A pied billed grebe was closer than most of the other birds on this morning, so it became my main photo subject.



Lower lake from the berm ( near the metal observation tower ).

I woke up early and heard the loons calling from Lower Lake at Upper and Lower Lake WMA.



I decided to head over to watch the sun come up, most of the birds ( and muskrat ) were off in the distance, but it was still well worth the visit to see the colors change before the Sun actually made it's appearance. 

Wilson's snipe was out by mud where the river had receded recently.



I've seen them up here before, but it's the first time one stayed around long enough for me get a good picture of it.

I woke up to see mist rising from the Oswegatchie, so I went out to sit on a milkcrate for an hour or so and see what came by to visit.



Among the ones that came by were Mallards, Wood Ducks, Common and Hooded Merganser and a Pied Billed Grebe.



They are usually all very skittish and leave anytime we exit the house or are within around 100 yards from them, so I got a slightly better chance to get phots by being there first and waiting for them to arrive.  

 

I saw this American Crow while on a walk on the Saddlemire Trail today. It was perched on this dead tree watching over the area. I had my binoculars with me, so I lined up my phone camera with the binocular lens to get this picture. Did you know that crows can remember faces? They're pretty cool birds!

On a walk in the yard between the river and wetlands, this Bullfrog was sitting motionless.



The first frog we have seen in 2025,  we later heard some spring peepers as well.

 

The crocuses are blooming!

I was visiting the dike area at Upper Lower Lake WMA and very little was to be seen, but with the binoculars I could see some movement at the far side of the frozen lake.  

I took a photo, but even with a 600mm lens, it was barely a speck in the picture.

It took me about 30 minutes to get from the dike to the marsh overlook viewing platform, which was near the location of the coyote, but as I figured it was no longer around.

We had a gorgeous 6" of wet snow last night and the groomed nordic trails on the SLU golf course look beautiful. What a great snowy winter we're having!

While driving around looking for birds with a friend, we got lucky and spotted this Barred Owl perched on some wires over a field! The owl seemed to be hunting - they were turning their head in all directions as if scanning for sounds. When we drove back a bit later the owl was still in the same area, just perched on a tree instead. 

These are photos shared with me by a community member, Blair Madore, who was snowshoeing the Kip Trail from the Pike Road trail entrance. This porcupine, tracks, and bite marks can be found about a mile down the trail at the first bridge you hit if you enter from Pike Road, or 1.5 miles down the trail at the second bridge if you start from the Wachtmeister Field Station. 

With the Upper and Lower Lakes frozen over, the section of Oswegatchie bordering it has become a hunting ground for this Eagle.



It has shown up just about every day for the past week or so, and is sitting in a tree overlooking the river.



I walked out on the porch to attempt to get a photo, but it immediately knew I was there and we looked at each other.

It decided to move on to a different spot, but as I've seen it in that same tree and on the same branch 4 days over the past week, I know it will be back.

A group of common merganser have made this section of the Oswegatchie their temporary home for the past few weeks.



This section of river has had consistently open water this winter, so it's made for a terrific feeding area for these birds.



They don't like when I go out there, and they will swim downstream immediately, but I decided to stay wait them out, and despite it being around 20 degrees it was worth it.  As they did make their way back and as I laid in the snow, they swam, dove, ate and chased each other for the next hour.

I took this picture while cross-country skiing at Higley Flow for the first time. I enjoyed skiing under the canopy of these really tall pine trees!

These photos are from Nature Up North's first hike event of 2025, a snowshoe to Rainbow Falls. This trailhead starts on the Tooley Pond Rd, which is plowed but can be victim to variable road conditions. The trail is .3 miles to the falls and is largely flat, but features a wooden bridge at the falls built by the DEC, with a short jump up directly after. If you snowshoe to the falls, be aware of where there is real ground beneath your feet, and not drifts on top of treetops next to the gorge. Always stay within the treeline. 

With the fresh overnight snow, I saw a lot of bird activity on the front porch. 

It has a view of the Oswegatchie River and few bird feeders we put out in the yard. 

