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Wildlife

Sharp-Shinned Hawks: A Terror to Smaller Birds

March 19, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

sharp-shinned hawk courtesy Wikimedia user Matt Edmonds One late winter day, I heard our dog barking fiercely from the yard. I went outside to find him standing about 6 feet away from a hawk that was on the ground beside our house. I grabbed the dog’s collar, brought him in, and observed the hawk through a window.

It was an immature sharp-shinned hawk, about a foot long, with a dark brown back, vertical streaks on its white breast, and piercing yellow eyes. The hawk had likely crashed into the house while trying to catch a bird at our feeder. I thought perhaps it was stunned and would recover in a little while. [Read more…] about Sharp-Shinned Hawks: A Terror to Smaller Birds

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: birding, birds, nature, Wildlife

Old Trees Play A Unique And Essential Role

March 18, 2022 by Paul Hetzler Leave a Comment

American elm tree courtesy Wikimedia user MsactTypically, “tree aging” is done by counting annual growth rings, either on a stump or on a sample core taken by a special tool. But the phrase can also refer to veteranization, a process whereby trees are prematurely aged through targeted injury and stress in order to create specialized habitats. It’s much like the ageing of parents, a treatment administered by one’s children to produce worry lines, grey hairs, and character.

We humans whistle past the cemetery, as it were, with refrains like “50 is the new 40,” apparently hoping to trick death into giving us a free decade somewhere along the line. For trees, there is no single definition of old. A mountain-ash is decrepit by fifty, while a bur oak of that age is a mere adolescent. Every species has a lifespan range beyond which no amount of wishful thinking or supplements can help. [Read more…] about Old Trees Play A Unique And Essential Role

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: Forestry, Logging, nature, Science, trees, Wildlife

Long Island Section of NYS Birding Trail Goes Live

March 16, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Long Island NYS Birding TrailDEC has announced the grand opening of the Long Island segment of the New York State Birding Trail. The Long Island segment includes 20 locations throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties, providing a variety of quality birding experiences for New Yorkers and visitors to enjoy. [Read more…] about Long Island Section of NYS Birding Trail Goes Live

Filed Under: Nature, New York City, Recreation Tagged With: Bird Migration, birding, birds, Fire Island National Seashore, Governors Island, Long Island, Montauk Point State Park, Nassau County, nature, New York State Birding Trail, Suffolk County, Wildlife

Cozy Cattails: A Caterpillar Haven

March 12, 2022 by Guest Contributor 2 Comments

cattail courtesy Wikimedia user Skalle-Per Hedenhös On a winter day, I drove down to a nearby wetland bisected by a town road and walked carefully onto the ice. I was looking for cattail heads to dissect so I could meet the caterpillars who overwinter inside the seed fluff. Many of the cattails I found that day had blown over during the previous week’s windstorm, but there were enough still standing for me to collect two from each side of the road. [Read more…] about Cozy Cattails: A Caterpillar Haven

Filed Under: Nature Tagged With: insects, Native Plants, nature, wetlands, Wildlife

Volunteers Preparing for Annual Salamander, Frog Migration

March 12, 2022 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Annual Salamander and Frog Migration volunteers courtesy DECThroughout the Hudson Valley, community volunteers are getting out their flashlights, reflective vests, and rain gear in anticipation of annual amphibian breeding migrations, which typically begin in mid-March. Volunteers will document the migration and help salamanders and frogs as part of DEC’s Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings Project. [Read more…] about Volunteers Preparing for Annual Salamander, Frog Migration

Filed Under: Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature Tagged With: amphibians, DEC, frogs, Hudson River Estuary Program, Hudson Valley, nature, Transportation, Wildlife

DEC Releases Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda 2021-2026

March 12, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Mohawk River Basin courtesy DECNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the release of the Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda 2021-2026, a five-year plan to advance efforts to conserve, preserve, and restore the Mohawk River and its watershed. [Read more…] about DEC Releases Mohawk River Basin Action Agenda 2021-2026

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Mohawk Valley, Nature, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: DEC, Environmental History, Mohawk River, nature, water quality, Wildlife

The Gray Squirrel in the Adirondacks

March 10, 2022 by Tom Kalinowski 1 Comment

Grey Squirrel courtesy Wikimedia user BirdPhotos.comThe gray squirrel is a common member of New York State’s wildlife community.

This bushy-tailed rodent ranks among the most frequently seen creatures, especially if a few individuals in the neighborhood are maintaining bird feeders. Yet, as common as this skilled aerialist may appear, the gray squirrel is not as widely distributed throughout the Adirondack Park as it might seem. [Read more…] about The Gray Squirrel in the Adirondacks

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, Nature, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: nature, small mammals, squirrels, Wildlife, winter

Adks Conservation News: 5 Things You Need to Know

March 10, 2022 by Justin Levine 1 Comment

St Regis Canoe AreaLarge-Scale Lakes Survey Tops Scientists’ Wish List

The Adirondack Council and other environmental groups are pushing the state legislature to include $6 million in funding over three years to conduct a large-scale study of Adirondack water-bodies. The study of 400 or so lakes and ponds would create baseline data on the impact of climate change, algal blooms, and changes to water oxygen levels. The study is needed to assess the impacts to native fish and plant populations of changing carbon cycles, and the remote locations of many of the water-bodies allow researchers to differentiate the effects of climate change from those of agriculture or land development. [Read more…] about Adks Conservation News: 5 Things You Need to Know

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Nature Tagged With: 5 Adirondack Things, Adirondack Council, Adirondack Park, Adirondacks, Climate Change, DEC, Forest Rangers, Invasive Species, nature, Wildlife

American Shad Recovery Plan For Hudson River Announced

March 10, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

American Shad courtesy DECNative and colonial Americans fished for shad for sustenance, often smoking the flesh and consuming the roe as a delicacy.

American shad continued to be an important recreational and commercial fishery throughout the 20th Century, especially in the Hudson River. However, the shad stock has since dramatically declined due to shoreline development, pollution and over fishing, and as a result all recreational and commercial fisheries for American shad were closed in 2010. [Read more…] about American Shad Recovery Plan For Hudson River Announced

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Nature, New York City Tagged With: DEC, Environmental History, fish, Fisheries, fishing, Hudson River, nature, Wildlife

Joseph Davis State Park’s Watchable Wildlife

March 6, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Joseph Davis State Park courtesy DECThe Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and New York State.

Located on the banks of the Lower Niagara River, the Joseph Davis State Park’s diverse habitats enable visitors to enjoy the natural world. Wetlands, successional shrublands, fields, meadows, forest, and open waters attract an abundance of wildlife species. The park has a nature trail, as well as cross-country skiing/snowshoeing and snowmobiling trails. [Read more…] about Joseph Davis State Park’s Watchable Wildlife

Filed Under: Nature, Western NY Tagged With: birding, birds, DEC, Great Lakes, Joseph Davis State Park, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, nature, Niagara County, Niagara River, Niagara River Corridor, Wildlife

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