Niagara Gorge

Autumn in Niagara

Dark-eyed Junco

He seems to be announcing, "We're baaaack!"  A flock of Dark-eyed Juncos descended on my bird feeders this weekend.  They most likely spent their summer in Canada and will winter here on the south side of the Great Lakes.

White-breasted Nuthatch

True Freedom

Going Fishing

American Coot

Green Man

Swamp Colors

Walnut Falls

School's Out!

Amish kids walking home from school.

Fall Reflections

A Slice of Autumn

Colorful Hills

October Glow

A tiny Pied-billed Grebe creates ripples in the glow of autumn reflections on the water.

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Phoebe on the way south for the winter.

Full Harvest Moon

Crimson Canopy

Tonight's Sunset

Another beauty...

Knee Deep

Autumn Afternoon

Life Among the Reeds

Waxing Gibbous Moon

73% full tonight

Burst of Autumn

We've had a few cool nights in the upper 40's and the autumn colors are starting to pop!

Port Colborne Lights

Lights from our backyard neighbors in the City of Port Colborne, Ontario are visible across Lake Erie this evening.  It's often too hazy to see from here, but the crisp weather tonight made the city skyline sparkle after sunset.

Summer's End

Wood Ducks

 I have been trying to get a good photograph of these Wood Ducks in a specific swamp for the last half of the summer.  They have been very elusive and usually disappear into the reeds before I can get a focus on them with the camera.  This was my best chance to date, but I will keep on trying...

Pied-billed Grebe

Setting Crescent Moon

The crescent moon sets two hours after sunset tonight and reflected a lavender/pink glow.

Northern Map Turtle

Basking on a rock in the Chadwick Bay Harbor in Lake Erie.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

Jewelweed

Jewelweed is a wonderful herbal remedy for the skin.  Juice from the stems will heal poison ivy, bee stings, mosquito bites, burns, sores and most any other skin irritation that you can think of.  It got its name from the way water droplets sparkle on the leaves.

Migrating Yellowthroat Warbler

I found this migrating youngster and a few others mixed in with a flock of Chickadees this morning.  Migrating warblers are known to follow the local resident birds as they make their way south in order to find the best places to eat.

Hints of Autumn

Chilly overnight temperatures, morning fog and a touch of color on the trees...

Clouds + Sunset =

T h i s !

Sharp-Shinned Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk hunting for chipmunks that live under a brush pile on our property.

Great Egret

Look Deeper

"Look deep into Nature, and then you will understand everything better." ~ Albert Einstein

Fawns

Their spots are nearly gone.

Green Heron

US Congress Attacks National Wildlife Refuges

From the Audubon Action Center:

The National Wildlife Refuge System, a cornerstone of bird and wildlife conservation in America, is facing unprecedented attack.  A new bill would halt any growth of the Refuge System, the world's premier system of public lands set aside for the protection of wildlife.

Please urge your U.S. Representative to vote NO on HR 3009.  Send the sample letter from the link below, or personalize it with your own words about why National Wildlife Refuges are important to you.

Click here to send a letter:
https://secure3.convio.net/nasaud/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1323

Heron Eating a Catfish

Long-tailed Duck

The Long-tailed Duck is another species that breeds in the Arctic Circle and crosses the Great Lakes during migration season.  I have also seen them in open water on Lake Erie during the middle of winter. Commonly known as the "Old Squaw" duck, they are the only living member of its genus left in the world and are considered to be a threatened species. Sadly, extinction is forever...

To view a photo of an immature Long-tailed that I took in January 2011 click here.

September Sunset

Whimbrel

A Whimbrel in the Chadwick Bay Harbor on Lake Erie in Dunkirk, New York.  This is a rare find for this area, even during migration season.  I saw four of them yesterday mixed in with a flock of Yellowlegs.

Yellowlegs

Migration season in full swing!