Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Wintery Beach

Wind chill of -7 degrees F.

National Bird Day

In the 19th Century, so many people caught and kept Northern Mockingbirds in cages that they nearly vanished from the entire east coast of the United States.  Even to this day, they are not very abundant in Western New York State.

Why National Bird Day?

• The beauty, songs, and flight of birds have long been sources of human inspiration.

• Today, nearly 12 percent of the world's 9,800 bird species may face extinction within the next century, including nearly one-third of the world's 330 parrot species.

• Birds are sentinel species whose plight serves as a barometer of ecosystem health and an alert system for detecting global environmental ills.
• Many of the world's parrots and songbirds are threatened with extinction due to pressures from the illegal pet trade, disease, and habitat loss.
• Public awareness and education about the physical and behavioral needs of birds can go far in improving the welfare of the millions of birds kept in captivity.
• The survival and well-being of the world's birds depends upon public education and support for conservation.

This is the reason for National Bird Day.  Click here for more info.

Great Blue Herons

Hanging on in the Dunkirk New York Harbor during strong winds with gusts up to 40 mph.

"My strength lies solely in my tenacity."  ~  Louis Pasteur

Happy New Year!

A new year begins and the possibilities are endless.

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year."  ~  Ralph Waldo Emerson 

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.