Juncos are Extraordinary Birds
Along with their brown sparrow relatives, some mostly gray birds regularly visit bird feeders. Although they do occasionally eat at trays, more often they are to be seen with doves and other birds feeding on …
Category: Birding
Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge serves primarily as a nesting, feeding, resting and staging area for migratory waterfowl. The varied habitats support approximately 266 species of birds – making it an excellent location for birders.
You can read our articles on birding below, or check out some of our birding tools like:
INWR Bird Finder – Trying to see a specific species? Pick a bird and see where other birders have sighted it!
INWR Birding Hotspots – See where on the refuge birders have been seeing the most birds.
INWR Bird Cam – During nesting season, we manage cameras in some of the nesting sites.
Purple Martin First Flights
Who could not be captivated by the beautiful song and graceful flight of our largest swallow species, the Purple Martin? I for one, have long admired these glossy purplish-blue long-distance migrants to North America. I’ve …
Mystery Bird
I was eleven years old and I knew that this was going to be my first big birding year. My mother had helped me meet some of Rochester’s finest bird watchers: Gordon Meade, Joe Taylor, …
2020 Oak Orchard Swamp Christmas Bird Count
It’s time again for the Oak Orchard Swamp Christmas Bird Count! The count began in December 1968. The National Audubon Society has been sponsoring Christmas Bird Counts for 120 years and the Friends of Iroquois …
Socially Distant Nature Sharing
Hi Everybody! By now we are all anxiously awaiting the news about vaccines that will meet approval for distribution to the public. All of us will especially have to still keep doing what is recommended …
Good Things Come to Those That Wait
Fall seems to be a sad time of year. We lose things – warmth, leaves and favorite song birds. However, bird migration is an astounding phenomenon. That these small, seemingly delicate creatures can travel such distances …
Which Swan is Which?
Many times, people wonder what type of swan they are seeing at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. Up until several years ago, there was really only one possible North American swan as an answer to these …
Half-Brained, But Not Half-Witted
Unihemispherical sleep is an amazing adaptation that has been well studied in several animals, particularly birds. Researchers have used electroencephalograms (EEG) to understand the ability of birds to sleep with only one hemisphere of their …
Three Occasional Fall Visitors
Blown off course. That might be one reason given for the appearance in fall of a few rare western bird species on the Niagara Frontier. This year some might indeed arrive along with the winds …
Act to Become a Volunteer! Cavity Nester Volunteering
Have you ever wanted to learn more about the cavity nesting birds program at Iroquois? There are opportunities awaiting you! As part of our organization purpose, the Friends of Iroquois are dedicated to educating the …