The Beauty of WNY Wildlife

 We were out again to escape the constant updates to our new home, and decided to go to a very popular and busy nature preserve in Buffalo where a Roseate Spoonbill had been sighted. We departed early and spent the better part of the day there....  over five hours there in the light rain, clouds and finally the sun broke through. Saw a bunch of birds which were the normal, but no spoonbill. Many others seemed to be out with long lenses and binoculars, so guessing we weren't the only ones interested in seeing the spoonbill. We have already seen spoonbills in the wild in SW Spain and in Florida, but spoonbills are a rare occurrence in western New York. Last year there was a wayward Limpkin in the area, and the year before it was a Virginia Rail. 

I kept joking that once we decide to leave, the spoonbill will make its appearance, and we will have missed it. That's exactly how it went: we were actually departing and out of the corner of my eye, saw something of a pinkish color fly in fast and low, then landed not even 42 feet away!

The one thing that always bothers me is that it seems human is such a controlling species. The humans really are the true invasive species of the planet, who have, for centuries and more, just gone any and everywhere, seemingly to explore new lands, but in reality we are now discovering that the true intent was to conquer and enslave other people, steal their treasures, their lands, and if that wasn't enough, humans just wanted to remove others from the planet. 

In addition to that goal, which they've done quite well through the centuries, is their desire to trash and pollute this planet everyone calls home. I haven't been everywhere, but I've been to a few countries, and the one thing I have discovered is the vast amount of trash left by humans everywhere! What is most disturbing is the amount of trash left everywhere, and seemingly, even in the most scenic, beautiful, natural and popular areas will be trashed and polluted the most! Even with plenty of trash bins and signs, humans do as they wish, and their main objective is always the same: to trash the area no matter how beautiful the area is. That doesn't mean that for some area not considered to be the best, should be trashed. THiS is our home: the Earth. There is only one Earth and it's already gone through centuries of pollution on a grand scale. While it's less now, it's still a lot more considering the trashing and pollution of our HOME affects eventually everyone, and all species. 

I have even seen people throw trash on the ground though there's a trash receptacle just a few feet away. It's not the responsibility of others to advise you of your trashing the area; WE should be able to remember that the ground we transit each day is not a garbage pit we think it is no matter where we are. We need to, and should have the common sense and personal responsibility to hold the trash till it can be disposed of properly.

Enjoy your day, week and season, and please remember to not trash our home nor our planet. It reflects on us as a species, and shows everyone what little regard we have for our own home, let alone for other people and species.

Stay with Me

We just love seeing wildlife in its different species and colors, and at a spot close to the Niagara River, we had seen these ducks swimming against the current and wind. Turned out to be a Mother with her ducklings, and how cute these were! 

Lay Me Down to Sleep

When we die, who speaks for us when WE are gone? Sure, the People of the World cry and moan for those recognized as famous, intelligent, learned and so on, BUT for the Common Folk, WHO mourns for us? Who describes our lives and virtues? We stand against the famous and rich who are in the news and newspapers everyday, BUT who will tell our story? We too have lived, and while we have not the status of many others nor have servants to serving us, who will serve us our rightful few minutes of Fame in our Name when we are No Longer?

WHO speaks for us when we are gone? Who will cry when we are dead? Who fights for our Souls when we cannot speak? 

Who loves us when we cannot Love them in return when we are no more?

Who?

Remembering Nature's Beauty!

 Isn't Nature just so lovely and BeautYful? Seen at Presque Isle State Park, Pennsylvania some time ago, and I just love how the wings of the Great Egret are in this captured movement. These days I am just reliving the memories! If you'd like to see more of my wildlife imagery, you can visit my wildlife gallery to see the various species my cameras have seen in my travels there and here.Thanks in advance!

It's Saturday morning outside

......and there's about an inch or so of the white stuff on the ground after a few hours of snowfall during the night. The Fall colors are still very apparent in some spots, and we are hoping these scenes will still be available by time we get out on the streets later today, or tomorrow. I usually do not get these chances of seeing such wondrous scenes, and now that we are here, we might as well try to see the sights, when not surrounded by the grandchildren! The change in the hour now puts the time of sunset as we are still with the kids, so we are missing a lot of sunsets since the time-change last weekend!

On the other hand, while in Michigan, I have been continuously checking for online sightings of Snowy Owls! Last winter, though we departed for two months in Spain, before we departed in December 2017, and after returning from Spain in late February 2018, we were darn lucky to see and snap a few pictures of Snowy Owls! Last winter's record was in seeing a total of eight Snowys!!!

Please click to see a collection of my Snowy Owl images posted at ebird

Interestingly enough, according to ebird.com, there have been Snowys reported all this summer throughout the Great Lakes areas! I am also surprised to see there have already been sightings of this gorgeous snow-white Arctic bird recently, both in western New York (WNY) area we call home, and within a few miles of where we are in SW Michigan!

We have been very fortunate recently in seeing Bald Eagles too!! Granted, those grand birds have been more than a mile usually, but we have been lucky to see some seemingly just a hair closer! As always in these situations, even though you think you have the longest lens around, oftentimes while shooting wildlife, it seems that even with what we have is way too short and inadequate! We are still hoping to see more of these majestic birds, and our last sighting was a week ago in a local park! 

Here's two memories from months previous when we were at a favorite WNY spot, and suddenly the perched eagles we were observing, suddenly went active and passed much closer! These images are cropped, but it still is a great moment for us!!!

Lodi Sandhill Crane Reserve

Drove down last weekend to see if I could catch some cranes in flight or otherwise. Started late and enroute, detoured slightly to a Vallejo park where there are peacocks. Strangely enough, I was told about this park by an online friend who lives out of California now.

Didn't see any peacocks but I know these birds can hide... but there was a small pond with ducks and enjoyed snapping some pixs, plus the foliage was so colorful, it took my breath away.I will never again be able to see the autumn colors and not think of my time spent in Eugene and in Oregon in general. Oftentimes I think I should have not left Eugene but it was my destiny, and in some strange way fate took me out of Spain for this crazy whirlwind I call my Life.Continuing on toward Lodi, there were lots of gorgeous landscapes - granted, it was along a narrow state highway with a lot of roadwork in progress, so you can imagine the mess of equipment, detours and signs, but oooooh, it was a great sight. To make it even more heavenly, the clouds were huge, and almost all gray or a darker - almost black - storm gray. I could see streams of rain pouring down in the distance and this reminded me of watching as a young sailor the thunderstorms at sea, something I will never forget.

I arrived very late at the crane reserve, so late the sun would set soon. There was a huge crowd of people there which made me realize that's a good sign. If no birds were seen, nobody would be there! :) The closest birds were anywhere from about 70 feet away (the few closest) but the majority were over 200 feet away, and many more hundreds even farther in a marshland area with lots of water inlets.The loud chatter from these birds was amazing, and though I am not a bird-watcher I can imagine now why people go to watch birds. I could see cranes together with geese, ducks, and even many pelicans. Every few minutes cranes would take off, a small group at first but gradually joining up in the skies with other cranes already in flight. As the sun dipped lower in the sky, hundreds of flying cranes formed short or long lines in the golden sky, and behind these, I could see even more groups of cranes.... it was all so amazing!! The wind picked up and it got very chilly. Eventually it started to rain but I stayed there - not cold at all and enjoying this fantastic mood and scene.

sigh

Later I returned to that Vallejo park again, and saw about seven peacocks. While they ran to hide, a few others stayed and eventually was so quiet that soon a few of them passed only a few feet from me, so close I couldn't even focus on these beautiful birds so I had to quietly and slowly move away to get a picture.