I'd seen birds out on our chairs before, they walk along the slats as they check out there area, but this time it just appeared as though the bird had day down, leaving a butt print while it relaxed and watched the other birds. 

A lovely day of skiing at higley.

The Barred Owl was hunting on the side of the road. We had passed by in a car and slowed on the other side to grab some photos!

A beautiful sunset on mountain view lake.

Indiana Jones just loves the first real snow he can make snow Angels in!!  

Along Lowland Trail at Indian Creek Nature Center.

While walking along one of the smaller ponds at the Indian Creek Nature Preserve, I encountered this snake sunning itself in the grass. To avoid me, it went out onto the ice but never ventured far out, and turned to face me before disappearing into the brush on the bank. I am not completely sure what species it is, although I suspect it is an especially orange Northern Watersnake. 

A wilderness hike bake to the seldom-visited West Branch of the Oswegatchie River, at the Aldrich Pond Wild Forest.

My annual kayak trip between Lows Lower and Upper Dams.

While out looking for amphibians I flipped over a log next to the trail. To my surprise this blue-spotted salamander and green frog were right next to each other under the log! This was the first blue-spotted salamander that I've found, and was very exciting. 

My annual paddle from the Inlet to High Rock. Very low water conditions, and temps in the 30s.

We stopped off at Lower Lake, which was drained this year by the DEC to do some work.

While there were commonly seen birds like ring billed gulls, trumpeter swans, ducks, geese, blackbirds and kingfisher.

It was a nice surprise to see some Semipalmated Pipers and a Lesser Yellowlegs on their way from Northern Canada down to the Gulf, or farther. 

 

While certainly not located within the North Country, the relatively dark skies in the area certainly allow us better opportunity to see things in the night sky.

The photo doesn't do it justice of course, but I'm still thrilled to get it.

First snow of the season!

Took a drive and the rain started to look thick, turning into slush and then big, fat fluffy snow flakes!! 

My first attempt at photographing the Northern Lights.



They weren't nearly as vibrant to the eye, but over a 30 second exposure, they do show up fairly well.



I definitely look forward to future opportunities to view and shoot them.



 

A nice bike & hike to Lows overlook during the peak of the foliage change.

Every year the SLU Outing Club does Peak Weekend. This year I joined a group to hike up St Regis Mountain and had a blast! The weather was perfect and the trees changing color made it magical. 

Stopped near Donnelly's Icecream at Glenview to see the sunset. Great view of the ADK high peaks, and great color in the leaves. They were starting to hit peak this weekend (last weekend in Sept.)

The field in the foreground is a piece of land owned by the ADK Land Trust called Glenview. They're working on an accessible trail system on the property, set to finish sometime in the next year.

While hiking the trail to Huckleberry Lake I came across a wetland area with a ton of frogs! This frog was sitting on a rock looking out over the pond, and let me get very close to take this picture. 

I spend a lot of time paddling on Dexter Marsh and taking photos. I was on my way back to the launch to head home, and a motor boat came up behind me. I moved off to the side to get out of their way, and thankfully spotted this bird (I think a green heron, but I'm new to birding so I'm not completely sure). Not only was he unbothered by the motor, he didn't mind me at all! I sat about 10 feet from him in my canoe while he ran back and forth and hunted fish and frogs. It was a lovely experience to be able to observe him without feeling like he was afraid of me.

We did some searching for crayfish in Eel Weir state park over the weekend. Water was low and we found many dried up shells along the shoreline. We also caught 10 or so in the water. They all appeared to be Northern Clearwater or Allegheny crayfish. We didn’t find any invasive rusty crayfish.

Walking early morning and the fog was lifting as the sun came up.

Rabbit Island Paddle on Spitfire Lake. A plaque on Rabbit Island commemorates the tuberculosis experiments Dr. Trudeau performed here in the summer of 1886. The plaque reads: "On this island in 1886 Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau conducted his historic experiment to determine the effect of environment on the incidence and progress of tuberculosis in a colony of rabbits. This plaque was placed by Trudeau Institute, Inc. in commemoration of this pioneering study in experimental epidemiology, October 7, 1972.".

