The Buffalo Ornithological Society, Inc. (BOS) was established in 1929 to promote the study of the birds of the Niagara Frontier Region. Annual grants are awarded by the BOS to fund member-sponsored avian research projects. We are proud of our extensive scientific research databases, our continuing involvement in environmental and conservation activities that impact birds, and our promotion of the enjoyment of ornithology.
The Buffalo Ornithological Society has something to offer to anyone passionate about birds: from the backyard feeder- watcher, the avid lister or the environmental activist, to the dedicated citizen scientist or the professional ornithologist. Society activities include regular programs, field trips, intensive long-term bird counts, checklist and date guide development, varied research activities, and involvement in local conservation efforts. We invite you to join in the activities of the society!
Reflections on "What the BOS Means to . . . "
. . . Kevin Rybczynski
To me, the Buffalo Ornithological Society is the foremost way to connect Buffalo-Niagara’s past, present, and future in terms of birds. The BOS has been around for over ninety years and through bird counts, activism, and love of the birds themselves, you can see its positive impact on the birding community and the next generation of Buffalo birders.
Mar 11, 2026 (Wednesday)
Meeting - Stephen Menzie presents…Falsterbo, Sweden.
Details: (click for more info)
Buffalo Museum of Science
Meet at 7 pm in the Cummings Room at the Buffalo Museum of Science.
If you have travelled with the BOS to Falsterbo, Sweden, you will recall Stephen Menzie, our exceptional guide! Stephen will be in WNY in March and has offered his time to come to Buffalo and give a presentation for our meeting on Falsterbo. If you have been there with the BOS, this will be a fun evening in which to relive the experience alongside Stephen! If you have not yet been to southern Sweden, this will be a nice summary of what to expect if you attend a future trip, including the scheduled early September 2027 trip.
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Mar 14, 2026 (Saturday)
Field Trip - Dunkirk Harbor and Fredonia area with Devin Banning and Katelyn Davis
Details: (click for more info)
Dunkirk City Pier, 8 Central Avenue, Dunkirk, NY 14048
Meet at 9:00am on the Dunkirk Pier (parking available on the pier and by the shops right before the pier).
Leader: Devin Banning (716) 260-8889 [email protected]
Katelyn Davis (716) 216-3881
Our trip will begin at Dunkirk Harbor scoping for various waterbirds. With that in mind, please bring your spotting scope if you have one as it will greatly enrich your experience! Raptors, including Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon, are often in attendance with the plentiful food supply. We will also have a chance at migrant raptors, weather-permitting. Eared Grebe and Little Gull have been seen here in the past, and occasionally the harbor hosts Iceland and Glaucous Gulls! We should be able to see many species of waterfowl including Scaup (Greater and Lesser), Ruddy Duck, Redhead, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, and Northern Pintail.
After birding the harbor, we will explore a few other nearby hotspots offering different habitats; Berry Road Marsh, Van Buren Road Pond and the Dunkirk Airport.
Trip report from March 2025
https://ebird.org/tripreport/341854
Photo of a Long-tailed Duck by Nathan Stimson on March 25, 2024.
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Mar 28, 2026 (Saturday)
Field Trip - Lake Ontario Plains with Willie D’anna and Betsy Potter.
Details: (click for more info)
Top's Market in Wrights Corners, north of Lockport, NY
Saturday, March 28th. Lake Ontario Plains Field Trip for early migrants.
Meet at 8 AM at Tops Market in Wright's Corners. This is on the east side of Route 78 at Route 104, north of Lockport.
Leader: Willie D’anna (716) 471-7595
[email protected]
This popular field trip seeks returning birds, like Killdeer, blackbirds, and Eastern Meadowlark, overwintering birds, like Rough-legged Hawk, Snow Bunting, and Lapland Longspur, and an abundance of waterbirds. We will look for loons, grebes, a variety of ducks and geese, and any goodies that might be around. Seven species of geese have been found on this trip in the past! We will also keep our eyes to the skies in search of migrating raptors, which are often prevalent in spring up by Lake Ontario. Previous trips have even recorded Golden Eagle. Come join us and start to get over your cabin fever!
