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Posts Tagged "Dunkirk"

Caspian Tern Courtship

Posted on Apr 28, 2015

Caspian Tern Courtship

Here is a terrific capture of Caspian Terns engaged in courtship feeding, as taken at Wright Park Beach in Dunkirk, New York by our friend Gale VerHague. Please join us tomorrow, Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at RTPI at 7:00PM to hear Gale while she displays more of her tremendous photography – “Chasing Feathers: Birding with a Camera in Western New York and Beyond”. Gale will be showing a series of shots of this very event which is what sparked her birding blog in 2009. This is a free and public evening at RTPI, and we hope to see you then!

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Record February Cold

Posted on Feb 16, 2015

Record February Cold

Look at some of these staggeringly low temperatures recorded overnight in western New York via the National Weather Service in Buffalo, New York! The Chautauqua County/Jamestown Airport ASOS recorded a low of -18, but a COOP observer on the outskirts of the city got it down to -30! Even Lake Erie didn’t help Dunkirk as it pushed down to -28! These are not wind chills – they are actual air temperatures. These are rather mind-blowing for mid-February, and once again it seems we have a year of extreme cold while the rest of the planet is warmer than usual. Is climate change going to...

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Red-Breasted Merganser

Posted on Feb 9, 2015

Red-Breasted Merganser

With Lake Erie nearly 92% frozen over according to Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System, there is limited open water for wading and diving birds to feed. However, thanks to the Dunkirk power-plant the waters near the harbor are warm enough to keep the ice at bay, enabling birds such as this gorgeous male Red-Breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) to acquire fishy snacks. Out of the three species of mergansers common to the area, I personally think this one is my favorite. I have learned to identify which of the three mergansers is the red-breasted not only recognizing the orangy-red breast,...

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Blizzard of 2015

Posted on Jan 30, 2015

Blizzard of 2015

I love this very recent Throwback Thursday image from three days ago taken in space of the Blizzard of 2015 via NOAA/NASA. Having the state lines drawn in makes it very easy to identify locations based on night lights – for those in Chautauqua County you can see Jamestown and Dunkirk/Fredonia quite clearly along with other nearby cities. Isn’t it astonishing how bright New York City is even while covered by clouds? While some of us were under the comma head and experiencing strong wind and snow (like me!) nearly everyone in the eastern half of the country and much of the Atlantic...

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Throwback Thursday – Snowy Owl

Posted on Jan 8, 2015

Throwback Thursday – Snowy Owl

This Snowy Owl was a Jamestown discovery made by Twan on an unexpectedly sunny day around this time last winter. It is a Throwback Thursday of gorgeously epic proportions. At least four Snowy Owls were at the Dunkirk Airport yesterday. This year’s irruption is definitely continuing to be a strong one. Keep your eyes open across Chautauqua County for more birds and we will update you on their distribution and overall sightings soon!

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