Great Blue Heron
Check out this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) sitting on one of the new reef balls at Stratford Point. I’m glad it found the spot inviting! Yes, new reef balls have been put in place along the north shore to expand on the success of the pilot project, and I will show and tell you more about them in an upcoming post. Now if a Snowy Owl could be sitting on one in the next couple of weeks I would not object… Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreDecember Great Egrets
Last night I inquired about seeing long-legged waders further north than usual, and here are some! I photographed these Great Egrets, part of a group of three to sometimes six individuals, this past weekend during some surveys in Connecticut. The Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds is a year-round effort, but usually we only expect to see a handful of species at this point of the bird wintering season such as the Dunlin, Sanderling, Black-bellied Plover and Great Blue Heron. There are still Snowy Egrets hanging out in the heat, too…strange sights for a season when there is usually...
Read MoreGreat Egret Flying
We will see you next year, Great Egret! The long-legged waders are on the way out, including the Great Blue Herons that may still be found in some places in our area come winter. More and more we do see Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets attempting to overwinter in warming regions, or at an artificially temperate location like a power plant or a water treatment facility. This cold snap definitely moved a lot of them out, though.
Read MoreI Spy With My Little Eye
As warmer temperatures are finally arriving in Western New York, wetlands like the beautiful one pictured here are rapidly thawing out. These wetlands scattered throughout the area become an attractive place for many breeding bird species to belt out their songs and flit about, attempting to attract a mate. In this particular photograph there are two bird species common to wetland habitats, can you find them? Elyse Henshaw Conservation Technician
Read MoreGreat Blue Herons Battling Wind
I very much enjoyed this photo of Great Blue Herons taken at Dunkirk Harbor yesterday by our friend Gale VerHague. As I told Gale I love it when you can “see” both the birds and the weather itself interacting in a photo. These long-legged waders were using all of those legs in battling very strong winds on Lake Erie associated with the passage of a cold front, keeping their backs to the incoming arctic air. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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