This is bird note. I'm Marcus Rostin, a naturalist who feels lucky that my local patch happens to be a world-class travel destination for both people and birds.

In the midst of Niagara Falls sores a diversity of birds also worth flocking for.

The Niagara River Corridor has been an ecological refuge and

cultural crossroad since the last ice age. Just downstream from the falls at

the Stella Niagara Preserve is my favorite spot to be

serenated by long-tailed ducks and squeaking bone-apart skulls overwintering

from the Arctic.

This site is one of the only good places to land a canoe in the massive gorge,

which made it essential for the Hodinoshoni and other Native American groups to portage around the falls.

Niagara rivers churning rapids prevent it from freezing, making it a fishing hot spot for gulls and ducks.

The corridor hosts over half of the world species of gull, from the great blackback gull, the largest in the world, to the smallest, the little gull.

Those rapids were also the final hurdle for freedom seekers on their migration to Canada.

Niagara Falls was a crucial last stop for the underground railroad. Niagara is a biodiverse cultural confluence

where the paths of birds and humans intersect and intertwine.

This week is Black Birders Week.

To learn how to participate, follow the hashtag Black Birders Week on social media and

visit Bird note.org.