Search Results for: photo bird 2

A Long-Awaited Homecoming for Peregrine Falcons in the Finger Lakes | All About Birds All About Birds

A Long-Awaited Homecoming for Peregrine Falcons in the Finger Lakes | All About Birds All About Birds

Just a few miles north of Ithaca, New York, Taughannock Creek (pro?nounced tuh-GAN-uck) carves between the sheer rock walls of a 400-foot gorge, dropping toward Cayuga Lake in a free-fall curtain of water taller than Niagara Falls. There’s a state park trail up this gorge, with a sun-faded sign at the trailhead that bears a mono?chrome photograph of a Peregrine Falcon perched by her cliffside nest, hulking protectively over three downy white chicks. Framed by the white waters of the Taughannock cataract, the peregrine mother is a picture of power: her velocity-hewn teardrop shape is steadfast, even as the film’s long exposure captures the water rushing by. Her gaze is transfixing, even through the sign’s grainy, faded ink and the century that now separates us.

Good Evening – August 15, 2021

Good evening! Sitting on the Kane Firetower waiting for the sun to set πŸ—Ό

Partly clear and 69 degrees at the Kane Mountain Firetower. Light breeze. The dew point is 51 degrees. A very clear evening πŸŒƒ for sure, good for watching the sunset. With the low dew point I can easily see the other side of the Mohawk Valley including some of the silos on the Schoharie side. Also the wind turbines on the ridge outside of the Adirondack Park.

It’s been a nice weekend up north, ☺ with way too many beer boiled clams, sausage and sweet corn πŸ¦ͺ🍻🌽 and swimming 🏊🏻‍♂️ holes and about 25 miles of hiking – well over 15 miles was today alone. Camped at the House Pond Campsite 2 again. Today I hiked from Seeley Road in Knapville to Dexter Lake and then to Spectacle Lake and then to Waters Mill Pond. Then about two hours in the evening cooling off in the Potholers, followed by a sunset hike up Kane Mountain. Now to drive home by 10 pm.

Yesterday, I hiked back to House Pond which had a lot of blow down over parts of the trail. πŸŽ‹ There was a bad thunderstorm β›ˆ in July that I remember seeing on the news πŸ“° that caused some big trees to come down, but at least it didn’t wash out the road much or if it did Stratford had already fixed it. Looks like they had to saw and remove multiple trees off Piseco-Powley Road that had came down it and I could hear them cutting downed trees at the hunting camp down the road and I saw them leaving with several pickup trucks full of wood.

Also yesterday I hiked along the Edick Road Snowmobile Trail and then back to Edick Road Campsite #1 out along the ledge overlooking the East Canada Creek, spotting a photographing a doe up close. 🦌 I climbed down the gorge wall and watched the various birds 🐦 in the grass lands along that grassy part of the river. Then more clams, corn and sausage. And back to Potholers.

Friday was even more lazy — it was fairly hot. Many hours reading and learning more about Python, 🐍 and then I hiked to Potholers. 🏊‍♀️ Then after I got back to camp, I swam at the swimming hole across the road from House Pond Campsite 2 until dusk, listening to a podcast, started a fire πŸ”₯ had more clams, πŸ•Ή laid back in hammock until it started to pour 🌧 and then hung out under the tarp as it rained some more listening to podcasts until 11 PM.

Thursday, was a rather late start because it was so humid and I was on vacation and was lazy. I screwed up and didn’t get my turn signal on time for Sandell Farm’s to get sweet corn, and ended up going to Rogers Orchard to get sweet corn and blueberries. 🍎 Then I ended up running to Wally World and forgetting the main reason I wanted to go there — to get coffee. β˜• I like the large coffee containers they have there not just because they are inexpensive on a per pound basis, they make great containers for making ice in for camping. Or “donating” to the state to put toilet paper in the outhouses, to keep the racoons from shredding it. 🚽 I was hoping to check out Willie Marsh 🐸 but I got on the wrong road, so I didn’t go by there. I finally got camp around 12:30, set things up, made my first batch of clams, πŸ•Ή and they were good. Swam in the swimming hole across the way from House Pond Campsite, 🏊‍♀️ which might not be the potholers, but it’s right next door. Sat back in the hammock for a while listening to some music 🎼 and the news πŸ“», then had a fire. πŸ”₯ The wood sure was wet that first night, and it was a bit smokey until I got it going well.

Paddling on Catharine Creek Marsh

It turns out it is possible to do a short -- 3/4 mile paddle on the marsh from the Airport Road parking area along part of the drainage canal and creek, however when water levels are higher supposedly you can get out to the center part of the marsh. Lots of birds and wildlife!

Taken on Monday August 2, 2021 at Catharine Creek WMA.

