Animals & Wildlife

Who cooks for me? Who cooks for you?

You may be wondering what those two questions have to do with the Beaver Meadow Audubon Center, but they aren’t actually questions at all. When you say them together, the phrase “who cooks for me, who cooks for you,” is actually the call of a Barred Owl. Try saying it a couple of times without moving your lips, and you will get an idea of what I got to hear at the Center this past weekend on the Owl Prowl.

Owl Prowl is just one of the many educational programs that make Beaver Meadow Audubon Center a great place for learning. Recently, I packed my car full of friends and warm clothes, and headed to North Java for a night walk. When we got there, we were immersed in a presentation on the different type of owls in our region. The naturalist was explaining to our group how an Owl Prowl works, what type of owls we might hear, and what they look like if we would be lucky enough to see them.

You’ve probably heard the saying that safety is a two-way street, and I couldn’t agree with that statement more. Tomorrow, November 17, is opening day of regular season for deer hunting. Deer hunters are allowed to use firearms from November 17 until December 9, and from December 10 until December 18 with a muzzleloader. Regardless if you are a hunter or not, there are many precautions you can take, and information you should know for the next couple of weeks so everyone stays safe while sharing the great outdoors.

Like many kids in Western New York, I was over-the-moon with excitement when I saw the Pembroke/Medina exit on the 90. For some, this exit on the thruway means you are just minutes from Darien Lake, where roller coasters, cotton candy and water parks await. To me, it means I am just minutes from the “Alabama Swamps,” better known as Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (INWR).

One of the best parts about my job at Grow is that I get to visit many fantastic outdoor locations in Western New York. The most recent location on our Go Outside Map I chose to visit was the Clarence Escarpment Sanctuary. The small park offers two short trails around a large marsh full of bird houses, and up the escarpment full of trees. I grabbed a friend and headed the Sanctuary on Greiner Road in Clarence.  A word of caution, you won’t find it on Google maps!

After we drove through the intersection of Greiner and Goodrich, the pull-off for the Sanctuary was on the right less than a quarter of a mile past the intersection. Signs in the parking area informed us that the Sanctuary was acquired through the assistance of the Nature Conservancy. This plot of land is located in a residential area, so preservation of this marsh is crucial for the wildlife that share it.

DISCLAIMER: This blog contains a video that some might consider graphic. The video captures a hawk eating a chipmunk, a wonderful snippet of Nature in action that may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

At Grow, we always stress that our environmental organizations are collaborating for the regional environment and YOU. That is why we get excited when ideas and content are submitted from our Grow friends. Recently, Liz Truskowski was visiting one of our Go Outside Map locations, Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve. While she was there, she saw a red-tailed hawk in full-fledge hunting action. She captured video of the hawk eating its prey, a chipmunk, and decided to share it with everyone at Grow.