Happy Birthday Mirta!

Hope you had a wonderful day!

Thanks for all you teach us about creepy crawlies, bats that go bump in the night and shore birds in danger.

Thank you!

 

 

That is so awesome & exciting Ei!  and what a beautiful picture!   

[The GVAS Monroe County (NY) Big Year! The Rochester Falcon Watcher's Team]

The GVAS Monroe County (NY) Big Year!  The Rochester Falcon Watcher's Team

Lisa McK informed a few of us that the GVAS board members were going to team up for their Big Year.  When she mentioned it, we thought awesome!  The Rochester Falcon Watchers would form their own team for the GVAS Monroe County Big Year.  We'd supply a little competition to the GVAS team.  This would be a lot of fun.

So, what IS a Big Year you ask?  It's tracking all the different birds you see in a year.  If you saw the recent movie "The Big Year", you know that it can get really crazy.  Some birders literally go NUTS trying to find that elusive bird!  Our Big Year will be much calmer (I think) and contained in a much smaller location, Monroe County, NY, not the whole U.S.

Local Falcon Watchers, this is the place to post what birds you see on your travels.  But, remember, they must be birds seen within Monroe County.  So no counting that Short-ear Owl you saw in Avon, Kathy and Joyce.  Or that Ivory-billed Woodpecker you saw down in Arkansas, MAK.  Or the Kiwi seen in New Zealand.  You get the idea!  You also can't count the feathery babies that live with you.  So, no, Justice and Lucky don't count.  But if you happen to see a Cockatiel out in the wild, that would count.  Hopefully, we won't see any exotics.

These must be Monroe County birds.  If you see them in Monroe County and they then fly out of Monroe County, they still count.  This means Monroe County in New York, not Monroe County, Louisiana.

OK, get out there and find those rare, hard-to-find birds!  Even the more "common" birds count.  Report the name of the bird, the day you saw it and where.  That way, if others want to see a bird, they'll know where to look.  Post a picture if you get one.  It's a fun way for all of us to learn to ID birds.

Joyce has the official Audubon list of birds and has volunteered to keep track of all the birds reported by the Rochester Falcon Watchers in a central place.  She will periodically post our sightings here.

We have some great birds so far including, of course, a Peregrine Falcon, a Snowy Owl, a Bald Eagle and a Kestrel.  We also have a Barred Owl, which I heard vocalizing from the woods at the end of my street.  Yes, according to June Summers, if you are familiar with a bird's call and you hear it, but don't see it, it counts.

Now this isn't to say that you ALL can't join in on the fun.  Start a list of the birds you see in your own area.  Start a Big Year of your own and share what you see with us.  Just label your post "Outside Monroe County".  That way Joyce won't check it off on our list.

If you don't know what kind of bird you saw and you get a picture, post it here and we'll all help you to ID it.  This will be not only fun, but a great way to enjoy the outdoors and learn about BIRDS.  What a silent, sad world this would be without our feathered friends!

The time to start has already passed.  Our Big Year will go from January 1st to December 31, 2012.

Remember, this is all for fun and a learning experience for us all.  Enjoy! and Keep Your Eyes to the Sky!

Big Frank.  I agree with everything you say.  A few years ago, we had a Northern Hawk Owl in a town west of Rochester.  So, many people went to see this beautiful creature, including me.  When I was there, everyone was respectful, keeping their distance.  Then I heard that some people were baiting the owl with pet store mice.  Personally, I was livid.  So post away Big Frank.  I totally agree with you when it comes to this subject. 

Snow flakes are falling
one snow flake might be bird poop
don't stick out your tongue

Love this!!! 

Now, THAT'S a haiku!!! Yay, Ruth!

Patooie!  I knew that snow flake tasted funny!   

A good ending.   

I just questioned June about whether only hearing a bird and not seeing it counted.  This was her reply.

"When you know a bird by sound it counts." - June

JOIN THE BIG YEAR FUN:

Did you see the movie “The Big Year� released this fall? Or maybe you attended our October program “Extreme Birder� with Lynn E. Barber. Both are about people traveling the country in attempts to see rare birds and counting as many different species as they can see in one year. The GVAS Board has decided to do a Big Year in 2012, however we have limited ourselves to Monroe County.

GVAS will be tracking the number of different bird species seen by a GVAS Board members in Monroe County from January 1, 2012 thru December 31, 2012. We will be leading family nature walks and other various outings to see and add birds to our Big Year List. Whenever possible we will take pictures of some of the birds seen. We will include updates in our newsletter and on our website.  Or follow our adventures on GVAS’s Facebook page. We will list the birds seen on our website and facebook page.

Join us, form your own Big Year team and try to beat the GVAS Board. Remember all birds must be seen with the boundaries of Monroe County. You too will be able to post your list of birds on the GVAS Facebook and ask questions about the birds you have seen.

June will post the list of the GVAS Board team at the end of the month. We invite you to post there as well so we can keep track of your list as well. So get out there and start keeping your list.

We are still working out prizes, so stay with us. If you have any question contact June at, summers@frontiernet.net.

June Summers, GVAS

To be or not to...
bees get eaten by Falcon...
babies when hungry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TlNOwwQQJk#  We can do this!

Sorry, I only buy my insurance from Allstate.

"I could have had a falcon!"

"Shaky, Shaky, Shaky"

You are our very own Mayhem.

Ur da bomb Shaky!

YIKES!!

 

Well, thanks for sharing Matthew's updates Carly.   

It is very sad that Infinity is no longer at Mississauga.  We visited her and her mate Eternity last year.  They are a beautiful pair.  The fact that she was a Buffalo gal made her special to us.  Although they are ALL special.  We even helped name her when we had dinner with the CPF gang.  Her band has a sideways 8, which is of course the sign for Infinity.   

I truly hope that she is ok and just chased out of the area or on migration.  Be well Infinity wherever you are.   

How 'bout a zipline ride from Zerox to OCSR for a new feature!  

and we can yell "WEEEEEEE WEEEEEEE WEEEEEEE!" all the way.   

Yeah, I have to agree, not a transmitter.  Too low on the bird and too long.