Niagara Falls

As we arrived in Niagara Falls last night it was getting dark, but after a delicious dinner at The Como Restaurant we walked over to see the falls lit up. It was stunning with the skyline of Niagara Falls, Ontario in the background:

We got an early start this morning and went for a hike around Goat Island. I was eager to add some birds to the year list and I didn't have to wait long, though I was somewhat surprised to see hundreds of mallards (21) in the rapids of the Niagara River above the falls among the snow and ice.

These clearly weren't your run-of-the-mill mallards because instead of dabbling they were actually diving for something beneath the surface. Not only that, but I saw a female mallard actually go over Niagara Falls and take flight in mid-air. It was far away but I attempted to capture it via photograph. Click to see a larger version, and the blue arrows point to the female mallard:

Near the first mallards I saw were also many ring-billed gulls (22). A small flock of Canada geese (23) flew over, and then I also picked some herring gulls (24) out of the mix. There was a lot of gull activity in general all along the Niagara River, and I finally figured out what they were after when I caught this herring gull in action:

I'm assuming those little fish end up going over the falls?? The gulls were definitely feeding both at the top and bottom of the waterfalls, as well as at other points along the river.

Out at Three Sisters Island I found some common goldeneye (25), and then near Horseshoe Falls I spotted a common loon (26) far below. One thing that amazes me about these falls is not just their size, but the amount of spray that fills the air around them. Here's a look towards Horseshoe Falls from Prospect Point:

During the winter, the mist actually freezes to everything it touches, which makes for some pretty stunning winter scenes. All of the trees downwind, for instance, are coated in a thick ice as a result of the mist. I bet you can guess which side the falls are on relative to this tree:

While I was photographing the icy trees something caught my eye, and much to my surprise it turned out to be a peregrine falcon (27). Then as we continued walking I spotted a very pale gull, which I suspect was a glaucous gull, but unfortunately it disappeared too quickly and I wasn't able to relocate it despite coming back to try again later. I did, however, find a couple great black-backed gulls (28), an eastern species I was hoping to pick up.

Next up we hiked the gorge trails between Devil's Hole and Whirlpool State Parks. Interestingly enough, while this is just a short ways down the river from the falls, none of the same gull species were present. Instead, there was a huge flock of Bonaparte's gulls (29). I was also surprised to come across a lone harlequin duck (30), a rare species for this region, but an ID I was sure of since I see so many back home. Here's a view towards the big whirlpool bowl in the Niagara River canyon:

After climbing out of the gorge I saw one of the black squirrels I had heard about. It turns out these aren't a distinct species, but rather a melanistic version of the eastern gray squirrel. Melanism results in an animal having extremely dark pigmentation, and is the opposite of leucism or albinism. They can be found anywhere eastern gray squirrels occur, but in some places are more common, like they are here near Niagara Falls. This little guy wasn't too interested in being photographed so this was the best I could do:

After a quick pit stop for lunch, I headed back to goat island to try and turn up another gull species. I didn't have any luck in the gull department, but I did find a few American black ducks (31), another great eastern species to add to the list. It was cool that I could compare them directly to the nearby female mallards to make sure of the ID. On the same outing I also spotted a few American wigeon (32), canvasback (33), bufflehead (34), and several large groups of lesser scaup (35).

Here are a couple more views of Niagara Falls in the daytime. The first one includes a rainbow from this morning:

And this one is a close-up view taken from the observation platform at Prospect Point:

By this point I figure I had walked about 5-6 miles and my feet were not too happy about being stuck in snow boots all day. Although I wanted to do some more exploring I was done walking so we decided to drive north to Fort Niagara State Park near Youngstown on the shore of Lake Ontario. It was getting late in the day but we got there in time to see the sunset, and get a nice view of the Toronto skyline in the distance over the ice floes in the lake:

The timing also couldn't have been more perfect to see the Fort Niagara Lighthouse, which was silhouetted against a colorful late afternoon sky and appeared to have its light lit by the rays of the sun:

 All in all it was a great day, with 15 species added to the year list including two (the great black-backed gull and American black duck) that I have only seen once before. Now I am TIRED so it is off to bed (this will post on Pacific Time but remember I am three hours ahead of that - haha). It should be another big day tomorrow, though there are 3 inches of lake effect snow in the forecast so we'll see how much outside time I end up getting.

Eden Valley and Tifft Nature Preserve

Two nights ago we had a decent snow storm, waking up to about six inches of fresh snow. It was perfect weather for a hike over to the creek that runs through Eden Valley. The walk starts by winding between some farm fields, then goes through the woods and down into the valley. It was still snowing pretty heavily on the way there, but right when we reached the creek the sun started to peak through the clouds.