As I was walking on the Saddlemire trail I noticed this green frog hanging out in the grass in the middle of the trail. It wasn't at all startled by my close up photo!

Hiking Chimney Bluffs State Park along the shores of Lake Ontario. 

It was a cooler, windy evening in August when we decided to walk around Sugar Island. While not terribly buggy, you did have to keep moving else they may swarm. The view from the dock was beautiful though and well worth a few mosquito bites. 

We stopped by Hart's Falls to see how different it might be after the recent high waters due to Hurricane Debby.

The River itself was already a foot lower than it was at the high the prior day, so I wish I'd had thought of this earlier.

But quite a bit more of the rocks on the upstream side were submerged than we had ever seen on prior visits.



For perspective, both of us are in the picture on the rock.



 

Walking and saw this!

Butterflies 

The heavy rains left over from hurricane Debbie had not raised the level of the Oswegatchie yet, but it did create multiple frog puddles over the lawns of neighborhood yards. 

While out looking for the frogs, Jen saw a turtle break the surface, so as it didn't seem to care we where there, she got closer to view it. 

Just after this photo, it walked over to her, and bumped her get a few times while leaving against her fur a few minutes before we all departed ways. 

Walking in to work and spotted this little guy crawling across the sidewalk around 8am. Came back with an oven mitt to move him and found him climbing the tree. Came back around noon and found him still between the first branches sleeping. My buddy guess is Large Brown Bat. No obvious signs of white nose syndrome.

Paddling Kusaqua & Rainbow Lakes from the Buck Pond campground. 

While walking the Massawepie Mire railbed, I was thrilled to spot two Spruce Grouse fledglings in the boreal habitat west of the crossing of the South Branch Grasse River. The DEC and regional ecologists have been working to establish a breeding population of this endangered species, with their efforts including the release of males and females. It was therefore wonderful to see successful breeding. I was fortunate enough to have one of the fledglings fly into the boughs of a conifer to pose for photos.

The Photography Club at the Nicandri Nature Center meets monthly, and when we were walking a part of the trail quite close to the Center in mid-July, we came upon this scene. The frog was still alive, and the snake was busily digesting as much as possible so it could slither off to enjoy the rest of its meal. In the meantime, we were able to get some pretty good shots. Although this is nature, it was still difficult to watch.

As we walked the footbridge over to Falls Island, we noticed a deer at the waters edge eating berries.



We watched it for a while and took a quick walk over to see the falls and on the way back the deer was on the trail, still eating, as we stopped for a moment to look at it, while it looked back and realized we were not scary.



As we started to approach the deer started to follow,  probably 20 feet behind us.  It made it about 1/3 of the way across the bridge before turning back.

Water levels were high, very buggy! But perfect for mushrooms!

We decided to take our boat out on the St. Lawrence River for an evening cruise and ended up floating beneath the Ogdensburg Prescott International Bridge. Our puppy, Cooper, was really enjoying the cool air. I snapped this shot near Chimney Island.

Had a great time at the Cornell Cooperative extension bioblitz and saw some gorgeus plants.

While at the CCE bioblitz we found some pretty burdock.

Nature Up North's float on the Oswegatchie.



Among the many creatures we observed were Great Blue Heron, Robin, Turkey Vultures, Barn Swallow, Kingbird, Painted turtles, Red-Tailed Hawk, Eastern Phoebe, Kingfisher, Cedar Waxwing and a Solitary Sandpiper.



A terrific few hours out on the river for an easy 5 mile paddle.

Twice the frog attempted to swallow the crawfish  by the head, and had to retreat.

After a 15 minute standoff, the frog took a position between the crawfish and the water it was trying to get to.

I'll never know who won, because this started a standoff between myself and my wife and the insects that were attacking us.

We lost as these two waited each other out.

A nice morning spent paddling Little Clear Pond.

Freshly fledged American Kestrel nestlings awaiting a delivery from mom in the morning sun. 

