Wonderful Visit!
Today NatureWoman (Pam) came out to visit me here in Allegany State Park and check out the big basin area (our older growth forest). After spending a few hours with the big trees, we visited many of the other “Allegany” tourist spots. We had a hard time taking pictures due to it raining every time we got out of the vehicles; we still had a blast chit chatting together! (more…)
Ripley Hawk Watch
Today I joined the Cattaraugus County Bird Club for our annual hawk field trip to the Ripley Hawk Watch in Ripley New York. We headed to this hawk watch because the birds will migrate north along thermos and then reach Lake Erie. Since the lake water is cold (causing cold airs and no thermos) the hawks will not cross the lake and follow the waters edge until they find a land bridge. These areas are perfect spots in seeing many raptors in one location. Although, it was a clear sky and hard finding these bird specks way up in the sky. It was fun anyways with many great birds. (more…)
Hide and Go Seek in Allegany State Park
Is it under the rock or under the log, just maybe it is located right next to where you are standing? Geocaching has become today’s modern scavenger hunt. To the unknown geocaching eye, you probably have one across from your local grocery store or in your local park. Some people find the hide within seconds and the next person could spend hours searching. What makes this sport fun is that you never know what you will find until you start searching. Geocaching could take you too many locations you would have never visited without the encouragement of finding that cache. (more…)
Day Four – the Return
Woke up in the morning to find some snow on the ground. I really did not want to leave Cape Cod and drive the 9 1/2 hour trip back to Western New York. I did finally get everything packed up and started heading home. This is always where you start to reflect the many adventures that happened on the trip. (more…)
Day Three – The Meeting
I woke up extra early to visit Nauset Beach at Cape Cod because there had been talk that this would be the best location for finding some Harlequin Ducks. I ended up not taking the required turn and found myself at this very cool dead end road (and probably where I shouldn’t have been). Not only were their a zillion birds swimming around but on one of the rocks was a harbor seal. It was not too cooperative in letting me get a close photo but I did squeeze in a few pictures before it disappeared in the water. I really have to appreciate everyone who has the opportunity in seeing these guys on a daily basis. (more…)
Day Two – Exploring the Cod
I started my morning by heading to the farthest point of Cape Cod in a town called Provincetown. There had been talk of Northern Gannets near Race Point and I was dieing to find this bird since it would have been a life for me. I was very pleased to locate some fellow bird banders already there but we all found ourselves scratching our heads. In theory; everything would have been perfect for locating the Gannets except for the fact that the fog had rolled in. We hiked out to the waters edge (was low tide) but still had a hard time identifying the Red-breasted Mergansers that were only a few hundred feet away. Looking hard, we found something very unusual floating in the water. I pulled out the spotting scope and realized that it had whiskers. (more…)
Day One – The Trip
After being out on the road for 10 long hours, you start to find yourself doing some 65m/hr nature watching. My adventure started at 5:30 this morning with a few mammals like the Deer, Raccoons and an Opossum. Further down the highway it started looking a bit like large snow flakes in the air! Nope, to warm for snow but there were many little moths that were attracted to my headlights. Finally the sun came up and I started seeing many of those common roadside birds like the Canada Goose, Red-tailed Hawk, American Crow and even a few American Kestrels. I did happen to see many Turkey Vultures flying around which is a species that I have been looking for my first for 2007 list! Finally – CHECK. (more…)
Mon@rch's Nature Blog 