Bird of the Month!

The April Bird of the Month is the humble pigeon! Formally known as the Rock Pigeon (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rock_Pigeon/overview), pigeons are weird little birds that have a rich history with our cities and civilizations from use in war to breeding fancy pigeons to racing pigeons. Pigeons come in different colors with our Buffalo pigeons tending a little lighter than NYC pigeons according to one local ornithologist who suggested that is because of our snow! Pigeons are also part of recent bird humor. So don't forget - birds aren't real (https://birdsarentreal.com/). Learn more about these great birds with Rosemary Mosco's Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching (https://rosemarymosco.com/books/a-pocket-guide-to-pigeon-watching). 

The March bird of the month is the Black-bellied Whistling Duck! The Black-bellied Whistling Duck is a large duck with long legs and a long neck. They are typically found on the gulf coast but we recently had one of these weird ducks visit us for weird duck season (https://www.instagram.com/rosemarymosco/p/DBq1Uf-RaEI/?hl=en&img_index=1). Did you get to see it? Let us know!

The February bird of the month is the Red-tailed Hawk! The RTHA is the most common hawk in WNY and you can commonly see them perched on trees on the side of the road. They eat a lot of squirrels and other small critters that live around us. You can identify them from their reddish tails and distinctive "belly band" of darker feathers on their breast that becomes more noticeable as they get older. Did you know that the Tuskegee Airmen, "the first all African American fighter squadron" (https://tuskegeemuseum.org/), had the nickname "Red-tails"?

The January bird of the month is the American Crow! The American Crow is smart and noisy making themselves know through their raucous, clever behavior. This "murderous" bird (did you know? a group of crows is a murder!) is often mistaken for a Common Raven and is similar to the less regionally common Fish Crow - learn more about how to tell the difference and about the intelligence of corvids at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Crow/overview. 

The December birds of the month are the shrikes! There are many of species of shrikes including the Northern Shrike which can be seen locally in WNY during the winter months. Shrikes may be cute songbirds but they have a dark streak! They eat small rodents, insects, reptiles, and amphibians along with other birds! When they catch their prey they move it to barbed wire or hawthorne trees where they impale the prey on spikes to cache it and save it for later. This behavior has given them the nickname "Butcher Bird"! The shrike was chosen as the December bird of the month in honor of Rosemary Mosco's most recent Bird and Moon about the Northern Shrike - enjoy that here: https://rosemarymosco.com/comics/bird-and-moon/northern-shrike. Want to learn more about shrikes? We think you will love the Science of Birds podcast at https://www.scienceofbirds.com/podcast/shrikes-laniidae! 

The November bird of the month is the Green-backed Trogon. There are many of species of trogon including Elegant Trogon. These birds are found throughout of Central and South America but you can see one here in WNY at the Buffalo Zoo where they are found in the Rainforest - a wonderful place to visit on a cold winter day! They are very cute! 

The October bird of the month is the Northern Saw-whet Owl. The Northern Saw-whet Owl (NSWO) is the smallest owl in the Western New York. They are often said to be rare but really they are just too small and ellusive so nobody sees them. Decades of banding studies let us know just how common they are, perhaps even our most common owl! They are ridiculously fluffy, soft, and cute. They are about 70% fluff and only 30% bird! They make little toot-tooting sounds like a tiny train. NSWO are a migratory species of owl and you can learn more about their migration and science to study them at Project Owlnet (https://www.projectowlnet.org/). Photo credit for this NSWO to WNYYBC founder Maisie Hebrank during fall owl banding at Braddock Bay Bird Observatory - all birds are banded under proper state and federal permits by licensed banders and trained volunteers. 

The September bird of the month is the Pileated Woodpecker. The Pileated Woodpecker (PIWO) is a really neat woodpecker. It has a great big red crest and it is super big and noisy! They are funny birds and you can hear them from a long way away with their loud drumming and calling. They make rectangular holes in the sides of trees as they search for their favorite food - insects! They are our region's largest woodpecker (almost as big as a crow!) and can be found all over WNY. A reliably great spot to see them is at Reinstein Woods! The ever important question in our area is - how do you say pileated? 

The August bird of the month is the Glossy Ibis. The Glossy Ibis, affectionately known as GLIB, is a funny but pretty looking bird. They are rarely seen in the WNY region and had never been spotted in Erie county - until this month when there were FIVE visiting Tifft Nature Preserve! Other kinds of ibis include White Ibis and White-faced Ibis. Make sure to check that they aren't immatures of these ibis species and are the shiny dark color they are known for. Did you know that they can fly in a murmuration like European Starlings? Pretty neat!

The July bird of the month is the Peregrine Falcon. We chose the Peregrine Falcon as bird of the month to celebrate our new line of young birder club stickers that feature the most common favorite birds reported by our over 75 young birders! The Peregrine Falcon is one of the four new designs (join one of our upcoming events to get yours and see what other designs we have!). The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest bird (and animal!) in the world. It has been recorded at speeds over 250 miles per hour! They are large falcons and mostly feed on other birds. They are found all over the world on every continent except Antarctica! Locally, you can see them nesting at places like UB South, the Statler Building, and in Letchworth State Park. Check the maps at https://ebird.org/species/perfal to see all the nearby hotspots to view these awesome raptors!

