Animals & Wildlife

June 18-24 is National Pollinator Week.  All over the United States planned activities take place to help pollinators thrive - birds, bees, beetles, moths, and butterflies to name a few.

Pollinators are important because, aside from the fact that agriculture is the number one industry in New York State, we like to eat.  Over 70 percent of all food crops depend on pollinators to produce their flowers, their harvest and seeds.  Over 75 percent of all plants in the wild and in protected habitats, in our landscaping and for other agricultural uses depend on pollinators.

Plants and pollinators cooperate to protect each other.  Pollinators help plants reproduce and plants offer pollinators nourishment and safe shelter to rest and nest.

Want something simple to do during National Pollinator Week or anytime you’re moved to help pollinators?

In a garden spot, large or small, choose native plants that attract native pollinators.  Native plants provide the right food and shelter for the pollinators with whom live here in WNY. Pollinator-friendly plants for our area can be found at

“If you are a bird lover, what bird is your favorite and why?”

Tyler Amy’s comment on this question and “Likes” from his friends and family won him the Roger Tory Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America in the first GrowWNY Facebook Comment Contest of the summer!  As in previous Comment Contests, The GrowWNY Facebook fan who received the most number of “Likes” on their comment won a prize from GrowWNY.org and Tyler’s response received 8 “Likes”!

Here is Tyler’s winning comment:

“Owls are rough and tough (not that I am by any means).  My favorite has to be the Snowy Owl.  It has long been highly regarded by a some Native American tribes and is beauty is simply undeniable.  That and its scientific genus name is Bubo, which sounds like a clown."

With a June 30 cutoff date for entries, organizers are anticipating a last minute surge in submissions to the 2012 Jamestown Audubon Nature Photography Contest.

“It’s been incredibly exciting to have this year’s competition receive broad attention,” noted Audubon Center and Sanctuary Program Director and contest coordinator Jennifer Schlick.  “With terrific prizes and publicity for the winners, we expect an even greater response in these last couple weeks before the June 30 deadline.”

The categories for submissions of photographs in the 2012 contest are Wildlife, Plants/Trees/Fungi, and Landscapes. With Adult and Youth (18 and under or still in high school) Divisions in each category, there will be a total of six winners.

If you’ve heard me talk about getting hooked on birds, then you surely have heard the story of how Elaine Crossley, the Bluebird Lady, plopped bitty Tree Swallow babies into my hands during a nest box check.  I was transfixed by the wiggling creatures – eyes closed tightly, pink translucent skin revealing internal organs, slightly fuzzy, but featherless – so helpless and vulnerable.  Above my head more than two adults (the parents must have called in backup!) scolded and dived as if to say, “Put my babies back, you brute!”  Elaine quickly removed a soggy and moldy nest, reconstructed a new nest from dry grasses, and returned the babies to the box.

The following excerpt and video is from an article written by the WGRZ Web staff and published on June 10, 2012.

Beaver Meadow: 50 Years Of Teaching About Mother Nature

For over 50 years, Beaver Meadow Audubon Center has been educating young and old alike in a living classroom nestled quietly in the hills of the Southern Tier.

The center was first purchased by the Buffalo Audubon Society in 1951, and began teaching Western New York school children before buildings were even erected on the site.