Long-tailed Ducks
These Long-tailed Ducks are showing off some unexpected camouflage on a cloudy day, their black and white plumage matching the patterns of water while on the surface. This species of diving duck certainly spends a long time underwater when it is feeding, and they can even go down to near 200 feet! You never realize how much these birds look like waves until you watch them bobbing up and down on a lake or the sea.
Read MoreMute Swan
They may be a non-native and invasive species, sometimes harmful to our native waterfowl, but one has to still appreciate the beauty of the Mute Swan on a winter day when they are trying to survive like everything else.
Read MoreWide Open Lake Erie
Thanks to El Niño’s strong influence on the position of the Pacific jet stream, the start of the 2015-2016 winter started more green than white here in Western New York. With only short spurts of cold air, Lake Erie has been staying warm and fueling small snow storms as systems move through. As the storms pass, we have been keeping an eye out for bird movement, as it has been pretty quiet up to this point. A couple weeks ago, JCC/RTPI intern Alex Shipherd and I took a trip to various points along the Lake Erie Plain to scope out waterfowl and winter raptors. As you can see Lake Erie is still...
Read MoreHidden Wood Duck
This pond had a bunch of Mallards, American Black Ducks, and some hybrids…and hidden in the back were a couple of Wood Ducks, a treat for a December day when this water could very well have been frozen over in many other years. I hope you will be able to put on your t-shirt and shorts and get outside to enjoy this unfathomable stretch of holiday heat this weekend. See what you can find and keep an open mind – in the past week I have seen uncommon lingering birds like these, a dragonfly (Autumn Meadowhawk) and a butterfly (Orange Sulphur). It’s unbelievable! Scott Kruitbosch...
Read MoreBrant
Very few waterfowl species have been seen in any sizable numbers consistently in Long Island Sound in November and early December. Some of the chillier night air, along with the calendar, is finally pushing additional birds more to the south. One exception has been the Atlantic Brant, with hundreds of birds being seen on many days. They are starting to dwindle as they head for even warmer quarters as finally more American Black Duck, Gadwall, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-throated and Common Loons, American Wigeon and others arrive. Even while noting additional species their overall abundance...
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