American Redstart

American Redstarts are warblers that are easy to find by listening for their incessant song.  After they breed and nest in the United States and Canada they will return to Latin and South America for the winter.

Pine Siskins

Pine Siskins are winter finches that commonly visit bird feeders.  I've seen very few this year until this week when about 40 of them showed up and have been lingering in our yard.  They will move on soon to their breeding grounds in far northern New York and Canada.

Bobolink

The Bobolink is an extremely impressive traveler.  They spend the winter in the southern interior of South America (Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil) and migrate over 6,000 miles each way in spring and again in the fall.  They breed in open grassy areas in the northern United States and Southern Canada.  This one was photographed on a fence at the Dunkirk Airport in the town of Sheridan, New York.

Red-headed Woodpecker

The Red-headed Woodpecker is listed as a "near threatened" species in danger of extinction.  They can occasionally be found in Western New York.  I was lucky to find and photograph this one in a park near Lake Erie.

Yellow Warblers

New arrivals to Western New York from the mangrove forests of Central and South America! 

Baltimore Oriole

Another neotropical beauty migrating north for the summer months

Ovenbird

The Ovenbird is a wood warbler that builds a dome shaped nest of leaves on the forest floor.  It spends the winter in a range that extends from south Florida and the Caribbean to northern areas of South America.

Moonrise through the Trees

The full Moon during the month of May is known as the "Full Flower Moon."

Blackburnian Warblers

These flying jewels are arriving to breed in our northeastern forests. They spend the winter in South America. Welcome home!

Black-throated Green Warblers

The influx of spring warblers in the northeast is now underway!

Happy May Day!

Notice the magic of Spring all around on this enchanted day of Beltane...

the midway point between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice.

Common Terns

The graceful Common Terns have returned from wintering in South America to breed here on the Great Lakes and in areas of Canada.  These photos were taken in the Dunkirk Harbor.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Hermit Thrush

Neotropic Cormorant in Western New York!

An extremely rare visitor to Western New York State this week is a Neotropic Comorant.  The bird was first spotted in our area on early Thursday morning and is still here as of today.  This is only the second time one has been reported in all of New York State.  This is a bird native to Central and South America with a range that normally extends as far north as Texas.  The first sighting of one in NYS was a few years ago on Lake Ontario.

Brown Thrasher

Migrating Grebes

Red-necked Grebe (above) and Horned Grebes (below) seen in the Dunkirk Harbor.

Spring Snowfall

Snow squalls can still be seen over Lake Erie this morning.

Great Egret

Pine Warblers

The Pine Warbler is almost never found away from a stand of pine trees.  They are also one of the few warblers that will come to a backyard bird feeder.  We have been treated to their visits to suet feeders hanging in pine trees in our yard over the last few days.