Welcome BOS members and all interested in birding Western New York and Niagara Peninsula of Ontario!

featured bird photo
Singing male Prairie Warbler photographed in the southerntier.

Scoping May

It's showtime! This is the month we have all been waiting for! The possibilities are endless. The beauty of May is that you can basically go birding anywhere and expect to see migrants. The birds arrive in pulses, usually accompanying a warm front. On the third Sunday of the month is the annual May Bird Census. Please join us by volunteering some of your time on this day! This year's compiler is Bob DeLeon, please contact him if you can assist with the count at [email protected].

There is an art to birding in May. Weather plays a huge part on when birds arrive and where they make landfall. Generally speaking, locations along the immediate lakeshores can sometimes be loaded with birds. This is most likely to happen after the passage of a warm front followed by a cold front resulting in rain. The precipitation can ground birds and produce fallout conditions. Of course the planets have to align in order for a fallout to occur, but when it does, it's magnificent!

The traditional migrant hotspots are the popular focus in May: Forest Lawn Cemetery, Tifft Nature Preserve, Reinstein Woods, Goat Island, Four Mile Creek State Park and Fort Niagara State Park. On years with cooler weather, leaf bud is delayed the closer you are to the lake shores. Inland locations will tend to leaf out earlier and therefore be more attractive to migrants. Forest Lawn Cemetery is widely acclaimed as a spring destination for Neotropical migrants. This is due to its inland location resulting in earlier leaf out as well as its oasis-like appeal to birds looking for a resting place after a long night of migration. The list of rarities located here is long. Unfortunately, migrants this time of year don't tend to linger. These birds are on a race to get back to their breeding grounds.

May still offers hawk flights at the Hamburg Hawkwatch. By this stage of the spring raptor migration, immature Broad-winged Hawks make up the bulk of the numbers as well as young Bald Eagles and Sharp-shinned Hawks. In the early mornings at the hawkwatch site, you can test your skills at identifying overhead passerines. These birds are dispersing inland away from the lakeshore to find suitable foraging habitat for the day.

WNY is not known as a great spring shorebird site, but they do pass through the region in May. The traditional locations are the best area to check: Woodlawn Beach SP, Batavia WWTP and Iroquois NWR. Also worth checking are the farm fields in Niagara and Orleans Counties - especially after a heavy rain. Not only does the rain create temporary mud puddles in agricultural fields for the shorebirds to forage in, but precip events will also ground the birds during their overhead passage. One of the most stunning sandpipers to cross paths with this time of year is the Dunlin. Species such as Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers can be found along creeks and pond edges at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Reinstein Woods and Delaware Park Lake.

Later migrants are still sifting through towards the end of the month, species such as Yellow-bellied and Olive-sided Flycatchers, Mourning and Blackpoll Warblers and Gray-cheeked Thrush.

Memorial Day weekend is the traditional time to look for migrant Whimbrel along the Fort Erie Lakeshore just west of the Peace Bridge. Most Whimbrel migrating through the region cross the fetch of Lake Ontario and there is a watch set up near Toronto to record the thousand-plus birds that pass through annually, all within a few short days. Every year a few birds end up along the rocky shoreline of Fort Erie. Check the end of Kraft Road, Windmill Point and Rock Point Provincial Park. The breakwalls along the Buffalo Outer Harbor would also be worth scoping.

           


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 BOS coverage area includes Western New York and parts of nearby Ontario, Canada. This region is rich in bird life with over 380 species and 25 recognizable subspecies of birds recorded. Explore our site to learn more about where to report and find birds, both regional specialties and rare visitors.

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!

 JOIN the BOS  


  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.



  Upcoming Field Trips and Events

For a full list of our upcoming field trips, meetings, and events, visit our calendar page. You don't have to be a member to join our field trips or meetings! (Note that meetings run from September through June.)

event image

May 02, 2026   (Saturday)

Field Trip - Audubon Community Nature Center with Devin Banning and Katelyn Davis

Details: (click for more info)

1600 Riverside Road, Jamestown, NY 14701

Leaders: Devin Banning (716) 260-8889
[email protected]
Katelyn Davis (716) 216-3881

Meet at 8:00am in the main parking lot for the Audubon Community Nature Center. See Google Maps link above.

