Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera)
Waters are high in Western New York after all the recent rain making Spiny Softshell Turtles harder to find. That was not a problem for Twan today as you can see here. He even noted a few test nesting holes he attributed to work done during the heat last week.
Read MoreBlue-winged Teal (Anas discors) by Scott Kruitbosch
More ducks! Can you ID the pair in this photo? Those are Blue-winged Teal looking beautiful in a local marsh earlier this morning. Coming from Connecticut I certainly appreciate seeing them in breeding season as the nesting population is listed as “Threatened” in the CT Endangered Species Act.
Read MoreDiving ducks
This past weekend I visited the extremely active Dunkirk Harbor in Dunkirk, New York. It is currently holding thousands of ducks and gulls because just about all of Lake Erie is frozen and this immediate area is kept open by the warm water from the outflow of the adjacent NRG Energy power plant. This particularly frigid year means even more birds than usual are concentrated in this pocket of heat allowing for some great birding and close-up views, especially while birds are feeding and active. I took a few of photos of diving ducks – can you identify any? The first two photos are of...
Read MoreDowntown Snowy Owl
On this past Sunday night, February 9, I was fortunate enough to spot a Snowy Owl flying in downtown Jamestown. At around 10:23PM I observed an individual about 200 feet off the ground heading slowly but surely to the west. I watched the bird drift out of sight without any binoculars or my camera, neither of which would have helped much anyway. In thinking about the sighting afterwards it seemed to me that the bird was following the Chadakoin River. Snowy Owls are both diurnal and nocturnal and over the years I have seen individuals following different patterns at different times at...
Read MoreWaterfowl identification quiz
In this very cold winter season we have been finding a lot of waterfowl concentrated in any areas with open water. As ice takes over nearly every pond, creek, river or lake – even much of the Great Lakes – these birds have to find a hole in these blocks or move to the south. This bird was one of thousands of gulls, ducks, loons, grebes, scoters and more in an unfrozen patch of Lake Erie. Can you identify it? You can barely see the bird’s eye as it rests with bill tucked in. Examine the color patterns on the head, neck, breast, wings and body while looking at the overall...
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