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Posts Tagged "snowy"

Lightning Strike

Posted on Jun 15, 2015

Lightning Strike

There has been a lot of inclement weather lately! One good thing about all of the heavy rain and thunderstorms is that our waterways will be filled for reptiles, amphibians, odonates, and many other creatures. It may not make our work easier – for example, the Spiny Softshell Turtles are going to be a tough study for now – but it is certainly a far better fate than the droughts of places like California. Thankfully for them we have signs of a strengthening El Niño, the periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean’s surface temperatures, that may already be giving them slight...

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Can You Spot the Snowy?

Posted on Feb 11, 2015

Can You Spot the Snowy?

Can you spot the Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) in this photo? The owl is relatively noticeable sitting along the edge of the field; however, they aren’t always very easy to see. This individual in particular is very white, blending in with the mounds of drifted snow nearby. It often takes a hard look to see these perfectly camouflaged predators sitting in a field or along a beach. Makes you wonder how many more Snowy Owls are in the area that just haven’t been noticed yet? If you decide to bundle up and search for some visiting species, remember to log your sightings in eBird and...

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Horned Larks

Posted on Feb 7, 2015

Horned Larks

I have had a great time seeing Horned Larks lately after striking out on them for all of the past autumn and and most of this winter in Connecticut. After having success this past week I ended up taking many photographs of birds feeding on edges and in snow-covered grasslands in Stratford, and I wanted to share a bunch of them with you all in a slideshow of sorts below. Here were a bunch of birds feeding on the edges in the roadways and exposed areas. Unfortunately there was one recently-deceased individual, the body still warm. Fortunately for science and research Patrick Comins, Audubon...

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Arctic Visitors

Posted on Feb 4, 2015

Arctic Visitors

With the recent snows and plummeting temperatures, the Snowy Owls within the area are feeling right at home in the tundra like conditions. These arctic visitors, that typically visit the region’s many snowy and seemingly barren fields in an irregular fashion, are in full force for a second year with multiple sightings throughout Chautauqua County. While most of us are cooped up inside protecting ourselves from the elements, these owls endure the weather while perching themselves on good vantage points within fields or along beaches, getting an owl’s eye view in search of small...

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Snowy Forest and Landscape

Posted on Jan 24, 2015

Snowy Forest and Landscape

Let’s take a moment to admire and soak in the snowy forests and landscapes surrounding us in January. How can you not love the outdoors and being immersed in nature when it looks like this? Our world can look so picture perfect when carefully framed and it’s our collective responsibility to keep it that way outside the margins and underneath the snow. We may have just entered a very active weather period for snow in the Northeast! Could there be a historic monster on the way?

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