Beautiful sunset litup the trees at the feild station at the book exchange camp fire! Lovely night!

After finishing a paddle on the Oswegatchie, I spotted these small Crayfish over the shore by the boat launch. 

While on my morning walk to check our various bird boxes, I heard a commotion in the veggie garden. The tree swallows were swirling and calling. I spotted a recent fledge from our kestrel box sitting on the fence. He was kind enough to pose a while. I got a few nice shots before he heard Mom calling and joined her in a nearby tree. 

A nice morning paddle from Eel Bay at the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center, through the Narrows, and into South Bay.

Had to stop quick and take a picture of this snake on Judson Street Road.

These recently fledged barn swallows were getting flying and hunting lessons from Mom in my veggie garden in the early morning. Helping me with pest control! So sweet. 

This was a fantastic spot to view the building of the next, the babies and all of the hunting and caretaking.

It was located about 15 feet from the shore, so it was protected to an extent, and the placid water is a haven for damsel and dragon flies. The adult birds were almost always within sight as they hunted and returned.

At times, one would sit at the edge of the nest and spread it's wings to help shelter the young from the direct sun.

 

Tailed Frog at Stone Valley

Tree Swallow nestlings getting fed just before fledging. This is one of ten boxes occupied by these beautiful insect eating birds! (PS- why no tree swallow tag available???) 

A butterfly with a broken wing at the first campfire of the season!

This photo was taken by Rensselaer Falls resident Troy Parla in Heritage Park, Canton.

A gloomy spring day hiking the trail from Wanakena to the Inlet.

For our last ecology lab of the semester, my class went to Higley Flow State Park to look for salamanders! This is one of 60 Red Backed Salamanders that we found by looking under logs and bark. 

Here's another photo of a Red-Backed Salamander that I found during my ecology class lab! These salamanders are very small, but are so abundant that their biomass outweighs the biomass of many other species in the area, including deer! We found 60 Red-Backed Salamanders during our lab. 

A local repair shop was testing out their restored 1950’s/60’s German car/boat combo in the little river. Photos were taken from the SLU boat house on the little river.

I watched this wood duck pair circling overhead. They finally landed and in perfect sunshine. I have been seeing them in this tree over the last couple of weeks and we have three duck boxes that are occupied. This pair appears to be nesting in a natural cavity in the tree. A great argument to leave standing dead and dying trees as they provide habitat and nesting opportunities for our native bird species. 

I have been seeing gray foxes from time to time, but always in poor lighting situations and never near enough to capture a photo to verify my sighting. This changed last Saturday. From my kitchen window I spotted this gray fox and her mate crossing our property. I was able to capture a few photos through the glass. This is the best one. She almost looks angelic. 

Warm spring weather made for comfortable testing in waders under the SUNY Canton bridge. 

An unusually warm spring gave me an opportunity to kayak when I would normally be snowshoeing.

Each morning I walk down to the lake's edge with my camera, hoping to catch a glimpse and even better a photo of some of our abundant local wildlife. This female coyote was curious about my camera's clicking and posed for quite a while as she walked by following her mate. 

My regular morning routine involves walking our property with my camera. We live on the north end of Black Lake. While I was walking towards the lake, I spotted a coyote crossing the clearing. I typically see at least two at a time and figured I must have missed the first. I continued towards the lake and sat for a while watching bald eagles in the distance. Then I spotted something walking towards me on the ice. I pointed my camera towards the edge of the tree line and was happy to capture this shot and many more. Coyote on ice. 

I see about one bald eagle a day here on our property on Black Lake. The other day I was thrilled to see not just one or two, but FIVE sub adult bald eagles ranging in age from 1 to about 4 years old. I shot this photo and several others from my kitchen window. 

Pointe Au Roche State Park is always a nice winter destination. This year we didn't need snowshoes.

It was a snowy Sunday but the Juncos did not mind. This one posed for me. 

The wind was blowing and the snow was falling but it did not deter this dark eyed junco. 