The June bird of the month is the Belted Kingfisher. The Belted Kingfisher (a.k.a., BEKI) is a common bird that will eat pretty much anything but particularly like fish. They perch over streams and lakes then dive straight down into the water to catch fish. They are related to kookaburras and the females are called "queen fishers". One super cool fact about BEKIs is that they nest in burrows that they excavate themselves! A great place to see BEKIs around here is at the bend in the creek that runs through Forest Lawn Cemetery - listen for their distinctive cackle! Belted Kingfishers, along with Northern Cardinals, are one of the most common spark birds according to recent findings from The Spark Bird Project! What is your spark bird? Share it today at www.spark-bird.org!

The May bird of the month is the Potoo. There are many species of Potoo but we could not decide just one so we are doing the whole family! Potoos are one of the weirdest birds. They are in their own order along with the oilbird but they are related to other nightjars. Their songs are a loud "waaapppp" continued by shorter "wap"s - definitely take time to listen and laugh at their sounds when you learn more about them! If you are down in the Carribean, Central America, or South America, make sure to go look for these elusive nocturnal birds that often mimic tree branches. A bird that they are not closely related to but look very similar to is the Tawny Frogmouth that lives on the other side of the world. This is an example of convergent evolution for insectivores on the wing!

The April bird of the month is the Red-bellied Woodpecker. The Red-bellied Woodpecker doesn't have best name - they don't really have a red belly though males do have a slightly orange belly. They are cavitiy nesters you can see in WNY all year long and one of our larger woodpecker species in the area. Don't mistake them for the Red-headed Woodpeckers who have much more red on their heads and tend to live further south (though there are a few reliable spots in our area so keep your eyes open and binoculars close at hand!). 

The March bird of the month is the Boat-billed Heron! Even if these birds live in Central and South America, you can see them near here at Bird Kingdom right across the border in Niagara Falls, Canada. These strange birds have huge beaks and eyes & like last month's bird of the month (the cassowary) leave no doubt birds are in fact living dinosaurs!

The February bird of the month is the Southern Cassowary, a wild looking bird from New Guinea and Australia that leaves no doubt birds are in fact living dinosaurs! This huge, colorful, flightless bird even comes complete with a crest or casque made of keratin and a fearsome reputation.  

The January bird of the month is the Purple Gallinule! A colorful bird from the warm parts of the world to brighten up these cold winter days. These colorful birds are known to wander from time to time so keep your eyes on wetlands just in case! 

The December bird of the month is the Dodo Bird! Dodo Birds are incredible, extinct birds. They were the largest member of the pigeon and dove family. The Dodo was 2-3 feet and could weigh up to 50 pounds. They lived in a small group of islands called the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean. The Dodo went extinct in 1681 due to human factors like over hunting - these birds were very slow and easy to catch! 

The November bird of the month is the Dark-eyed Junco. Juncos look different from place to place you go around North America. They are cute backyard birds that you will see eating seeds that fell from your feeder onto the ground from late fall from early spring. Some even nest around here! So cute!!!  

The October Bird of the Month is the Common Nighthawk. The Common Nighthawk is a cool little nightjar that is uncommon in this area but you might see them at night calling. They sound kind of like the American Woodcock - they go peent too! They fly in groups over ponds or fields, just open areas in general. They are part of the goatsucker family with Eastern Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will's-widows. They come through during migration and are really neat looking! 

The September Bird of the Month is the Black-crowned Night Heron. The Black-crowned Night Heron is a cool, small heron that lives in marshes and pond edges. You can see it around here at places like Tifft Nature Preserve. We chose the Black-crowned Night Heron as Bird of the Month to share the idea of nemesis birds - nemesis birds are the ones that got away that you keep trying to find and keep missing! The Black-crowned Night Heron is club founder Sam's nemesis bird - despite repeatedly being in the right places, they keep missing them - sometimes by just a few seconds like at Montezuma Muckrace (a fundraiser every September to benefit Friends of Montezuma Wetlands Complex - a great place to see migratory birds along the 90!). What is your nemesis bird? Let us know and we can try to go find it! 

The August bird of the month is the American Kestrel. The American Kestrel is a cool, pretty little raptor that we can often see in WNY hovering over fields or perched on telephone wires along the road.

The Roseate Spoonbill is a magnificent and funny bird! They usually live more down south in Florida and the Gulf Coast as well as Central and South America. But recently we've had a juvenile one hanging around in Western New York! If you want to go see it, check out Tifft or Senaca Bluff (and make sure to practice your best ethical birding behavior when you do). If you are one of the lucky ones who has gotten to see it while it is visiting, let us know if you want to share your picture and/or story! 

The Painted Bunting is a beautiful rainbow colored bird. We chose this bird because June is Pride Month. We wanted to recognize that by celebrating with this awesome little bird. You will find them down in the southern United States but some folks may remember the visits that occasionally turn up on local rare bird alerts! Learn more about how the birding community celebrates Pride Month with Let's Go Birding Together at https://www.audubon.org/news/lets-go-birding-together. 

