New York State Ornithological Association      For the birders and birds of the Empire State

Last Updated 3/17/12

3/17/12 NYSOA Field Trip & Workshop in the Adirondacks July 7-8, 2012 More details coming soon! 11/24/11 Kingbird Archive Updated 4 issues added - Volume 59 (2009) Nos. 1-4 11/1/11 Why Cats Belong Indoors by Stella Miller, Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society NYSARC Reports 1977 - 2009   Black Guillemot photo by Angus Wilson New York State Young Birders Club Spotting a White-eyed Vireo at Muttontown Preserve photo by Carena Pooth

Are you looking for information about birding in New York State? Check out our directory of member organizations with links to websites listing local field trips and other activities! NYSOA Gull ID Workshop & Field Trip, January 7-8, 2012 updated 1/21/12 The gull identification workshop and field trip held the weekend of January 7-8, 2012 were a great success.  Here are some excerpts from a report written by field trip leader Willie D’Anna, a recognized authority on gull identification in the Niagara region: [At] the workshop, given by Jean Iron of Toronto, Jean discussed and showed slides of the different plumages of all of the gull species that have occurred on the Niagara River (19 species) and in Ontario (two additional species).  The talk was very well received by a large gathering of birders from all over New York and Ontario. On Sunday, I led the field trip along the Niagara River, with much appreciated assistance from Jean Iron, Ron Pittaway, and Betsy Potter.  The trip was only open to members of NYSOA and included some 30 participants.  In order to help learn the ID points from Jean’s talk the day before, assignments were given to find as many different ages of Herring Gull (all four were found), Great Black-backed Gull (three were found), and Bonaparte’s Gull (both were found).  Of course, it was not all work and we found a lot of great birds on the day, a few of which were lifers for several attendees....[for trip itinerary & bird sighting details, see Willy's complete report] For the day we had 10 species of gulls and lots of individuals to study.  The number of gulls here is still very high, both large gulls and Bonaparte’s Gulls.  Keep in mind that this varies.  Weekdays seem to be poorer for large gulls (although Mondays may be an exception), presumably due to the dumps drawing them away.  We were very fortunate with the weather, which could not have been better – I heard not a single complaint about being cold.                                              — Willy D'Anna, January 9, 2012 Read or download Willy's complete report. NYSOA Annual Meeting September 23-25, 2011 View Report & Photo Gallery   NEW 12/5/11 The 2011 NYSOA Annual Meeting was held the weekend of September 23-25 in Dutchess County, about halfway between NYC and Albany. The meeting was hosted by the Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club and featured Scott Weidensaul as the keynote speaker. Scott's topic was Messing Around with Birds (for Fun and Science). The objectives of the New York State Ornithological Association are to document the ornithology of New York State; to foster interest in and appreciation of birds; and to protect birds and their habitats. Individuals as well as clubs/organizations are welcome to join and will enjoy the benefits of membership, including subscriptions to NYSOA's quarterly journal, The Kingbird, and its newsletter, New York Birders.  NYSOA also offers its individual members a discounted rate of $25 annually (40% off the regular rate of $42) for a subscription to the online version of the The Birds of North America

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