I have been watching for foxes and hoping to have them return to our property after not seeing any for about a year. I was so happy to see this vixen, part of a pair that were exploring the gardens around our pool looking for voles and chipmunks. 

I have been seeing fox tracks around the property when there has been snow and hopping to catch a glimpse since I had not seen one in a while and the last one I saw was suffering from mange. I was so happy when I looked out the window to catch not only one, but two foxes out in the garden around our pool. This photo is what I believe to be the male. Taken from my kitchen window. 

I have been watching for foxes since seeing their tracks in the snow on my morning walks. I was so happy to see this pair in our garden from the kitchen window. 

Took a walk at Indian Creek Nature Center out to the lean-to there that is dedicated to John Green. John was a professor in the Biology Department and also one of the folks who first established Indian Creek Nature Center for the public. He was also a good friend. 

Took a walk in the woods as the sun was beginning to set on the shortest day of the year.

A blustery day on a short walk at Fort de La Présentation.  

Out past the lighthouse, I found beautiful ice formations on the rocks, concrete and driftwood.



With the wind and being around 18 degrees, it was good that it was a short walk, but well worth the exposed hands to work the camera.



A beautiful day to be out actually.

Skiing Whitaface with the peak in the clouds. As you ski down the cloud cover ended just above Little Whiteface giving way to some great views into the valley.

Though it is warming up into the 40's today, it was fun to see these tracks in the snow. I like the reminder that these critters are out and about even in the cold weather.

An easy rail-trail hike that always has Gray Jays looking for a snack.

On my morning walk I encountered this very busy male pileated woodpecker. I heard him working before I spotted him. 

This was our last view of the mountains when hiking up Whiteface

The squirrels love to use this feeder and often visit it as an alternative to the bird feeders in the yard.

The first of many chilly and snowy mornings in the North Country has me looking forward to all the winter months have to offer. 

Foxy and Snowball, the goats at the SLU Sustainability Farm are enjoying their new pasture! These two are very sweet goats; they love to explore and interact with human visitors. 

I was kayaking on Black Lake on an unusually warm October afternoon when I heard the call of the belted kingfisher. I allowed the wind to blow me closer where I was able to take a few photos and I didn't drop my camera in the water! :) 

While out on my regular morning walk, I heard Canada geese approaching. As I looked up I realized they were about to fly in front of the still glowing harvest moon. I am happy I had my camera with me. 

While I was on my morning walk here on Black Lake, I noticed a group of flickers seeming to check out the various boxes around our property. I was happy that I had my camera handy when these two males were competing over the tasty snacks in this old tree stump. The approaching flicker is showing off his yellow under feathers that give them their name "Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker"

Ruby throated hummingbirds dueling over garden territory. 

I am pretty sure this chipmunk lives in the Canoe House, everyday it scurries around with some food in their cheeks. 

Beautiful view on a fall day 

Each morning I take a walk to greet the new day. I love seeing what birds are enjoying the flowers and trees around our home. On this September morning, this little lady was kind enough to pose for me on a dew covered sunflower branch. 

Hummingbirds are fighting over the flowers in the gardens. This little one found a perfect spot to sip a zinnia blossom with flowering dill in the background. 

While working in the garden there is always a flury of hummingbird activity this time of year. They battle for control of the best feeders and flowers. I captured this photo after this hummingbird successfully chased off the competition and went on with enjoying the flowers. 

I noticed a bird flying around our property and the hayfield next door, it flew like a bat in circles. There were lots of insects on this hot and humid September day. I realized it was a nighthawk. A rare sighting during daylight hours. Please allow me to add proper tag. Nighthawks are on decline, and it would be great if people could properly tag their sightings. 

I think this was a spiny oak-slug moth caterpillar. It was really beautiful, I can't recall ever seeing another caterpillar that looked like this before.

This little cutie was perched on the Blau Hilde bean vines in my veggie garden. He seemed to be staring right into my lens. He reminds me of a young teenager just getting his facial hair with his ruby feathers just starting to come in. I love that his little beak is covered in pollen. I had more hummingbirds around than ever this season. They were so much fun to watch and photograph. 

