Snowy Designs
Sometimes we do not even need any wildlife to liven up our winter wonderland. In this case the wind blowing over the snow and the vegetation poking through was enough to create a serene scene with a haunting but warm beauty. I thought it looked almost like a desert, relatively devoid of life and barren at the moment. The snow looked more like grains of sand than your typical snowflakes, lacking any large dendrites or plates. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreNot So Sleepy Bears
While the landscape in Western New York is rapidly changing thanks to some lake effect snow, earlier this week the ground was completely uncovered, temperatures were above normal and some normally sleeping wildlife were out foraging on available food resources. These photos were taken by my dad while he and a friend were out on a walk. As you can see, that black shape isn’t a wandering cow in the corn field rather it is an American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) awake from its “hibernation.” According to NYS DEC and the North American Bear Center, the black bear is not a...
Read MoreFox Tracks
These tracks in the wind blown snow belong to the Red Fox, with some steps sinking in and others being light enough to stay on the surface. More will be on the way soon! Whether it is the lake effect showers and squalls from the Great Lakes or one of a number of potential storm systems sweeping our way with a favorable and active mid-February pattern coming up there will soon be a lot of classic winter weather being felt across our region. Get out there this weekend and put some of your own footprints on the earth, making sure they are all you leave behind while taking only photos and...
Read MoreGreater Scaup
There were so many more ducks pushed out into the open ocean during the past two winters with the icy Great Lakes and nearly every inland body of water being locked up for most of the season in the Northeast. This year species like these Greater Scaup can still be found in more northerly areas with sometimes historic warmth occurring. As of yesterday the Great Lakes ice cover was only at 7.2% compared to 2015’s 49.0% and the even more frozen 77.7% in 2014. Our local Lake Erie was essentially entirely ice at this point in the last two winters because it is so shallow, measuring at 94.5%...
Read MoreFebruary Arrives
The transition from January into February is usually one without many colors, though this sunset on the final night of January was spectacular over the water. The pink glow from the sun below the horizon makes me think of everything from Valentine’s Day to the Northern Cardinal males beginning to sing in our yards on the warm and sunny days as they stake out their territories and sound out for mates, if they do not already have one. The same shade reminds me of the House Finch males that have also been calling out their cheery melodies frequently as of late. This January seemed to move...
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