July 6, 2021 Morning

Good morning! Happy Tuesday. 🏒 Back to work after the long weekend although I’m taking off Friday for an extra short week. Two weeks to Ugly Truck Day 🚚. Cloudy and 69 degrees in Dormansville, NY. ☁ There is a south breeze at 8 mph. πŸƒ. The dew point is 66 degrees. The skies will clear around 7 pm. Going to be another real hot and humid day, although I think the clouds and thunderstorms should help break the heat.

Last night I stayed over at my parents house in the truck camper β›Ί and they made breakfast which pretty good. Drove home, had to slam on the brakes twice 🦌 as there was a lot of deer on the road. I fished at Lawson Lake 🎣 with my feet off the dock until I big snapper swam by. 🐒 I’m a scardy cat, what’s the worse thing a big snapper can do? They don’t bite unless you attack them or really scare them and they prefer to flee, especially in water where they tend to be quite fast. πŸ’¦ I also went hiking and bird watching – bunch of Ruffled Grouse on Sickle Hill Road along with song sparrows, Gold Finch, red wing blackbirds along the way. I did a little fishing 🎣 at White Birch Pond but the bugs were bad! 🐜

Today will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10am. Some storms could be severe, with heavy rain. Partly sunny and hot 🌩, with a high of 90 degrees at 3pm. Six degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 70 at 9am. Heat index values as high as 95. South wind 8 to 16 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 88 degrees. The record high of 97 was set in 1886.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.2Β° from the due south horizon (-0.8Β° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 7:54 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (295Β°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west-northwest (302Β°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:37 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 9:10 pm, which is 19 seconds earlier than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:55 pm. At sunset, look for partly cloudy skies πŸŒƒ and temperatures around 83 degrees. The dew point will be 68 degrees. There will be a west breeze at 9 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 10 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 58 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Some of the storms could be severe. Partly cloudy 🌩, with a low of 66 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 68 at 6pm. Southwest wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies in the evening, which became cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It became humid as the night progressed. It got down to 69 degrees. The record low of 44 occurred back in 1979.

On this day in 1947, The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union. πŸ”« Even after almost seven decades, the model and its variants remain the most popular and widely used assault rifles in the world because of their substantial reliability under harsh conditions, low production costs compared to contemporary Western weapons, availability in virtually every geographic region and ease of use.

Weekend forecast is definitely looking up. 😎 Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Maximum dew point of 65 at 7am. Sunday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 64 at 7pm. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

I got to take off Friday for my eye doctor appointment πŸ‘€ and then head up to the Adirondacks. I think I can leave directly from the eye doctor to the Adirondacks. I’m sure they’ll want to dilate my pupils but too bad as I want to get up to camp β›Ί so I can spend the balance of the day in the Adirondacks. Only two weekends until summer vacation, it’s coming quickly.

As previously noted, there are 2 weeks until Ugly Truck Day 🚚 when the sun will be setting at 8:27 pm with dusk at 9:00 pm. On that day in 2020, we had hot, humid, mostly sunny and temperatures between 87 and 69 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1991.

North West

July 5, 2021 Morning

Good morning! Happy Hottest Time of the Year πŸ˜…! This morning ain’t real humid, but you will be feeling it later today. Partly sunny and 56 degrees in Delmar, NY. Calm wind. The dew point is 56 degrees.

Today’s plan is to go out to Partridge Run WMA and do some bird watching 🐦 and fishing. 🎣 I plan to spend the bulk of the day out there, although first this morning I want to work on a getting that area compare code up on the blog, so I can start doing size comparisons for future blog posts.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 80 degrees at 3pm. Four degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 19th. Maximum dew point of 64 at 5pm. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 9 mph in the morning. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies. The high last year was 91 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1919.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 1:01 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.1° from the due south horizon (-0.7° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.2 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 7:54 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (296°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west-northwest (303°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:37 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 25 seconds with dusk around 9:10 pm, which is 17 seconds earlier than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:56 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies πŸŒ„ and temperatures around 76 degrees. The dew point will be 64 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 8 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 12 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 55 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms before 4am, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5am. Partly cloudy , with a low of 66 degrees at 5am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 65 at 9pm. South wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. In 2020, we had mostly clear skies. It got down to 66 degrees. The record low of 47 occurred back in 1962.

On this day in 1999, U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. πŸ€‘ Unfortunately, it seems like it was too little to late, as within 2 years we would be at war with them after the September 11th Terrorist attacks.

I am thinking about heading up north this weekend starting Friday after the eye appointment. πŸ•  Friday, showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 79. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Saturday, a chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Maximum dew point of 66 at 7pm. Sunday, a chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Maximum dew point of 68 at 11am. Typical average high for the weekend is 84 degrees.

