My life is about living with nature – here you can live it with me!

Birds

Goslings and Mother Goose

Canada Goose Babies
Canada Goose Cuteness

These are pure cuteness . . . . sorry for anyone who feel the need to say awwww!
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Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird

Random photos that I took of an Eastern Kingbird blowing around in the wind!
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Pat’s [Wordless Wednesday]

Great Crested Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher with a Dragonfly

All Photo’s were taken by my friend Pat Coate
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Least Bittern

Least Bittern on nest
Female Least Bittern on her Nest!

Answer to yesterday’s birdQUIZ!

Least Bittern!
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bird nest birdQUIZ

birdQUIZ
Bird on a nest!

Photographed this bird sitting on its nest yesterday! I am not going to give away any clues but I will post my other pictures including the answer tomorrow evening!

Click here to see a larger picture!
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Happy Mothers Day

Goslings
Gosling Resting

I always remember that the baby Goslings are born around Mothers Day! I figured this would be the most appropriate pictures to use on my Mothers Day post!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY (more…)


Osprey Eating Fish

Osprey
Osprey Eating Dinner

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May First

Gray Catbird
Gray Catbird

May first brought in a flurry of new birds species in the Allegany State Park area. The morning started off with a Blue-winged Warbler (CHECK) and Wood Thrush (CHECK) who were down in the wetland on the maintenance road. I finally saw my first Gray Catbird (CHECK) as it passed in front of the vehicle along Red House Lake! I spent most of my morning along the Bova XC/Mountain Biking trails, where I picked up a Hooded Warbler (CHECK) and American Redstart (CHECK). The Cliff Swallow (CHECK) was observed flying around the Administration Building exploring the locations that they have nested previous years! It is absolutely amazing how quickly birds arrive once you get the most perfect southern winds!
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Ruffed Grouse [Wordless Wednesday]

Ruffed Grouse
Ruffed Grouse

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B – Birds

Baltimore Oriole and Orange
Baltimore Oriole

Loved finding some first of the year B-birds over the past few days! About 10 minutes after posting my previous post on Sunday . . . . I had my first of the year Blackburnian Warbler (CHECK) who was singing up in the Hemlocks! They seem a little early but after looking at last years first of the year, it was ironically also on April 26th!!
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New Neo-tropical Migrants

Northern Parula
Northern Parula

Neo-tropical migrants were moving through the area last night in record numbers! This morning I saw on the list serv many more warbler “first of the year” sightings for April than I can ever remember reading! I figured this was an opportunity to report some of my recent first of the years to all my blogging friends!!
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Lifeguard on Duty

lifeguard
Double-crested Cormorant

It feels like summer in Allegany State Park!
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Ripley Hawk Watch Visit

Ripley Hawk Watch
Birdwatchers at Ripley Hawk Watch

I joined the Cattaraugus County Bird Club today for the field trip to Ripley Hawk Watch in Ripley, NY! You know that it was the wrong day to visit when you show up and they say “Should have been here yesterday, we had over 7,000 birds pass over”! Yep, not the best day but did get a few species fly overhead! Most everything were bird specks . . . . . you know just dots in the sky!
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Happy Earth Day

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker by Pat Coate

I hope everyone has a great Happy Earth Day . . . . Year . . . . Life! Remember Earth Day isn’t just one day of the year. . . . . it is how you should live every day! (more…)


I SPY (Wordless Wednesday)

Mallard
Walking in the weeds . . .

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April BOS Count 2009

Woodducks
Woodducks

Sunday was the annual April BOS Count and I truly enjoyed the most beautiful spring day looking for all these birdies! I ended up with 54 species and 441 different individuals observed within the Allegany State Park’s area of Section 24. What was even more exciting was the nine first of the year birds that I located.
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Mid April Arrivals

Green Back Heron
Green Heron

My morning started with me flushing a Green Heron (CHECK) off from a beaver pond in France Brook as it flew up into a dead snag! I had thought for a second it could have been a Bittern but was only a Green Heron!
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Ring-billed Gull Courtship

Ring-billed Gull 66
Ring-billed Gulls

Birdies are in love this time of the year and showing many different courtships and displays!  . . . . at times I think its contagious!
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American Woodcock Display [Video]

Bird Club
The Cattaraugus County Bird Club

Today the Cattaraugus County Bird Club had a field trip to watch the display of the American Woodcock in Allegany State Park. We started a little after dinner searching for spring migrants but the main purpose of the trip was to find the American Woodcock.
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At Lake Erie (Wordless Wednesday)

Double Crested Cormorant
Double Crested Cormorants

Took these photos with Young Naturalist J yesterday at Lake Erie State Park.
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Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern
Caspian Tern

I took advantage of this sunny day to do some bird watching with Young Naturalist J since he is off from school this week. I told him that my target species was the Caspian Tern and after being on the road for about 15 minutes  . . . . we found this group of Caspian Tern (CHECK)! This was a year bird for both of us and YN-J had also capture a few other first of the year birds throughout the day!  He’s growing up everyone . . . I think soon that I will have to start calling him “Teen Naturalist J”!   I had a wonderful day with him leading me around to all the birding hotspots in his neck of the woods!   Cheers . . . we found the Caspian Terns!
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Nature Haiku [Nine Loons]

Common Loons
Common Loons on Red House Lake

By Young Naturalist C, Young Naturalist E and Adele

Nine Loons
Nine Loons on the Lake
Fishing for their favorite food
Ooo da loo da loo
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Pre-Easter Birding

Common Snipe on telephone pole
Common Snipe on a telephone pole

This morning I went out to do some birding and enjoyed finding the birdies most everywhere!
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Random Chincoteague Photos

Red-breasted Mergansers
Red-breasted Merganser

I promise these are my last Chincoteague photos!
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