Please join Devin, Katelyn and members of the Chautauqua-Warren Birding Association for spring migrants on a 1/2 day trip on the trails at the Audubon Community Nature Center, Jamestown, NY. We all are familiar with the magic of May when so many possibilities exist! The south shore of Lake Erie can pile up birds as they arrive from tropical wintering grounds, especially if inclement weather is involved. The 2024 trip turned up a Snowy Egret!

Here is the checklist link from last year’s outing…
https://eBird.org/checklist/S232579797

Photo of a Sora by Nathan Stimson at ACNC on May 24, 2024.
event image

May 09, 2026   (Saturday)

Field Trip - Point Gratiot with Devin Banning and Katelyn Davis

Details: (click for more info)

Brooks Pavilion (Main Pavilion), Point Gratiot Park

Leader: Devin Banning (716) 260-8889
[email protected]
Katelyn Davis (716) 216-3881

Meet at 8am at the Brooks Pavilion at Point Gratiot Park. See map link above for exact location. The Brooks Pavilion is the main pavilion inside the park.

Join Devin Banning and Katelyn Davis for a walk through Point Gratiot Park in Dunkirk. The Point serves as a migrant trap and funnels northbound birds into the DEC woodlot, the crown jewel of the park, which offers superb habitat for migratory songbirds. The sandy and rocky shoreline can host migrant shorebirds.
We should see the local Bald Eagles that frequent the lakeshore and we might catch a glimpse of the Peregrine Falcons that nest on the old NRG power plant. The resident Red-headed Woodpeckers are always a treat to see and the Purple Martin houses will be very active. Point Gratiot has hosted some fantastic rarities over the years including Harris’s Sparrow, Worm-eating and Kentucky Warblers, and Summer Tanager.
Birding destinations targeted after we wrap up at Pt. Gratiot will be determined based upon weather and migration patterns on the days leading up to our trip. A stop at the Dunkirk Airport should add a few grassland species to our day’s list including Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink, American Kestrel and locally-nesting Grasshopper Sparrow.

Last year’s eBird Trip Report:
https://eBird.org/tripreport/365780?view=checklists

Photo of a Northern Parula taken by Nathan Stimson at Point Gratiot on May 18, 2025.
event image

May 09, 2026   (Saturday)

Field Trip - Letchworth SP with Matt Nusstein

Details: (click for more info)

6773 Trailside Road, Castile, NY 14427

Leader - Matt Nusstein ([email protected]; (716) 446-3376)

Location - Meet at 8am at the Humphrey Nature Center, 6773 Trailside Road, Castile, NY 14427 (see map link above).

Scenic Letchworth State Park, embracing the Genesee River, boasts incredible numbers of migratory birds in May and June. In addition, more than twenty species of warblers nest in the park annually making for an exciting birding destination. This list includes the local Louisiana Waterthrush as well as gems like Hooded, Blue-winged and Mourning Warblers. Acadian Flycatcher is another local species we hope to cross paths with during our outing. We will be birding along the gorge making various stops with short hikes as we go. The trip could last 5-6 hours and we will have lunch overlooking the river. Carpooling is suggested. Bring a lunch, snacks and beverages.

Photo of a Louisiana Waterthrush taken by Brad Carlson on May 14, 2020 at Letchworth SP.
event image

May 13, 2026   (Wednesday)

Meeting - Phantasms and Fallacies: The Pitfalls in Bird Identification

Details: (click for more info)

Buffalo Museum of Science

Meet at 7 pm in the Cummings Room at the Buffalo Museum of Science.

Julian Hough Presentation: Phantasms and Fallacies: The Pitfalls in Bird Identification

Remote Presentation
event image

May 16, 2026   (Saturday)

Field Trip - Tifft Nature Preserve with Seaghan Coleman

Details: (click for more info)

Tifft Nature Preserve, 1200 Fuhrmann Boulevard, Buffalo, NY 14203

Meet at 7:30am on the bridge just past the Visitor Center.

