy to go back! I will keep the group to 8 participants. If you are interested, let me know (alechumann@msn.com) so I can add your name to the participant list!

Photo is of a Plate-billed Mountain-Toucan.

There will be two date spans for these Puerto Rico trips:
Sunday, March 3 thru Friday, March 8, 2024
Sunday, March 10 thru Friday, March 15, 2024

The commonwealth of Puerto Rico hosts 18 endemic birds as well as many unique Caribbean species. We will enjoy a week-long adventure on this emerald isle during March of 2024. The island's vegetation and bird populations should be recovered by 2024 after Hurricane Maria decimated the island in 2017.

As we traverse the island, we will start off heading west through the northern karst terrain, travel down the west coast to the salt flats of Cabo Rojo in the SW and then head to the interior highlands to see the Elfin-woods Warbler. In addition to the 18 endemic species of birds residing on Puerto Rico, we will aim to see Caribbean specialties such as West Indian Whistling-Duck, White-cheeked Pintail, Key West Quail-Dove, Red-legged Thrush, Antillean Euphonia and Antillean Crested Hummingbird. We should also catch up with White-tailed Tropicbirds along the coast!!!

I have hired a local guide for the entire trip so as to maximize our chances at seeing all 18 endemics plus a good number of Caribbean specialties. Please email Alec if you would like to review the itinerary (alechumann@msn.com).

I am having Patrick O'Donnell, my friend/guide in Costa Rica plan for a Part 2 trip for sometime in February-March 2025. The exact date has yet to be decided upon. This trip would last about two weeks and explore areas that the Intro Tour did not visit. Anyone is welcome on this trip - you don't need to have participated on an Intro Tour!
We would explore points south of San Jose including the Savegre Valley (Quetzal, Sulphur-winged Parakeet), Rancho Naturalista (Snowcap, Lovely Cotinga), Hotel Quelitales (Green-fronted Lancebill, Scaled Antpitta), Ciudad Neilly rice fields (Savannah Hawk, Paint-billed Crake), Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, Monteverde and more. There is lots of time to plan for this, BUT...lodges fill up quickly (especially Rancho and Esquinas) and so reservations need to be booked over a year in advance. If Costa Rica Part 2 interests you, please let me know ASAP (alechumann@msn.com). I would limit this trip to 10 people.

Photo is of an adult male Resplendent Quetzal in the Savegre Valley.