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,...
Read MoreRedhead on Lake Erie
Here is a drake Redhead duck having a quiet swim in Lake Erie on a cloudy day with lake effect snow in the air. I love how their yellow eyes contrast with the red, and I envy how peaceful and content this bird looks in such frosty conditions. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreGreat Black-backed Gull
This Great Black-backed Gull is standing on some Lake Erie ice as the Great Lakes have rapidly filled in during the last few weeks. Waterfowl have skyrocketed in number in some locations and shifted across the Lakes and the Atlantic Coast with millions of birds moving around thanks to our weather. Some light lake effect snow was falling on this gull but it will be tough to see much more in the Chautauqua-Allegheny region with our snow machine being encrusted in ice.
Read MoreLake Effect Snow Band Eye?!
Here’s an amazing lake effect snow feature via US National Weather Service Buffalo NY from this morning – a band with an eye! It was not a snowcane but it did have circulation. Lake Erie certainly creates some unique and engrossing weather.
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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