Photo of White-fronted Geese among Canadas by Wendelin Long on March 29, 2025 near Barker, NY.
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Apr 08, 2026 (Wednesday)
Meeting - Topic TBA
Details: (click for more info)
Buffalo Museum of Science
Meet at 7 pm in the Cummings Room at the Buffalo Museum of Science.
Meeting topic to be added
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Apr 12, 2026 (Sunday)
BOS April Bird Count
Details: (click for more info)
Throughout the BOS Study Area
Sunday, April 12, 2026
All BOS members will hopefully plan to participate. Please help us add to the decades of records that the BOS has collected reflecting population dynamics of the area birdlife. You can be part of a field team or simply count birds at your backyard feeder. All observations are important! If you don't know what section you live in, please contact Joel Strong ([email protected] ) who will put you into contact with the correct section compiler.
Please visit the April Count information page on the website at the address below. Thank you so much!
More About the April Count: Click here »
Photo of a Bald Eagle being mobbed by a Bonaparte’s Gull taken by Brad Reinhardt at Morgan’s Point, Port Colborne on 4/30/2025.
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Apr 19, 2026 (Sunday)
Field Trip - Batavia Wastewater Treatment Plant with Julia Garver and Sarah Balduf
Details: (click for more info)
5 Treadeasy Ave., Batavia, NY 14020
Sunday, April 19th
Leaders: Julia Garver
(716) 474-1366
email: [email protected]
and Sarah Balduf
(585) 356-2432
email: [email protected]
Meet at the operations center at 830 AM (this is the building you will see in front of you as you drive in through the chain link fence/gate). The facility is located at the end of Industrial Blvd, which is off Pearl St. (Rte 33) at the western edge of the city of Batavia.
Julia and Sarah will lead our group through the famous wastewater treatment plant. This complex of man-made ponds and marshes is a verifiable birding hotspot and has attracted such gems as Northern Wheatear, Harlequin Duck, Piping Plover, Neotropic Cormorant and American Avocet.
While the fall months host most birders at this regional hotspot, the spring migration months are definitely under-birded here. The Purple Martin houses should be filling up with adults returning from wintering grounds in the Amazon. The various settling ponds will likely be playing host to a variety of waterfowl, possibly including Common Loon and Horned Grebe.
If you own a spotting scope, this would be a great location to put it to good use! This will be a 1/2 day trip. Bathrooms are available in the administration building.
Photo of a Tree Swallow on April 27, 2025 by Andrea Heine at the Batavia WWTP.
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Apr 25, 2026 (Saturday)
Field Trip - Montezuma NWR with David and Debbie Suggs
Details: (click for more info)
3395 US-20, Seneca Falls, NY 13148
Leaders are David and Debbie Suggs; (716) 861- 8948 [email protected]. Meet at 8:30 am at the Visitor’s Center. Travel time via the thruway from Buffalo to the refuge is two hours.
The Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge complex is a massive wetland that occupies 15 square miles at the north end of Cayuga Lake. Please join BOS members, David and Debbie Suggs, as we explore this unique hotspot and work on building your Seneca County life list.
This vast area is a critical stopover site for many migrants and at this time of year, we will be looking for various waterfowl, including rarities like Eurasian Wigeon and Ross's Goose, and early arriving shorebirds such as Pectoral Sandpipers and Dunlin.
Most of this trip will take place along the Wildlife Drive with frequent stops to scan flocks of ducks. Bring your scope if you have one! Marsh Wrens should be singing from the cattails as Black Terns bound across the open waterways in search of insects and minnows. After completing the Wildlife Drive, there are a dozen more hotspots in the complex.
If any rarities have been found recently, we will try for those as well. With 267 species recorded along the drivable berm alone, something stand-out is bound to await us! Bring a lunch/snacks and beverages for a full day of birding. Bathrooms are available at the visitor center.
Sandhill Crane photographed by David Kennedy along Wildlife Drive 4/24/2024.
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