Driftwood Beach

"The scattered driftwood bleached and dry.

The wild waves reach their hands for it,

The wild wind raves, the tide runs high,

As up and down the beach we flit - 

Little sandpipers and I."  ~  Celia Thaxter (American poet & author)

Yellow-throated Warbler

The Yellow-throated Warbler is common in the southeastern United States and thrives in and around swampy forests covered in Spanish moss.

Roseate Spoonbill et al

A Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Storks, Snowy Egrets and Tricolored Heron roosting together at high tide on Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Wood Stork in flight (below)

Good Morning!

Sunrise over the Atlantic from the Golden Isles in Georgia.

Royal Tern

Willets

Winter Sunrise

Winter Solstice Greetings!

"And Winter Came" by Enya

Western Sandpipers

"To live is the rarest thing in the world.  Most people exist, that is all."  ~  Oscar Wilde

Last Days of Autumn

"Late Autumn is as joyful and sweet as an untimely end." ~ Remy de Gourmont

Ring-necked Pheasant

Not the best photos of this guy since he doesn't stand still for long.  He has been visiting bird feeders in our neighborhood.

Mute Swan

Help save New York's Mute Swans - click here

"A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring anything that lives."  ~ Albert Schweitzer

Help save New York's Mute Swans - click here

To view a New York Times article on Speaking Up for the Mute Swan - click here

Tundra Swans in Flight

"We cannot stop the winter or summer from coming.  We cannot stop the spring or the fall or make them other than they are.  They are gifts from the Universe that we cannot refuse.  But we can choose what we will contribute to life when each arrives."  ~  Gary Zukov (author of The Seat of the Soul)

Snowy Owl

It certainly appears that we are in for another Snowy Owl irruption this winter.  For an informative blog post on this unprecedented back-to-back irruption year, click here.

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk

Long-tailed Duck

A female Long-tailed Duck in the Dunkirk Harbor today.

American Kestrel

American Kestrel eating a rodent it caught.

Scenes at Dusk

A trio of White-tailed Deer in lightly falling snow 

and Canada Geese flying in a southwesterly direction just before sunset.

Morning Sky

Clouds gathering more lake effect snow over Lake Erie were visible at sunrise today.

Tundra Swan

Snow Fog

Hooded Mergansers

Play Time in the Snow

American Goldfinch

Lake Effect Snow

The wall of lake effect snow over Lake Erie is highlighted by the sunrise this morning.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

A Red-bellied Woodpecker hunkering down during blizzard conditions.

Dark-eyed Junco

This is the Oregon version of the Dark-eyed Junco which is considered a rarity in western New York.

Snowy Owl

Spotted my first Snowy Owl of the season this morning.  It was quite far away for photos but it's nice to see them return!  It appears that we are in for another irruption this winter.  For an informative blog post on this unprecedented back-to-back Snowy Owl irruption, click here.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

A Sharp-shinned Hawk during a period of heavy snow today.  It had just caught a Slate-colored Junco. 

Rough-legged Hawk

Another arctic breeding bird returning from the far north for the winter.

Carolina Wrens

On this unusually warm and sunny November day, the Carolina Wrens were out and about and actually singing!

American Tree Sparrow

Tree Sparrows have returned for the winter months.  They spend the summer and breed on the tundra  in the far northern regions of Canada and Alaska.

Sunset Glow

Reflections of the sunset on Lake Erie this afternoon.