Chirps and Cheeps

July brought a great rarity to the Western New York area.  Matt Nusstein found a White Ibis at Evangola State Park!  This large, white, wading bird was foraging in a small pond when I first laid eyes on him.  That massive, pink bill was incredible to see!  He (or she) was loosely hanging out with some Canada Geese, totally unaware and uncaring of the stir it was causing.  People from all over raced to see this bird, who only stayed but a few hours.  It was later seen further north along the Niagara River, giving a brief view to just a couple of lucky birders.  What a great sighting!

Shorebirds began filtering through the region during the month, giving me some nice looks at a Short-billed Dowitcher and a Stilt Sandpiper.  A short visit with a Northern Goshawk was a nice thrill for the month, along with a surprise face-to-face with a Barred Owl.  Seeing fledgling Acadian Flycatchers for the first time was super nice - the two little guys couldn't have been cuter! This was a life bird experience for friend, Shelley Seidman - I think we got Shelley 3 life birds that day!

I spent much of the month collecting photos of birds for a book project myself and three colleagues are working on.  Hopefully, I'll have more to share about that project!

Some of the July birds I caught on camera are shown below...