March 22, 2008: Niagara River (17 PHOTOS, 8 BIRD, 1 ANIMAL)

Melissa had a friend in town, so we took her on a tour of the area, and up to see Niagara Falls! In the process, we got some nice photos. The first set of photos were taken from Goat Island, on the US side of the falls.

Above: The Skylon Tower, across the river on the Canadian side

Below: A shot of downtown Niagara Falls, Ontario Above and below: Two shots of a Peregine Falcon that flew right by us over the gorge as we were enjoying the falls! A shot of Niagara Falls, still with a lot of snow and ice built up around it Fly-by gull

Below: Some cool shots of river ice... Now, we headed further down the river, back home

Common Goldeneye and Common Merganser, from near the Power Intake station, along the Robert Moses Parkway south of Niagara Falls.

Male and Female Bufflehead, same location

Despite the cold, the ice is breaking up. Plenty of ice chunks were floating down the river.

Grand Island (West River Parkway): Some Canvasbacks on the ice

Beaver Island State Park, Grand Island, NY: Female Lesser Scaup

Also at Beaver Island ... This raccoon was out in the middle of the day looking for food. He dug up an old apple from beneath the deep snow and was munching on that!

Interactive Map of Locations Pictured