There are three types of waxwings - the Cedar Waxwing, the Bohemian Waxwing, and the Japanese Waxwing. The Cedar Waxwing lives around here in the summer months. They eat mostly fruit and they have red "waxy" tips on their wings made of keratin. They also have yellow tips on their tail feathers. Banders age and sex waxwings using these features - 8 or more waxy tips means it is an adult, 6 or less means it is a juvenile. The black under the chin indicates male or female with males having more black under the chin. Look for them in groups high up in fruit trees and listen for their buzzy calls! The banding code for a Cedar Waxwing is CEDW. Learn more about waxwings on the Science of Birds Podcast - https://www.scienceofbirds.com/podcast/waxwings-bombycillidae.  

The Purple Martin was chosen to highlight our upcoming walk at Graycliff Estates, built almost 100 years ago for the Martin family, and to showcase the growing number of Purple Martin houses being put up around the region to help conserve these beautiful birds! 

Sometimes you can hear the Common Loon out on a lake making a ghostly sound. If you are lucky you can see one of these birds and hear their cry. Loons have been spotted locallt at a bunch of our best nature areas - click here to see a local map of recent eBird sightings!  

The February 2023 Bird of the Month is the Bald Eagle! The Bald Eagle was raised up as awesome by young birder Amelia who has been using WNY YBC resources with a group at her local library. Thanks Amelia for suggesting our national bird as deserving special attention on the WNY YBC website!

The January 2023 Bird of the Month is the Snowy Owl! Snowy Owls are very pretty birds. They are some of the largest owls right next to the Great Gray Owl. They make their nests on the ground instead of in trees. They come around Western New York in winter - sometimes there are more of them, sometimes there are less. This year there seems to be less! As with so many birds, you can look for recent sightings using eBird - here is a link to the world map of Snowy Owl sightings - you can set the date range or zoom in on a location if you have a free eBird account! You can learn more about Snowy Owls and Snowy Owl research at https://www.projectsnowstorm.org/. 

The December 2022 Bird of the Month is the California Condor! California Condors are the third largest bird in the world. Native to California and the Southwest, they were nearly extinct in the 1970s due to DDT, other pesticides, and habitat loss but now due to breeding programs there are close to 300 in the wild. WNY Young Birder founders Sam and Maisie were lucky enough to spot the juvenile California Condor pictured here at Navajo Bridge while on a trip west. Many thanks to fellow birder Anya Fineman for the picture and to the eBird app's "Explore" feature for letting us know where to look for these amazing birds!

The November 2022 Bird of the Month is, of course, the Wild Turkey! Wild Turkeys are beautiful - keep your eyes open along the roadside, on the trail, or even in your own backyard for these amazing birds! 

The October 2022 Bird of the Month is the Eastern Bluebird, our New York State Bird! Eastern Bluebirds are a great success story for conservation efforts across our state and country. Want to see bluebirds? Knox Farm State Park is a great place to see them! 

The Common Eider was selected in honor of WNY YBC member Phoenix's birthday - a favorite bird from a wonderful bird-filled trip to Massachusetts! Happy Birdday Phoenix and thanks for the photo and artwork!

The American Flamingo was selected in honor of WNY YBC member Frankie LaDue's birthday - flamingos are Frankie's favorite! Happy Birthday Frankie! 

The Wood Duck was picked because if you go out in a marsh, a pond, or even a vernal pool in the woods and you look they are probably there. You can even see baby Wood Ducks this time of year following their mama! Did you know that Wood Ducks nest in tree cavities up to 20 feet in the area and the fledglings are so well padded with down it doesn't even hurt to plop to the ground? 

The Northern Cardinal was selected in honor of WNY YBC member Graham Weaver's birthday - cardinals are Graham's favorite! Happy Birthday Graham! 

The Great Blue Heron is truly one of our most impressive local birds and leaves little doubt that birds are the descendants of dinosaurs! A number showed up through the mist on our walk at College Lodge yesterday adding to the other-worldliness of the foggy day.  

The Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were chosen as bird of the month in honor of migration and because they are the number one most common bird we have banded in two weekends of bird banding visits to Powdermill Avian Research Center and Braddock Bay Bird Observatory! 

We picked the American Woodcock because our March wander was all about woodcock and we even saw them! Also, they are amazing :) 

Learn more about this awesome birds:

• The Field Guide's Podcast Episode 37 - "Bill and Steve Go Timberdoodlin'": Co-hosted by a WNYYBC parent! Filled with amazing facts and a little PG humor (mostly around the name woodcock which definitely has to bring a giggle!). Every episode of The Field Guides is a gem and a delightful way to learn about nature when you are in the car on your way to nature.

• Terra Project Video, "Favorite Bird Sounds: American Woodcock": Great short video intro to the woodcock. Video is from a really exciting project to get audio recorders and radio receivers distributed broadly in order to help people connect with the nature around them while contributing to what is positioned to be a really exciting community science initiative. Learn more at www.terralistens.com. 

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY436JiiCjg