Tifft Nature Preserve

Tifft Nature Preserve. An Urban Sanctuary. , Nature to Industry to Nature , 1998 Designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by National Audubon Society. , 1983 Preserve closed for hazardous waste removal. , 1982 Preserve merged with Buffalo Museum of Science. , 1978 Makowski Visitor Center completed. , 1976 Preserve organized as not-for-ptofit corporation and staffed. , 1973 Two million cubic yards of refuse transferred from Squaw Island [renamed Unity Island]. , 1972 Land purchased by City of Buffalo. , 1912 Panama Canal Act forces separation of rail and shiping interests. , 1900 12 shipping lines docked 83 vessels at Tifft Farm. , 1883 Land sold by the Tifft family. , 1858 George Tifft buys 60 acres. , 1845 Land first deeded. , 1700s Iroquois Confederation claimed land from neutral indians. , 1600s Hunting and gathering ground for neutral indians. , American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus , Pied-billied Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps , Green Heron, Butorides virescens , Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dendroica coronata , Wild Life Returns! , Tifft Nature Preserve has come full circle since the mid-1800s. Rich native wetlands were overrun by farms, stockyards, and a major transshipment terminal. But now the lumber docks, coal trestles, lake freighters, and rail cars are gone, and the area once again shelters a large number of plants, birds and other animals on the edge of downtown Buffalo. , Plant Communities Legend , Emergent Marsh - Look for American Bittern feeding or 'freezing' along marsh edge. Watch for Pied-billed Grebe in open water areas. Search for Green Heron along treed edges. , Successional Old Field - This short-lived community will be quickly invaded by pioneer trees and shrubs. A great place to study insects. , Successional Shrubland - Look for migrating and resident warblers, listen for Catbird. , Successional Shrubs and Pioneer Trees - Transitional community that will eventually become an upland forest. , Successional Woodland - Young forest on disturbed bottom and provides nesting habitat for many bird species. , Mature Woodland - Dominated by Black Willow and Eastern Cottonwood. Look and listen for woodpeckers. Landfill - Grasses and herbaceous plants growing on sealed landfield. Look for open country bird species like Savannah Sparrow, Tree Swallow, and Killdear. , Many coastal areas along the Seaway Trail have a complex history of human use.