The North Viewing Blind at Tifft Nature Preserve.
“It’s really an oasis basically right next to downtown where you’ll just find birds of all different types in greater numbers than you would anywhere else in the area.”
That’s how Kevin Rybczyński, an avid birder who runs the @buffalony Instagram page, describes Tifft Nature Preserve. He’s been birding at Tifft for years.
Listed as one of New York State’s top locations to go birding, thousands of people come to the Preserve in all seasons to observe and photograph the wide array of birds that fly through the region.
Kevin Rybczyński discusses birding at Tifft Nature Preserve.
“When a lot of the birds that migrate in the spring and fall, they can only land in certain habitats,” Kevin said. “As they fly over parts of the city and suburbs, there aren’t really any suitable places for them to land, and so they follow the lake and they find Tifft.”
The ability to connect with nature directly while staying in the city itself draws Kevin back, time and again.
And a key feature of the Preserve that makes it not only a haven for migrating birds, but also the birders who flock to the Preserve to see them, is the viewing blind on the northern end of the marshland. “The blind is great, because the birds really don’t react to you, even though they can see you moving through it. They’re just not bothered,” he said.
But there’s a problem.
The damaged portholes in the North Viewing Blind are among the many signs of wear that need to be repaired.
That viewing blind needs some major repairs. Rotting, warped deck boards, beaten-up viewing ports and weathered, flaking paint all add up to thousands of dollars needed to fix this vital piece of the Preserve.
“If the blind wasn’t here, every bird would instantly fly away,” Kevin said. “It’s truly a blessing for us birders to have a blind this size right here in the city.”
According to Kevin, the North Viewing Blind is one of the largest of its kind in Erie County, providing birders in Buffalo with a wide view over the marshlands that make up most of the and access to some of the most fascinating fowls in the region.
“There was one early morning that my wife and I came to Tifft before work, and we were coming up on this boardwalk here, and there was a short-eared owl, and it flew by,” Kevin said. “It was a quiet, foggy sort of day, and it came up on us like a ghost, hunted around the north blind for a bit, then disappeared. To come across one here was an absolute surprise!”
Kevin watches for birds through his binoculars at the North Viewing Blind.
To ensure that Western New Yorkers can continue to have experiences like that at the North Viewing Blind, Tifft is taking part in the #Give716 Campaign this week. All proceeds raised during the campaign will go right back into upgrading the viewing blind.
Give716 starts taking donations at 7:16 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15, and will continue accepting them through 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, July 16. Several local organizations, such as the Bills & Sabres Foundations, M&T Bank, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Wegmans, KeyBank and Delaware North are all putting on “Power Hours” throughout the day in which they will match tens of thousands of dollars in donations.
Tifft Nature Preserve is hoping to raise $5,000 over the course of the day. Donors who give more than $250 will receive special recognition on the new viewing blind.
You can donate to the campaign here.
