Researchers at the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation (ACLC) in Saranac Lake, NY have developed an online Loon Observation Reporting Tool for members of the public to log their loon sightings on water bodies throughout New York State. [Read more…] about New Reporting Tool Lets Public Record Their Loon Sightings
Citizen Science
Snapshot NY Citizen Science Wildlife Monitoring Project
Snapshot NY, a citizen science program created by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Cornell University in 2025, will begin Year Two in July.
The innovative program, which enables the public to participate in the state’s efforts to monitor wildlife by deploying privately-owned trail cameras, has already enlisted more than 800 volunteers. [Read more…] about Snapshot NY Citizen Science Wildlife Monitoring Project
NY Harbor’s Black-Crowned Night Herons Could Vanish
The Black-Crowned Night Heron, historically the most abundant wading bird in New York Harbor and an important environmental indicator, is vanishing fast, according to new research led by NYC Bird Alliance and published today the scientific journal Conservation Science and Practice. The study confirms that local Black-Crowned Night Heron populations have declined by 55% in just 22 years. [Read more…] about NY Harbor’s Black-Crowned Night Herons Could Vanish
Henry Davis Minot’s Adirondack Warbler & ‘Diary of a Bird’
Henry Davis Minot was born near Forest Hills (part of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston) in 1859, the sixth of seven children of William and Katharine Maria Sedgwick Minot.
He took an early interest in ornithology (the study of birds), recording careful observations, including, at the age of 11, what he believed to be a new species of bird in 1871 (it turned out not to be the case). [Read more…] about Henry Davis Minot’s Adirondack Warbler & ‘Diary of a Bird’
Help Document New York Weather Impacts
MyCoast NY is a public web tool which offers an opportunity to contribute and access photos of flooding, shoreline change, and storm damage from anywhere in the state.
When you submit a photo, it is automatically linked to real-time weather, river, and tidal gauge data to help provide context for the photo. [Read more…] about Help Document New York Weather Impacts
Great Backyard Bird Count 2026 Results
Scientists estimate that between 10,000 and 11,000 known species of birds exist world wide, and participants in the 2026 Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) saw 8,257 of them.
That’s according to the final results of the count, a four-day community science project in ornithology conducted annually in mid-February and supported by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. [Read more…] about Great Backyard Bird Count 2026 Results
History Supplies Leads to Rare Carnivorous Bladderwort
In April 2025, the Sand Lake Historical Society was contacted by Will Lenihan, who is the Gardner and Curator for the Native Flora Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
He was curious about a small perennial carnivorous plant that was documented by Charles Horton Peck (1833-1917) of Sand Lake, in eastern Rensselaer County, who was the New York State Botanist from 1867-1915. [Read more…] about History Supplies Leads to Rare Carnivorous Bladderwort
Beginner Stargazing at New York’s ‘Dark Sky Destinations’
Winter is the perfect time of year for stargazing due to longer hours of darkness and typically crisper, clearer air — what astronomer’s call “good seeing.”
From sighting twinkling stars and constellations to roving planets, distant galaxies, and countless astronomical wonders, stargazing not only allows us to embrace the night sky but also unlock our perspectives on the universe. Ideal stargazing locations exist far from light pollution, with unobstructed views of the skyline. [Read more…] about Beginner Stargazing at New York’s ‘Dark Sky Destinations’
Preparing for Amphibian Migrations; Volunteers Sought
Beneath the towering trees of New York State, under the leaves and rotting logs, lives a group of amphibians. Nocturnal in their behavior and hunkered down in underground retreats, forest salamanders often go undetected – until they move on rainy nights in large numbers for their annual breeding migrations to vernal pools.
Along with wood frogs, these amphibians encounter many roads that bisect their habitat, and in some places, they also encounter volunteers who lend a hand to provide safe passage. You can be one of the those volunteers. [Read more…] about Preparing for Amphibian Migrations; Volunteers Sought
Great Backyard Bird Count Set for February 13-16, 2026
The 29th annual Great Backyard Bird Count is set for February 13 through 16, 2026. Bird and nature lovers everywhere unite in the effort to tally as many of the world’s bird species as possible over four days.
Combined with other bird counts, GBBC results help create a clearer picture of how birds are faring — whether individual species are declining, increasing, or holding steady in the face of habitat loss, climate change, and other threats. [Read more…] about Great Backyard Bird Count Set for February 13-16, 2026
After A 90% Habitat Loss, A New Plan for Adirondack Brook Trout Ponds
The brook trout is New York’s state fish and an iconic symbol of the Adirondacks, but about 90% of brook trout pond habitat has been lost due to poor management.
Now, for the first time in 46 years, New York State has a new plan that identifies the current risks for lacustrine (lake and pond living) brook trout and it hopes will guide the State’s management actions at Adirondack brook trout ponds for the next 15 years. [Read more…] about After A 90% Habitat Loss, A New Plan for Adirondack Brook Trout Ponds
A Flight Year for Winter Finches
On a fine gray afternoon in late October, I came across an impressive cone midden beneath a towering red spruce. While it was surely the work of an industrious squirrel – perhaps a family, given the size of the mound – I looked up to see a red crossbill in the crown, using its hyper-specialized beak and tongue to remove seeds after prying the spruce cone scales apart.
That was my first winter finch of the season, and if the 2025-2026 Winter Finch Forecast is as accurate as its predecessors, it’s unlikely to be my last. [Read more…] about A Flight Year for Winter Finches
Finding the Pink Star Caterpillar
When I imagine scientists discovering new animals, I picture them traveling to far-off jungles or remote mountaintops – not investigating local roadsides, utility cuts, or other edge spaces of human habitation.
Yet late last summer, naturalists with The Caterpillar Lab in Swanzey, New Hampshire, found an unknown caterpillar on an unlikely host plant in an unassuming location. [Read more…] about Finding the Pink Star Caterpillar
How To Report a Banded Bird
Have you seen or photographed a wild bird with a band, tag, or other marker? If you have, you should take a moment to report your observation online, a fast, easy and impactful way to report a banded bird.
A website managed by the USGS Bird Banding Lab (BBL), in collaboration with Canada’s Bird Banding Office, tracks all wild bird band inventory, data, and reports in North America. [Read more…] about How To Report a Banded Bird
A Firefly Atlas: Research Hopes to Help Declining Species
Most people have heard about insect declines, with recent headlines like “Insect Declines: The Great and Merciless Thinning.”
Bumble bees and butterflies are the best-known examples of declining groups, but there is a growing body of evidence documenting downward trends in other insects. Fireflies, famous for their impressive light-shows in the eastern US, are one such group. [Read more…] about A Firefly Atlas: Research Hopes to Help Declining Species
The Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings Project
In March and April throughout New York State, community volunteers get out their flashlights, reflective safety vests, and rain-gear in anticipation of annual amphibian breeding migrations.
Volunteers can document the migration and help salamanders and frogs as part of DEC’s annual Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings Project. [Read more…] about The Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings Project