We took family on the St. Lawrence River and saw this large ship. It was amazing!

This little beauty showed up while I was sipping coffee on our porch. I have an abundance of hummingbirds this season, much to my delight. I think they enjoy the multitude of native and annual flowers I have planted for them. The hyacinth bean vine was a new addition to my annuals this summer. Hummingbird approved! 

I always have one of my cameras handy while I am in the garden. I plant flowers not only for myself to enjoy, but for the birds. This American Goldfinch was kind enough to pose on my sunflowers. 

I always have my camera with me while I am out in the garden. This little goldfinch posed for several photos, it was difficult to choose my favorite. 

This photo depicts an Asian lady beetle, a species similar in looks to a ladybug but very invasive in the North Country. It can be hard to tell the difference between the two but the main giveaway that I look for to distinguish them is the black "M-shaped" marking located behind the Asian lady beetle's head. Despite the invasive nature of this species, they are still stunning and photograph beautifully.

We had so much fun learning about fungi!

Enjoyed a nice morning walk on the SLU XC trails, but am surprised to see some leaves already turning red. Keep hearing that everything is “two weeks early,” plus these trees are on the edge of a soccer field right next to the road, so maybe not the healthiest habitat, contributing to some external stressors…

I was heading out to the garden when I heard the birds sounding the alert. I looked around and sure enough this little one was running along the stone row. I waited on the other side for him to peek out. He seemed to be interested in the clicking of my camera and struck a cute pose. I am pretty sure this stoat is one of the young ones I saw Momma carrying earlier in the season. 

Seek identified this as a “Hermit Flower Beetle” he was the size of a half dollar, maybe a bit bigger, and I love that you can see the lamellate antennae, which is very characteristic of scarab beetles. This fella is similar to the beetles we know as june bugs, but not the same. Apparently they can emit a noxious odor when frightened! 

A rainy walk to Lampson Falls to build fairy houses, collecting material along the way, led to the discovery of lots of different fungi, all probably much happier than the humans at the damp conditions. despite the rain it was a joyful afternoon!

I just love the way the sun shines through this leaf and you can see all of its intricate veins, and the rest of the tree stands a little out of focus in the background. Nature is so awesome!

This little yellow warbler was hunting insects in our veggie garden. 

I work as a Watercraft Inspection Steward to manage invasive species and, when the boat traffic is slow, I try to see what the feathered fellas are up to! There are many places for them to hang out at the boat launch: grasses and reeds, trees, even industrial structures! They are good company for a long day outside and I never get tired of listening to their conversations.

Beautiful little buck stopped in my yard to eat. 

Visited by a bumblebee robber fly at the canton farmers market! These flies are cleverly disguised as bees with their yellow and black coloration and fuzzy bodies - but a closer look and a few clues will give away their status as flies (members of the Diptera order). First - this guy only has one pair of wings. Bees have two pairs! He’s got short antennae, and his eyes are more round whereas bees generally have oval shaped eyes. Finally the giveaway that this isn’t just any fly, but a robber fly - the mustache (technical name: mystax, a collection of stuff bristles on the face).

This freshly fledged northern flicker visited me while I was working in our garden. He was calling for his parents and they were returning the call from afar. Our home on Black Lake is like a small bird sanctuary with so many birds nesting in our trees and bird boxes. 

Kayaking down the Grasse River at dusk. 

I walk my dog every morning at 4:30am and this is my view along the way. 

This dragon fly landed on my son and just happened to have caught a spider to have for a snack. 

So exciting to see the new, bright green leaves on these sugar and Norway maples on SLU campus. Not just here but all over campus and beyond the beautiful greenery is just so lush and fresh - it really feels like a breath of fresh air and new beginnings. 

This little bee kept coming back and landing on my book and my sweater while I was outside. I was wearing a yellow sweater with flowers so he may have liked that. When the little friend was on my book he was rubbing his antennae and legs - and you can see how full the tibia on its hind legs are with pollen! So cool! 