On the cliffs across the creek were rows of icicles, which was cool to see:

The whole area was so scenic with the running water, the ice along the edges, and the fresh snow:

I thought I might see some birds on the creek hike, but all I manged to turn up was a handful of crows and a single bald eagle (15). Today, I gave it another shot at the Tifft Nature Preserve just south of Buffalo. While pulling into the preserve I spotted an American kestrel (16), which I thought might be a good omen. At first things were quiet, but then I found the stocked feeders near the visitor center. Finally, there were birds everywhere! Right away I spotted a couple of sparrows that I knew were something different from what I normally see. The first one I was able to identify was a white-throated sparrow (17):

We occasionally see white-throated sparrows on the west coast in the winter, but not often and they're usually just single birds, so it was cool to see several of them all together. Most of the sparrows, however, were American tree sparrows (18), a species I've only seen once before in 2004 in North Dakota:

I haven't seen many other species yet this year, but many of them were in the trees around the feeders at Tifft including mourning doves, lots of downy woodpeckers, black-capped chickadees, and a couple of pairs of northern cardinals. I did also add the red-breasted nuthatch (19) to the list. Here's on the of the chickadees, who wasn't shy at all:

I also finally got my chance to photograph the cardinal, who I had been patiently waiting for at the feeders where I'm staying without any luck:

There was one another sparrow-like bird that I kept getting glimpses of, but couldn't quite see well enough to identify. Then, while looking for a cardinal to photograph, I found myself face-to-face with the mystery bird - a common redpoll (year bird 20, NA life bird 340)!!!

This was a species that I had hoped to see while here in the winter, but I thought it was mostly wishful thinking. After checking with the rare bird alert report from the Buffalo Ornithological Society I knew a few had been seen in the area for the last week, but I really didn't think I would be lucky enough to see one! 

The common redpoll is actually a finch, not a sparrow, and they breed in the northern-most parts of the continent. They are known for being extremely resistant to cold temperatures, so their winter movements are driven mostly by a search for food. While their winter range spans much of southern Canada, they don't always reach the continental United States, reaching further south during irruption years, which are typically every other year for the redpoll.

The only thing that succeeded in drawing my attention away from the redpoll was the sudden close approach of a white-tailed deer. She seemed as curious about me as I was of her, which resulted in a nice pose for the camera:

After the deer continued on I suddenly realized how cold I was! It was time to head back to the car to warm up those fingers and toes.

Next up: Niagara Falls! I'll certainly have some photos of the Falls to share, but I also hope to spot a new-to-me gull species, several of which have been reported along the Niagara River in the last week or so.

A Couple More Birds and Conclusion of the WJC

With daily hockey games the birding has continued to be limited, and even on my few walks sightings have pretty much been limited to a pair of mourning doves or a small flock of crows.

Mourning dove

 The only birds added to the year list this week are a red-tailed hawk (13) seen from the car and the American goldfinches (14) that have started coming to the feeders.

Pair of American goldfinches with a black-capped chickadee

Pretty much all of the eastern bird species that I had hoped to photograph while here have eluded me since New Year's Day, so I hope they start coming to the feeders again in the next couple of days. The only eastern species I have photographed isn't a bird but a mammal - the eastern gray squirrel:

Eastern gray squirrel

The lack of birding has clearly been getting to me as last night I had a dream about bird-watching (granted it was in the warmth by the thawed out lake, not in the 20s in the snow like it is here!). There were all sorts of bizarre birds in the dream that I hadn't seen before, and the only one I was able to locate in my dream field guide was the emperor-faced sora. It looked like a coot and was swimming in the lake but had bright orange cheeks, a yellow bill, and a strange blue knob on top of it's head. My dad suggested I start a 2011 dream bird list, and right now that one would probably exceed my waking bird list for the year!

That said, the World Junior Championship has been a phenomenal experience for a hockey fan like myself. I've attended 10 games in 8 days, and some of the more exciting match-ups have come since my last post. After Sweden beat Canada in the round robin play to win their grouping, Canada faced off against Team USA in the semi-finals, ending any hope for a repeat of last year's gold medal match-up where USA upset Canada in overtime. The crowd for the USA vs. Canada game was unbelievable:

Crowd at the USA vs. Canada semi-final game

Canadian fans, who far outnumbered US fans even though we're in New York and not Ontario, celebrated the 4-1 win and sent USA to the bronze medal game vs. Sweden.

Waving the red, white, and blue at the bronze medal game

Yesterday afternoon in the bronze medal game, USA came out with a strong third period performance to top Team Sweden 4-2 and win the bronze. While somewhat of a disappointment after last year's gold, it's the first time USA has won a medal while hosting the tournament and the first time in the 35 years of the tournament's existence that they have won medals in back-to-back years.

