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 [...]

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.

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 all those who wonder if rabid animals are crawling over the landscape, consider this: from Jan. 1 of this year until Sept. 30, the state Health Department tested 708 animals from Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties for rabies. Of those, only about 5 percent, or 37, were positive for rabies.

The discovery of a rabid [...]