Leader: Seaghan Coleman (716-435-7753 or [email protected])

This trip will focus on newly arrived neotropical migrants as well as lingering waterfowl and sparrows. Tifft holds the distinctive honor of having the highest number of species recorded on premises in our region - 270! The list of highlights is long and includes Kentucky, Connecticut and Yellow-throated Warblers, Summer Tanager, Sedge Wren, Barn Owl, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and so much more.

We will hike the trails in search of early-arriving warblers, thrushes and other long-distance migrants as well as look over the marsh for rails and bitterns. If we are lucky, we may see late migrant raptors.

This will be an easy walk over level ground and boardwalks, possibly muddy trails. The trip will span the morning hours so make sure to bring snacks and something to drink. Remember that the south end of Tifft is plagued by red ants, the biting kind, so wear appropriate footwear.

This photo of a Bay-breasted Warbler was taken by Don Dixon at Tifft NP on May 18, 2025.
event image

May 17, 2026   (Sunday)

BOS May Bird Count

Details: (click for more info)

Throughout the BOS Study Area

Sunday, May 17, 2026

All BOS members will hopefully participate in the 87th annual May Bird Count.

BOS members are encouraged 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 Bob DeLeon who will put you into contact with the correct section compiler. Please visit the May Count information page on the website at the address below. Thank you so much!

More about the May Count: more info »

Chestnut-sided Warbler photo taken at Canadaway Creek WMA, Chautauqua by Gale VerHague on May 25, 2019.
event image

Jun 06, 2026   (Saturday)

Field Trip - Birding by Bike with Joe Petre at Iroquois NWR

Details: (click for more info)

712 Lewiston Road, Basom, NY 14013 (Kanyoo Trail Parking Lot)

Saturday, June 6, 2026
Meet at 7:30am at the Kanyoo Trail Parking Lot - see Google map link above.
Leader: Joe Petre
[email protected]
(716) 207-9555

***This trip is by reservation only - please call/text Joe to let him know you would like to join this trip.

Please join BOS member, Joe Petre, on a casual birding by bike tour along the northern section of the Feeder Ditch Trail as well as the surrounding quiet roads of the Tonawanda WMA. This will be a great way to cover a good amount of ground while making stops to look and listen for various species. Plan to bike up to ten miles over both paved and unpaved /gravel roads. Hook up your bike rack and meet the group at 730am - don't forget your helmet and water!
event image

Jun 10, 2026   (Wednesday)

Meeting - Picnic and a walk through Tifft Nature Preserve

Details: (click for more info)

Tifft Nature Preserve

The annual BOS picnic meeting will be held at Tifft Nature Preserve on Wednesday, June 12, at 6 PM.

Weather permitting, bring your meal, a folding chair if you like, and meet at the picnic tables outside the Visitor Center.

The gates will be open to drive back to the staff parking area outside the building. Also, the restrooms will be open 6:00 to 6:30.

After our meals, we will hike the preserve until sunset.
event image

Jun 13, 2026   (Saturday)

Field Trip - Darien Lake SP with Matt Nusstein

Details: (click for more info)

Gravel lot off Alleghany Road (Route77) across from 10271 Alleghany Road.

Meeting time is 8:00am in the gravel lot off Alleghany Road (Route 77) across from 10271 Alleghany Road.

Leader is Matthew Nusstein - (716) 446 3376; [email protected]

Matt will be leading our group in search of grassland breeding birds at Darien Lake SP in Genesee County. In the fields at this location, we will be looking for Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark and Savannah Sparrow. This trip will last approximately 3 hours.

Photo of an Eastern Meadowlark taken by Brad Carlson at nearby Carlton Hill MUA on May 5, 2023.

See Our Full List of Events  

Buffalo Museum of Science logo
The Buffalo Ornithological Society is affiliated with the Buffalo Museum of Science
and a member of the New York State Ornithological Association.

Copyright © 2026   Buffalo Ornithological Society
All Rights Reserved.
BOS logo

Website design and development by nSytes

New York State Ornithological Association logo