Saturday Guided Bird Walks at RTPI with Chautauqua-Warren Birding Association
Please join us for a new series of Saturday Guided Bird Walks, led by Devin Banning and Katelyn Davis, co-founders of the Chautauqua-Warren Birding Association.
Spring Migration Bird Walk – Saturday, May 25 – 8 am-10 am
Level: All
Location: Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Jamestown
Contact: birdingchautauquawarren@gmail.com
Join birders from the CWBA for the first in a series of birding events at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute! The Peterson Preserve at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute features 27 acres of diverse habitat, including a mature hemlock grove, pollinator meadows, vernal wetlands, creeks and ponds, early successional wooded areas, and an eastern bluebird trail. Over 140 bird species have been observed along the trails at the preserve. Our group should be able to find resident birds and some migrants on the tail end of their spring migration.
Birdapalooza at RTPI — Saturday, June 22, 9 am – 12 pm
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Location: Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Jamestown
Contact: birdingchautauquawarren@gmail.com or info@rtpi.org
Join us for 4 fun birding events in one:
- Mike Morgante will lead a presentation on the New York Breeding Bird Atlas III, which is now in its final year.
- We will announce the winners of the Bentley Preserve Birding Challenge, co-sponsored by RTPI and the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy
- NYS DEC Regional Director Julie Barrett-O’Neill and Regional Wildlife Biologist Jacquie Walters will be on hand to celebrate RTPI’s recent inclusion in the NYS Birding Trail
- Afterwards, Devin Banning and Katelyn Davis, co-founders of Chautauqua-Warren Birding Association will lead us on a guided bird walk through the Peterson Preserve to practice our “atlasing” skills as we search for nesting birds
Digiscoping for Beginners + Bird Walk – Saturday, July 6 – 8 am – 11 am
Level: All
Location: Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Jamestown
Contact: birdingchautauquawarren@gmail.com
Join local birders for a tutorial on how to take great pictures of birds with just your phone and binoculars. Digiscoping is the term for using the camera on your phone to take a photo through your binoculars or spotting scope. With a bit of practice, you can take good photos of birds through your binoculars without having to spend money on and lug around a big camera. Afterwards, enjoy a bird walk around the Peterson Preserve to hone your digiscoping skills.
Fall Migration Bird Walk – Saturday, September 14 – 9 am – 12 pm
Level: All
Location: Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Jamestown
Contact: birdingchautauquawarren@gmail.com
Join birders from the Chautauqua-Warren Birding Association for a guided bird walk through the Peterson Preserve in search of southbound migrants. The Preserve hosts over 140 species throughout the year, and we should be able to get our eyes on dozens of them as many of them make their way south as far as the southern tip of South America! Bring your own binoculars, although a couple may be available.
Audubon Christmas Bird Count Informational Meeting – Saturday, November 30 – 10 am-12 pm
Level: All
Location: Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Jamestown
Contact: birdingchautauquawarren@gmail.com
Join Devin Banning for a presentation on the Christmas Bird Counts. The Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is the longest-running citizen science initiative in the country. Across the western hemisphere, there are thousands that take place, and there are several that take place locally! Find out how they got started, where they take place now, and how you can get involved.
Great Backyard Bird Count – TBD in February 2025
Details: TBD in collaboration with Craig Thompson.
About the Bird Walk Guides
Devin Banning is a recent graduate of SUNY Fredonia. He currently serves on the faculty of the Fredonia School of Music as a graduate assistant while pursuing a master’s degree. Though his career choice is in music, he is an avid birder and amateur naturalist. Devin is a co-founder of the Chautauqua-Warren Birding Association (CWBA) and frequently leads programs and birding outings with Katelyn Davis for the CWBA and Buffalo Ornithological Society.
Katelyn Davis is a designer and illustrator whose work focuses on the natural world, especially birds. She frequently ties her experiences from birding into her work. Davis’s art was included in the exhibition Hope is the Thing with Feathers at RTPI in March of 2023. She is a co-founder of the Chautauqua Warren Birding Association and frequently leads birding outings for the CWBA and Buffalo Ornithological Society.
About the Chautauqua-Warren Birding Association
The CWBA hosts a diverse array of bird-focused programming including educational meetings and field trips. Meetings are held in both Northern and Southern Chautauqua County, with plans for meetings in Warren County, PA in the future. The club is free and open to anyone interested in birds. To join our email list, please send an email to birdingchautauquawarren@gmail.com.