Mon@rch's Nature Blog

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Saturday Birding

Tundra Swan and Canada Goose

Mike and I went out to do some Saturday Birding over at Swamp Road in Randolph today. We were not disappointed with an outstanding array of waterfowl, which included: Tundra Swans, Canada Goose, Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Redhead Ducks, Bufflehead, Northern Pintails, Scaup species, Common Golden-eye, Ring-necked Duck and American Wigeon. Highlights of the day included a Red-bellied Woodpecker (CHECK), American Coot (CHECK) and Rough-legged Hawk (CHECK). All of which were first for 2008’s for me!

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Posted by mon@rch | 22 March 2008 | Categories: Birds, Flickr, migration, Nature, Ornithology, photography | Tags: Ducks, Waterfowl | 17 Comments

Hawk Hideaway Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

The other day I had the opportunity to visit my dear friends John and Mary over at Hawk Hideaway Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Cuba, NY. During our visit their educational Snowy Owl was very vocal in the back room and we took a look on why it was so vocal!
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Posted by mon@rch | 21 March 2008 | Categories: Nature | Tags: Birds, Hawk Hideaway Wildlife Rehabilitation Center | 26 Comments

Raccoon ready for Spring [video]

Cute as heck Raccoon

This morning at precisely 1:48 A.M. EDT, the Sun crossed directly over the Earth’s equator and became the Northern Hemisphere’s vernal equinox. This equinox is a great time for looking for animals because the ground is thawing and critters are out searching for food.
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Posted by mon@rch | 20 March 2008 | Categories: Allegany State Park, Flickr, Mammals, Nature | Tags: Equinox, Raccoon, Spring, Vernal Equinox | 25 Comments

Wildlife Wednesday [Exciting Find]

I always seem to say “I had an amazing day yesterday” but this time I really had “an amazing day yesterday”!!! I was traveling through Allegany State Park and noticed an unusual dark fuzzy thing crossing the road (around 9am in the morning)! This mammal was something that very few have had an opportunity to see and for a second I couldn’t believe my eyes . . . could it have been?? Yes – it was!! ! I know they are in this area of the state and during the summer nights, I regularly hear them vocalizing around the house!! But, I couldn’t believe I was seeing one crossing the road!! Obviously I am still in an Awww!! I quickly started pulling my camera from my backpack and hoped to capture its picture. This furry thing moved so swiftly into the woods and by the time I had my camera ready to capture this moment . . . . the critter was gone! I was left with only a memory in my mind!! Read the rest of this page »

Posted by mon@rch | 19 March 2008 | Categories: Allegany State Park, Mammals, Nature | Tags: Fisher, Martes pennanti, Wildlife Wednesday | 37 Comments

Blood Root [Wordless Wednesday]

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Posted by mon@rch | 18 March 2008 | Categories: Allegany State Park, Flickr, Nature, photography, Wildflowers | Tags: Blood Root, Spring Flower, Wordless Wednesday | 29 Comments

They are always Green?

The Green Darners are Green

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Posted by mon@rch | 17 March 2008 | Categories: Flickr, Nature, photography | Tags: Green Things, Saint Patricks Day | 27 Comments

Muskrat [Video]

Muskrat smiling for the camera

Yesterday while looking for some Waterfowl . . . we came across this very cooperative Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) who put a show on for us. We watched it dive underwater, grab some vegetation from under the ice and come back up to chew all of the best parts of the plant. We could have watched this cute little guy all day long! These over-sized rodents get their name from some scent glands they have for marking its territory with a strong musky odor! Lucky we didn’t get to smell that odor today but did get some cool photos of the muskrat!
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Posted by mon@rch | 16 March 2008 | Categories: Blip.tv, Flickr, Mammals, Nature, photography, video | Tags: Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus | 28 Comments

Mid March Waterfowl

Hooded Merganser

This morning I headed out with Mike D to find some mid March waterfowl that are moving through the area. Actually, it was more of a trip to enjoy nature and get a few birds checked off my year list. We ended up locating 39 species of birds and 8 of which were my first for 2008!
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Posted by mon@rch | 15 March 2008 | Categories: Birds, Flickr, migration, Nature | Tags: Ducks, Waterfowl | 23 Comments

Daytime Barred Owl [video]

A hunting Barred Owl in the Rain

This evening I went on a dusk birding trip for some Short-eared Owls within our county (with my birdclub friend Mike D.). This has been a fun project that we have been doing for many years and are never successful in finding any owls (of course). We went a little early this time to look for waterfowl (scouting for tomorrows trip) and came across this bird. We discussed this large bird we found and trying to decide if it was a Red-tailed Hawk or Rough-legged Hawk (something didn’t look right). We moved my truck for a better angle, pulled the spotting scope out and noticed this bird had dark eyes. Could this have been a Short-eared Owl?? Naaa just a Barred Owl!! Wait . . . it wasn’t even dusk yet??
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Posted by mon@rch | 14 March 2008 | Categories: Birds, Blip.tv, Nature, Ornithology, video | Tags: Barred Owl, Owls, Raining, Spotting Scope | 29 Comments

Raccoon Hike

Prints walking towards the sunset!

After work, Grace (aka Ninehtotoo5) and myself headed out to the France Brook area of Allegany State Park to enjoy a hike along the Snowmobile Trail. We quickly saw the Raven’s doing their courtship display and then heard the Red-shouldered Hawks screaming (CHECK) as if they showed up on cue. The truth is that we were after capturing a photo of this Buteo . . . which never really happened!! But we did capture some adorable Raccoon pictures.
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Posted by mon@rch | 13 March 2008 | Categories: Allegany State Park, Birds, Flickr, Mammals, Nature, photography | Tags: Prints, Raccoon, Tracks | 31 Comments