Trumpeter Swan
By: Pat Coate
Recently spent some time in Ontario and visited the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre in Midland, not too far from Barrie. They have over 3000 acres of wetlands and forest with miles of hiking trails, which I spent a fun afternoon exploring.
So cute . . . Tess was exploring the grape vines today and having a blast. She loved squishing them and the insides come out! She would laugh so hard!
Post has been created with my iPhone!
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I just love this Ameican Lady butterfly picture I captured back in 2003. Looks like rain for the next few days but we are still going to finally put owl nets up getting ready for Owl Banding. Season will be starting first week in October.
Post has been created with my iPhone!
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By: Pat Coate
While taking the pooch for a walk this week we came across this raccoon. Though they are abundant in our area I seldom see them. This one seemed to be doing well in its preparation for the coming cold weather as it was quite plump. At one point it slid down several feet and I thought it might fall out of the tree.
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Checking one off the bucket list
By: Pat Coate
For many years I have wanted to try skydiving. On a recent visit with my son I decided it was time – and that it would be a memorable way for us to celebrate our birthdays. So after some research, we decided to go to No Limits Skydiving and hope for the best. Actually, we gave serious consideration to where we went to do this and the reviews on this company were right on target – just like our landings. All the folks working there had a GREAT sense of humor, seemed very safety oriented and delivered on what they promised. Really don’t think we could have had a better first jump experience.
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Wood Duck (male, non-breeding plumage)
By: Pat Coate
On the way back from taking my daughter to school, I made a quick stop at North Chagrin Reservation. North Chagrin is located near Willoughby, Ohio just east of Cleveland and is part of the Cleveland Metroparks system. It is renowned for its wood ducks and I wasn’t disappointed. These pictures were taken at Sunset Pond and Sanctuary Marsh on the west side of the park near the very impressive nature center.
I can’t believe it . . . Patty and I got hitched on 9-10-11@12:13pm . . . . ! Read the rest of this page »
American Robin
By: Pat Coate
A special post this week – I am VERY excited to be able to show some of the terrific artwork of my niece, Maddie, who is an awesome young birder. She has started a collection of sketches of birds she has seen – and is up to 15 so far. Here are her first two.
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Sand Hill Cranes (IN)
By: Pat Coate
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…or so many parents think as summer begins to fade and school swings back into session. For me, the back to school ritual has come to include a 600 mile trek to the Midwest to drop my daughter off at college. It is always a fun trip – I love having a captive audience and our conversation topics are varied and entertaining. We have also started a little tradition of (or really, my daughter puts up with) a contest to see which we see more of along the way– state license plates or bird species.
Some trip highlights:
• Packing the car was a bit like playing Tetris; the neighbors were amazed all her stuff actually fit.
• Despite the shaky economy, there seem to be a lot of people traveling. We saw a record 37 state license plates (74%), 3 Canadian provinces, and a car with Diplomat plates – going about 85 mph, of course.
• Birds ranged from bald eagle in WNY to sand hill cranes along the Indiana tollway to the ubiquitous house sparrow found at most stops along the way. We totaled 32 species versus the 37 state license plates.
• Made a quick but productive birding stop at North Chagrin Reserve east of Cleveland. More details in a future post.
Fun plant seeing both the fruit and flower together.
Post has been created with my iPhone!
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Welcome to the mon@rch nature blog and I hope you join us in some of our nature adventures through the Allegany State Park area!
I am a naturalist, field biologist and nature photographer from the Western New York area. I have started exploring nature writing through this blog and it truly has been fun sharing my numerous adventures with everyone. Thanks to the many other authors that help me with my post and they will be sharing some of their nature explorations.
I have always had a latent interest in birds and photography and have been lucky enough to find time to explore these interests over the last few years. I am very thankful to the Cattaraugus County Bird Club for getting me started, sharing their wealth of knowledge and for their wonderful programs. And many thanks to Tom for letting me share some of my adventures and photos on the Monarch Nature Blog.
Thank you for taking the time visiting and commenting on this blog.
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