Greetings,

In the coming weeks to months I will have the great opportunity to be working for the Greene County IDA in upstate NY studying the land usage of winter raptors on two parcels of land. These lands are a part of the greater Coxsackie Grasslands Complex, a unique and truly valuable resource to grassland birds in Upstate NY. Aside from the Ft. Edward’s grasslands, this is perhaps the best area in NY’s greater Capital District and Hudson Valley to find winter raptors in abundance including: Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk (both phases), Short-eared Owl, and the occasional Snowy Owl. In addition to the raptors, the area in general is a great place to seek out ice-birds like Northern Shrike, Snow Buntings, Horned Larks, Lapland Longspurs, and locally rare species of winter gulls (Iceland, Glaucous, and Lesser Black-backed).

The work itself will be extremely valuable as the land is being looked into for future (partial) development. I truly hope that my sole research efforts will assist in smart development that can not only benefit the community itself but also allow for smart conservation efforts as well. While I have to decline putting out more information on the development for now as I would like to learn more about the IDA and the projects themselves, please check back here for updated posts on the field research itself and any bird findings I happen to come across.

To learn more about the Greene County IDA, please visit their website.

To learn more about the Coxsackie Grasslands and general bird finding opportunities in N. Greene County/S. Albany County, please follow local bird guru Richard Guthrie’s Bird Blog.
Best,
Chad