There are 630 million Dark-eyed juncos in North America, according to one estimate. This one was in the state’s Cranberry Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Patterson this morning.

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

Juncos are the “snowbirds” of the middle latitudes. Over most of the eastern United States, they appear as winter sets in and then retreat northward each spring. Some juncos in the Appalachian Mountains remain there all year round, breeding at the higher elevations. These residents have shorter wings than the migrants that join them each winter. Longer wings are better suited to flying long distances, a pattern commonly noted among other studies of migratory vs. resident species.

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New Jersey wildlife authorities have captured a wild turkey that was hanging around some toll booths on the New Jersey Turnpike. No word if the bird had an E-ZPass.

As the state Department of Environmental Conservation points out in its latest family newsletter, “If we take some simple steps to change how we do things, we can conserve energy and use less fossil fuel every day.” Doing so can help limit climate change.

You can find more information in its Outdoor Discovery newsletter.

Emergency responders from multiple state and county agencies will participate in a security exercise Wednesday at the Indian Point nuclear plant in Buchanan. Westchester County officials are advising residents who live near the plant that emergency vehicles, police cars, fire trucks and ambulances will be used – without lights and sirens – during the exercise. The four counties within the 10-mile evacuation radius of Indian Point – Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Orange will participate, along with plant personnel and representatives of New York State. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be observing the exercise.

If you’re a deer hunter and you’re interested in a possible tax break, check out a proposal by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

The Greenburgh Nature Center on Thursday will host a “Public Forum on Deer and Biodiversity in Westchester.” The event will look at and discuss ways deer are being controlled in Westchester County.

“Presentations by members of the County Deer Task Force will include details on the history and ecological context of local deer populations, and proposed ways of protecting biodiversity in the face of increased deer populations. Following the panel presentations, public discussion will be moderated by Fred Koontz, Executive Director of Teatown Lake Reservation. This free program is co-sponsored by the Lower Hudson Chapter of the Sierra Club; refreshments served.
Moderator: Fred Koontz, Executive Director, Teatown Lake Reservation
Panelists will include: Rod Christie, Executive Director, Mianus River Gorge; Beth Herr, Program Administrator, Conservation for the County of Westchester, Member of County Deer Task Force; Laura Simon, Field Director, Urban Wildlife Program, The Humane Society of the United States, Minority Report WCDTF; Dan Aitchison, Curator & Wildlife Biologist, County of Westchester.”

The county in late summer agreed to open 850 acres of parkland this fall to bowhunters in an effort to curb the deer population.

The forum starts at 7:30 p.m.

A black bear was spotted Sunday morning on Turkey Mountain, a 125-acre preserve in Yorktown off Route 118. Jay Cohen, who was hiking with a friend, spotted the bear.

On Sunday, November 8th about 7.30AM, my friend and I were taking our weekend hike up Turkey Mountain (rt. 118). As we entered the white trail we saw several deer, which ran off into the forest. It was a lovely morning. When we got to the top of the mountain, we sat and spoke for a while. We then started down on the blue trail. After about 50 feet of walking, we both stopped and looked at this huge black object  digging through the leaves to get to the underbrush. We thought it might be a huge dog. We noticed the tail did not look like a dogs tail. Also, the legs were massive. Suddenly, the animal lifted its head and turned and looked at us. It was not a dogs face, it was a huge Black Bear.

Information about the state’s black bears and living with them can be found here. If you’re wondering when bears bed down for a winter nap, a state Department of Environmental Conservation report (a .pdf is here) points out:

“Typically, female bears enter a den during October or November, and males enter their dens in November or December.”

Ever wonder what happens to crickets when winter gets here? Well, they die.

During these past couple of warm nights, I’ve heard one or two crickets still chirping from somewhere in my yard. It wasn’t so much a chorus of crickets but just a couple of solo performers, sounding off very slowly as if it was taking a lot of effort to push out the chirps.

“The number of chirps varies with the temperature with more and faster chirping at higher temperatures. Chirps vary from four to five to more than 200 per second.”

Here’s a video of a cricket doing its thing.

Are your birds blurry? Do your wildlife photos give the impression of an ink-blot test? (Sounds like a tv pitch, doesn’t it?)

For some tips on better wildlife photos, check out DEC TV.

The Westchester Land Trust is sponsoring a series of lectures and discussions titled “Food, Land, Sustainability: Five cutting edge lectures about the environment, the way we live today, and the way we’ll need to live in the future.”

The series starts in December and runs until April.

From December 2009 through April 2010, we’re offering the chance for you to hear and converse with experts who will talk about sustainability issues concerning food and agriculture, local farming, the Hudson River and our coastal waters, and energy.

In hopes of reaching more people in more places, we’re offering the lectures in locations around Westchester County.

For more information about locations and registering, go to the land trust’s Food,  Land, Sustainability page.