Scott and I sampled the lake today and towed a zooplankton net behind the boat near Raspberry Island. Fun times on a beautiful spring day

Spotted this little beauty in my backyard while hiking my dog 

Birding walk led by Tom Langen and the St. Lawrence Land Trust at the Upper and Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area. Some of the most exciting sightings (to me at least) were the Virginia rail (pictured here creeping through the marsh), a Northern Waterthrush (not pictured), an American kestrel hovering (not pictured), and the Baltimore oriole we saw at the very end (pictured in a blossoming tree). Other birds we encountered were: 

This sweet tree swallow pair ended up raising a little family in our veggie garden nest box. It appears they are discussing the local real estate here prior to making a decision. I love having tree swallows nesting on our property. They eat lots of insects! 

This beauty appeared in a tree while I was making dinner. I was able to capture a series of photos in the perfect late afternoon light. This is among my favorites. I love seeing Great Blue Herons in their breeding plumage. I love living on Black Lake! 

I spotted this beauty from the window while I was making dinner. He landed in the perfect evening sun. 

Buddy was zoomin from tunnel to tunnel

Tree Swallow pair in our little vineyard on Black Lake. I look forward to their arrival each spring. We have at least 6 nesting pairs a season. I love watching their aerobatics. 

I was watching the sunrise over Black Lake when I spotted some ducks moving closer. I was able to capture a photo of this hooded merganser as it passed. I love his reflection on the water. 

This semester, Nature Up North has been helped by two St. Lawrence University students participating in a "Community based learning" course. Among other things, Julia and Ilana helped us to put out some game cameras in early March. We went out today to retrieve the game cameras. Knowing that the St. Lawrence University Kip Tract is primarily forested wetland, and that the trails are flooded, we donned chest waders just to walk the trail and get the cameras. We were successful in collecting 3 of the 4 cameras; one that we had placed near the bank of the Little River was under water!

Kayla and I went out to do some morning birding on the Kip Trail. After abandoning the trail on the Wachtmeister side due to flooding, we headed to the Pike Rd. entrance. Though I have no bird pictures to share, we saw and/or heard at least the following: Eastern phoebe, kingfishers, mallard ducks, brown creepers, hairy woodpeckers, chickadees, a northern cardinal, red-breasted nuthatch, and likely a yellow warbler!

We happened upon more flooding on the trail and also found some evidence of recent beaver activity near the lean-to.

iNaturalist identified this as a "Winter Stonefly," there have been a bunch on my porch. It's still pretty chilly - how do these insects survive? So cool! 

Saw some tracks in the snow, not sure what they were, maybe a raccoon?

Went for a walk while it snow!! Very peaceful

Owl was soaking up the sun.

My first time skiing at Titus was so much fun! Most of the day was cloudy and spent a while on the "bunny" slopes, my friends and I had a great time.

It was a beautiful afternoon just after a snow storm when a few Blue Jays fluttered about in the backyard. This one loved to pose for the camera. 

Beautiful sunny and cold January day

A little icing to start the year

Beautiful Barred Owl was sitting on the edge of the wooded area.

We were working around our yard when I heard the blue jays sounding alarm calls. I looked to see what they were upset about and spotted this barred owl just through the branches in the wooded area behind our house. My partner grabbed my camera for me, teamwork! 

Our first hike to Huckleberry Lake in the Wolf Lake State Forest in St. Lawrence County. An easy 1.7 mile out-and-back led to a ledge over the still-as-a-mirror lake.

We saw this beautiful sunset from a campsite at Meacham Campground.  

We visited Meacham Lake and got a great picture of the hills.  

This is one of my early attempts at capturing what the night looks like under little more than starlight.



You will hear little more than insects, frogs and maybe a Coyote or Owl in the distance.  



Of course, on this night I could hear something walking directly between where I was to take this picture and the 200 feet to the cabin.

And I could not see a thing.  

I heard it breathe on occasion.  So I forced my mind into believing it was "just a deer".

I was driving down the road, and I saw some really nice fall colors. The trees almost made a mini tunnel over the road, and it looked like a great picture opportunity.