December 31, 2008: Winter Snowstorm

A surprise storm dumped 12" today! This gave me a chance to post one more blog entry for 2008.... of all the snow!

December 30, 2008: Flooding in Rapids, New York

Today I drove through Rapids, NY, in northeastern Erie County, on the way to Lockport for work. There was quite a bit of rain and snowmelt recently, so the roads were flooded...

December 27, 2008: Iroquois NWR Birding

This morning my brother and I helped with the 109th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, in the Iroquois NWR area. The weather was warm, but rain put a damper on things. We didn't see many birds, but got a few interesting scenery shots.

A dreary Schoolhouse Marsh
Colorful lilacs at Ring-Neck Marsh

Above and below: Some eerie fog shots at Swallow Hollow trail

Reflections in a pool

Some leaves remaining since autumn

Rapid melt in the marsh

IROQUOIS NWR LOCATION (INTERACTIVE)

December 25, 2008: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM MOJO, MYSTIC, AND DEIDRA!

December 22, 2008: Buffalo Winter Storm

We got hit with two consecutive storms. On Friday December 19 - 10" of snow from a general storm. A nasty Lake Effect storm hit on Sunday December 21, giving us about another 12" or so. There was lots of blowing and drifting, so clearing the driveway was not fun! Below are some photos...

December 20, 2008: Nations Road (Livingston County), NY Birding

Today, in between snow storms, we had a clear (but cold) day, we took advantage and went out birding! We went to the Nations Road area in Livingston County near Geneseo, and got some great shots of Short-Eared Owls, and some other photos as well.

A distant flock of Snow Buntings looked like snowflakes!

Some cold looking sheep on a farm on Nations Road-

Above and Below: Northern Shrike

Below are some nice shots of the Short-Eared Owls there that we got

This Tree Sparrow was alarmed by the owls presence!

Found this Bald Eagle next in Alexander NY on the way home. It was almost dark - we need to stop back during better light!

INTERACTIVE MAP