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 …
FINWR 10th Annual Photo Contest Winners!
We are pleased to announce the 2020 winners of the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge 10th Annual Amateur Photo Contest! Our annual photo contest is open to all amateur …
Friends of Iroquois NWR 2020 Annual Meeting
Dear Friends of Iroquois, Inc. Membership, To say the least, the year 2020 has been one for the books, and despite the hardships we’ve all been through since the pandemic changed everything, we have achievements …
Asters: The Flowers of Frost
This is a beautiful time of year here. A walk through the Iroquois Refuge or a drive into the countryside in any direction provides enough beauty to lift one’s soul. So much in fact, that …
Ants social distance?
One early morning at the end of July I decided to explore the handicap trail leading from the Refuge Headquarters. I wanted to see what a young person or someone at wheelchair or stroller height …
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 …
Book Review: Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer
When I was young, my grandmother would buy flowers, plant them in clay pots, and place them on the graves of loved ones at our church cemetery. When the flowers were planted and watered, she …
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 …
Widow Skimmer
It’s a wonder that one of the world’s most spectacular and strongest flying insects begins life as a dingy, sinister-looking aquatic larva. Dragonflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis; there is no pupal stage, during development from egg to …