My exact weekend plans aren’t fully formulated yet, πŸ’­ but I’m leaning towards Piseco-Powley through early Monday, then heading to Spectulator for remote work on Monday and Tuesday, but only if the weather looks nice. It’s been a few week since I’ve gotten out of town, and I kind of want to spend more time camping before summer is done. It’s already July, and it seems like its been difficult to get out of town so far this summer as the weekends have been cloudy and rainy, although I certainly have taken advantage of CDTA Nature Bus service. πŸ‘€

One month πŸ“… from now will be Work Like a Dog Day 🐩 when the sun will be setting at 8:10 pm with dusk at 8:42 pm. The average high temperature is 34 degrees, with a record high of 61 in 1895.

Tupper Lake

June 25, 2021 Morning

Good morning! Yeah, it’s Friday! Thank God, it’s been a long week, especially since it’s such a pain without the express bus 🚍 in the evenings. Three weeks to Last Sunset After 8:30 PM πŸŒ†. Mostly sunny and 65 degrees in Delmar, NY. 😎 Calm wind. The dew point is 52 degrees. One more cool day before the sweltering weather of next week.

A nice morning, but I didn’t get as early of a start as I probably should have. 😴 I had some trouble with a contact lens last night πŸ‘€ and my eyes were kind of irritated but I got up and going late. But the pancakes πŸ₯ž and coffee helped β˜• but based on the late hour, I decided to take a nature walk around the Swift Wetland Preserve 🐸 rather then go for a longer hike out around the High School like I do most mornings. It was kind of a neat hike though, watching a cat bird and weasel duke it out, probably over some eggs in the Cat Bird’s nest. 🐿

It was a quiet day yesterday in the office 🏒 and I didn’t mind it much. It was kind of busy preparing a project but my office is still downstairs while the unit upstairs that I supervise, so with the split shift with remote work πŸ’» part time it’s really quiet. 🀫 I do like being in the office part time. But alas the pandemic is over 😷 πŸ‘Ύ πŸ’‰ and it won’t be long before I’m back in the office a lot more. I went down to the park and read πŸ“– until nine o’clock and it was pretty dark out. πŸ¦‡ Saw a lot of bats which is good because their populations have been so decimated by the White Nose Infection and they eat a shit ton of bugs.

Today will be mostly sunny 🌞, with a high of 81 degrees at 3pm. One degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 23rd. Maximum dew point of 55 at 5pm. South wind 3 to 8 mph. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 87 degrees. The record high of 95 was set in 1898.

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:59 pm with sun having an altitude of 70.8Β° from the due south horizon (-0.1Β° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 2.1 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour πŸ… starts at 7:55 pm with the sun in the west-northwest (297Β°). πŸ“Έ The sunset is in the west-northwest (304Β°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 8:38 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 27 seconds with dusk around 9:12 pm, which is 4 seconds later than yesterday. πŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 9:58 pm. At sunset, look for partly clear skies πŸŒ„ and temperatures around 75 degrees. The dew point will be 57 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 7 mph. Today will have 15 hours and 18 minutes of daytime, a decrease of 17 seconds over yesterday.

This afternoon I have my counseling session πŸ‘¨πŸ»β€βš•οΈ and I am really not looking forward to it, as I realize that I am not ready to face some hard truth, but it’s scheduled and on the calendar πŸ—“ and I have to attend. I’m doing it for a better tomorrow no matter how unpleasant it is as I confront thoughts πŸ’­ I don’t want to confront but I really need to. I’ve done my homework πŸ“ and I’m an adult so I’ll get it done. I’m at a point where I need to continue on, like it or not. It’s for a better tomorrow I tell myself. Change is good.

Tonight will be mostly cloudy πŸŒ₯, with a low of 64 degrees at 3am. Four degrees above normal. Maximum dew point of 64 at 5am. South wind around 7 mph. In 2020, we had light rain in the evening, which became partly cloudy by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 63 degrees. The record low of 39 occurred back in 1979.

On this day in 1998, in Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional. ❎ Congress can not give the President the power to strike appropriations that it has granted, despite it being the appropriator. New York City challenged the decision after President Clinton knocked off a few of it’s line item appropriations added by a local congressman.

Tomorrow will have a slight chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Mostly cloudy 🌦, with a high of 83 degrees at 2pm. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical day around June 28th. Maximum dew point of 69 at 11am. South wind 9 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. A year ago, we had partly cloudy skies. The high last year was 85 degrees. The record high of 99 was set in 1952.

Looking ahead to Sunday, partly sunny and hot, with a high near 91. South wind 8 to 10 mph. Maximum dew point of 70 at 9am. Typical average high for the weekend is 82 degrees. It’s going to be really hot come Sunday . 😰

As previously noted, there are 3 weeks until Last Sunset After 8:30 PM πŸŒ† when the sun will be setting at 8:30 pm with dusk at 9:04 pm. On that day in 2020, we had rain and temperatures between 80 and 65 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 84 degrees. We hit a record high of 97 back in 1900.

East Branch of Deerfield River