Category WildWatch Weekly

Autumn Builders: Muskrats Prepare for Winter at Iroquois Refuge

WildWatch Weekly Autumn Builders: Muskrats Prepare for Winter at Iroquois Refuge Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube The Marsh Comes Alive Autumn settles gently over the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, draping the wetlands in gold and amber. Morning mist drifts across the still water, and the rustle of dry cattails mixes with the calls of distant geese. Just beneath the Bald Eagle nest, where so many eyes focus skyward, another drama unfolds at water level. Ripples spread through...

The Snowbird Returns: Meet the Dark-eyed Junco

WildWatch Weekly The Snowbird Returns: Meet the Dark-eyed Junco Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube The Arrival of Winter’s Little Messenger There’s a quiet magic to that first cold morning when the juncos return. The leaves have mostly fallen, the air carries a sharper edge, and suddenly the familiar flutter of small gray wings animates the ground beneath your feeders. Dark-eyed Juncos, those tiny, slate-colored songbirds with snowy bellies and pink bills, seem to appear overnight,...

The Giant Woodpecker of Our Woods: A Closer Look at the Pileated

WildWatch Weekly The Giant Woodpecker of Our Woods: A Closer Look at the Pileated Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube A Drumbeat in the Forest It’s often the sound that reaches you first, a deep, resonant whock-whock-whock echoing through the woods like the steady rhythm of a carpenter at work. The forest seems to pause for a moment as the sound rolls across the hills, revealing that one of the woodland’s most impressive residents is nearby: the pileated woodpecker. With its bold...

Bats on the Move: Migration and Hibernation in Pennsylvania

WildWatch Weekly Bats on the Move: Migration and Hibernation in Pennsylvania Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube Bats on the Move: Migration and Hibernation in Pennsylvania If you’ve peeked into the Schwarz barn this month, you may have noticed fewer furry faces hanging from the rafters. All summer long, the barn has been alive with the flutter of wings at dusk as our big brown bat colony took off to hunt insects over the fields. Now, as the days grow shorter and the nights turn...

The Power of Many: How Citizen Scientists Are Changing Ornithology

WildWatch Weekly The Power of Many: How Citizen Scientists Are Changing Ornithology Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube The Power of the Crowd Every spring and fall, one of nature’s greatest spectacles unfolds overhead: millions of birds embark on epic migrations, traveling thousands of miles across continents. For centuries, this awe-inspiring movement was a mystery. Scientists pieced together clues using small-scale banding programs, scattered field observations, and a lot of...

How Weather Radar Reveals the Hidden Highways of Bird Migration

WildWatch Weekly How Weather Radar Reveals the Hidden Highways of Bird Migration Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube The Sky Comes Alive at Night Each spring and fall, the night sky above us is filled with life. While most of us are winding down for the evening, countless songbirds, waterfowl, and raptors are taking flight, embarking on long-distance journeys under the cover of darkness. This nightly spectacle of migration is one of the great natural wonders of the world, yet it...

Warblers: The Gems of Migration

WildWatch Weekly Warblers: The Gems of Migration Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube Tennessee Warbler Wings of Color, Stories of Endurance Warblers are among nature’s most dazzling travelers. Though small enough to perch lightly on a fingertip, they shine like living jewels in the treetops, splashes of yellow, green, blue, and orange that catch the morning sun. These tiny songbirds bring a burst of color and song each spring and fall, transforming our forests and backyards into...

Grace in the Marsh: Sandhill Cranes at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge

WildWatch Weekly Grace in the Marsh: Sandhill Cranes at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube Sandhill Cranes on INWR Live Streaming Camera Introduction: A Rare Sighting on Camera There are certain moments in wildlife watching that feel almost magical, and this past week brought one of those rare experiences to our PixCams live streams. Viewers tuning in to the cameras at the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge were treated to the unmistakable sight of...

From Velvet to Bone: The Amazing Cycle of Whitetail Deer Antlers

WildWatch Weekly From Velvet to Bone: The Amazing Cycle of Whitetail Deer Antlers Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube The Fascination with Antlers Each summer, as lush green fields fill with wildlife, many people start noticing something unusual about the bucks they see: their antlers are covered in a soft, fuzzy layer known as velvet. It’s a striking sight and often sparks curiosity, why do deer grow antlers like this, and what does the velvet mean? Antlers are more than just...

Why Late Feeders Support Migrating Hummingbirds

WildWatch Weekly Why Late Feeders Support Migrating Hummingbirds Live Cams Latest Posts Store Facebook YouTube Tiny Travelers on a Grand Journey Each fall, one of nature’s greatest spectacles unfolds right in our own backyards. Hummingbirds, those dazzling little jewels of the bird world, set off on an incredible southbound migration that can span thousands of miles. Despite their delicate size, some weighing less than a penny, these birds are powered by an extraordinary energy that drives...