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North County Migratory Bird Observation Tour will start at Dunkirk pier

Submitted Photo courtesy of Gale VerHague Pictured are Hooded Mergansers.

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy and Lake Erie Bird Club invite the public to celebrate the National Audubon Society’s “Year of the Bird” by attending the Northern Chautauqua County Migratory Bird Observation Tour, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. on March 24, starting at the Central Avenue pier in Dunkirk Harbor.

In March, thousands of beautiful waterfowl, raptors, and songbirds travel through Chautauqua County. Some stop to rest and eat, offering a welcome opportunity to observe these long-distance travelers. The Lake Erie shore and nearby inland marshes and ponds provide for excellent viewing of March migrants. You just have to be in the right place at the right time to observe this annual spectacle!

On March 24, our “target birds” will include Bald Eagle, Tundra Swan, Snow Goose, Northern Shoveler, Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, three merganser species, and a variety of hawks and songbirds. If we’re lucky, we may even see a Snowy Owl.

The program will start at 9 a.m. at the Central Avenue pier in Dunkirk Harbor. Terry Mosher of the Lake Erie Bird Club will lead the tour and assist with bird identification and descriptions. Claire Quadri of the CWC will provide information about the importance of water quality and habitat to the migrating birds. After Dunkirk Harbor, the group will head inland to check out additional nearby ponds and marshes. Bring along a pair of binoculars and, if you wish, a camera.

Reservations are encouraged, so call or email the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy in advance to let us know you’re coming (info@chautauquawatershed.org or 664-2166).

The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is a member-supported, not-for-profit organization which works with landowners to conserve and enhance the landscape features which protect important wildlife habitats and collect, store, filter, and deliver clean waters to our Chautauqua lakes, streams, and groundwaters. To date it has led efforts conserving over 1,000 acres of land across Chautauqua County.

For more information on this event or the CWC, visit chautauquawatershed.org

The Lake Erie Bird Club, which will celebrate its 55th anniversary this year, welcomes everyone with an interest in the birds of Western New York. Club members include both beginning and longtime birders. The club meets at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the BOCES LoGuidice Center on Fredonia-Stockton Road. Members share sightings, hone their bird-identification skills, conduct three annual bird counts for the Buffalo Ornithological Society, participate in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, and go out on birding field trips like the one on March 24.

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