Team USA shakes hands with Team Sweden after being awarded their bronze medals

Yesterday evening was the gold medal match-up of Canada vs. Russia. Canadians were out in full force hoping to see their team recapture the gold medal they had won for five straight years before last year. Tickets were being resold for about $200 a piece and there was not an empty seat in the noisy building when the game started.

Team Canada during warm-ups at the gold medal game

Things were looking to go in the Canucks' favor after Canada was up 3-0 after two periods of play, but Russia came out strong with a pair of goals 13 seconds apart early in the third, and Canada failed to respond as Russia put up three more to score five unanswered goals in the third period to snatch the gold medal.

Russia celebrates winning the 2011 World Junior Championship

While about half the fans poured out of the building with time still on the clock after Canada was trailing 5-3, those that stayed were surprisingly classy and cheered Russia's win. I did hear one woman telling her husband that she didn't regret one penny they spent on the tickets, though he didn't seem to feel the same way. I went into the game cheering for Canada since Portland Winterhawk Ryan Johansen is on the team, but I couldn't help but root for the heavy underdogs and admire Russia's upset win.

Now that I'm overdosed on hockey for a while it's time to get cracking on that year list!

Starting Off the Year List in the East

Temperatures soared into the upper 40s to start the new year, so we woke up on January 1st to a total lack of snow in Buffalo. It was raining all day, which seemed to keep most of the bird activity down in the neighborhood, and then we had a Buffalo Sabres hockey game in the late afternoon so there wasn't much time for birding. Still, I did tick twelve species to start 2011:

1. Black-capped chickadee
2. Northern cardinal
3. Mourning dove
4. Downy woodpecker
5. Blue jay
6. Tufted titmouse
7. White-breasted nuthatch
8. Dark-eyed junco
9. American crow
10. European starling
11. Rock pigeon
12. House sparrow

Opening face-off: Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins on January 1, 2011

 The Sabres' game was one of the best hockey games I have ever seen live. There were seven goals in the first period. The Sabres came back from a two goal deficit to lead 5-4, then ended up trailing 6-5 late. Drew Stafford scored an extra attacker goal in the last minute of play to tie the game and get the hat trick, then Miller stopped Zdeno Chara in the shootout to get the 7-6 win. My throat is sore this morning from all the yelling!!

18,000+ fans on hand to watch the Sabres beat Boston 7-6 in HSBC Arena

The snow is coming down again as of today so I hope to get some wintery backyard bird pictures in the near future, particularly of the eastern species I don't get a chance to photograph back home. Birding will have to take a back seat until the end of the World Junior hockey tournament on the 5th, and then I'll see how many species I can turn up here in New York!

Train Trip Across the Country: Part 2

We woke up in Minneapolis, Minnesota to more snow on the ground, but blue skies and bright sunshine above. Gone, however, were the open landscapes of Montana, and we were surrounded by more cities and industry than the day before as we traveled through the mid-west. The juxtaposition of the natural and the man-made still made for some pretty scenic views.

I'm not even sure how the day passed so quickly. We didn't read many of the books or play any of the games we brought along - instead my mom and I were both glued to the window until the sun set near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The view was more smokestacks, this time with hundreds of gulls circling in the blue-orange sky:

We pulled into Chicago's Union Station two hours behind schedule. Many travelers missed their connection but luckily we had a long layover in the Windy City and still had several hours to kill. That gave us time to grab some dinner and tour the impressive train station. It was much larger than Portland's Union Station that we departed from, not to mention all the tiny stations in towns across Montana and North Dakota.

Having traveled the Empire Builder from one end to the other, we hopped on the Lake Shore Limited to travel from Chicago to Buffalo, New York. It was an overnight trip of about 10 hours, and while we had a sleeper car for the first two nights this third night was spent in coach, where it turned out to be much more difficult to sleep comfortably! We woke up after a fitful night's sleep at dawn to spend the last couple of hours on the train taking in part of the New York countryside before pulling in to Buffalo.

I was exhausted by the time we arrived - kind of amazing since all I did was sit on a train for two and a half days, but I definitely hadn't slept the best for the previous three nights. Still, I wasn't ready to crash until I spent some time scanning the backyard bird feeders at the house I'm staying at in New York, eager to pick up some eastern year birds before the end of 2010. My hosts graciously started filling the feeders a month ago, so the birds didn't disappoint. Before falling asleep for my three hour nap, I added the red-bellied woodpecker (230), tufted titmouse (231), and northern cardinal (232). The next day I also added the blue jay (233).

Coming up in the next couple of posts: the 2010 year list in review and a look forward to 2011, plus photographs of all the great backyard birds here in New York.