Wednesday, December 28, 2011
2011 Comes to an End
Because we are on the road when we should be working on the blog we only have one picture for this week and that's to wish you all a Happy New Year.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Winter Solstice
Our last blog before Christmas.
Watching the feeders to see what comes to visit during the Audobon Society's Christmas Bird Count.
American Goldfinches
Sharp-shinned Hawk sitting on a limb overlooking the bird feeders.
Not finding any easy prey the Sharp-shinned Hawk moves on to other hunting grounds.
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue Jay
Cardinal
Downy Woodpecker
Tufted Titmouse
Corkscrew Grass poking through the snow.
Fallow field and tree line.
Reflection in a pond.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Christmas Bird Count
Christmas Bird Count
These pictures show the birds that frequent the back yard. My objective was to show the birds in flight as they approach and leave the feeders rather than just showing them sitting on the feeders.
These pictures show the birds that frequent the back yard. My objective was to show the birds in flight as they approach and leave the feeders rather than just showing them sitting on the feeders.
Gold finches feeding at one of the replacement feeders.
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-bellied Woodpecker just starting to spread it's wings before taking off from the suet feeder.
White-breasted Nuthatch landing on the suet feeder.
Red-bellied Woodpecker leaving the feeder.
White-breasted Nuthatch approaching the feeder.
Red-bellied Woodpecker getting read to land on the suet feeder.
With one food still holding onto the feeder the Nuthatch takes off for the nearest tree to eat it's suet.
Male Downy Woodpecker just before he puts on his brakes and extends his wings for landing on the suet feeder.
Red-bellied Woodpecker.
Red-bellied Woodpecker on a tree before heading to the suet feeders.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Touring Presque Isle State Park and Erie, PA
When I asked my wife what she wanted to do special for her birthday she said she wanted to go to Presque Isle State Park.
I was somewhat surprised at this because people leave Erie, PA in December, not visit it. What could have turned out to be a bad move, actually turned out to be a good time and we had fun during our overnight road trip.
Sunrise. 0647 Friday morning shot just before hitting the road.
Frost covered trees along Route 80 just west of the Clarion River.
Although this wasn't our first stop on Presque Isle it was the first time I took a camera out of the van and shot in the rain. Although this structure is often mistaken for a light house, it is actually a pumphouse for the original water works that was at this site.
A lone boat sits at the marina on Marina Lake.
From the information my wife found on a blog called http://erieshipnews.blogspot.com/ we knew that there was a ship coming into the Port of Erie to load four new diesel train engines for the Freightliner Railroad in Great Britain but didn't think that we would be able to see them. We got lucky. This view was shot across Presque Isle Bay looking at the trains awaiting the arrival of the cargo ship at the Port of Erie.
After leaving Misery Bay we headed toward the U S Coast Guard Station on Presque Isle and happened upon the ship that was to take the train engines to Great Britain. This is the BBC Colorado as it sails into the Port of Erie just across from the US Coast Guard Station.
Aft and starboard view of BBC Colorado as it passed by us.
Ring-billed Gull -- Larus delawarensis
Presque Isle North Pierhead -- the only lighthouse of this design anywhere has been guiding mariners since 1857.
One of the benefits of being retired from the USMC is that we were given the courtesy of a tour of the US Coast Guard Station at Presque Isle.
The Colorado after it docked in the Port of Erie as seen from the shoreline at the US Coast Guard station.
House boats on Horseshoe Pond shot from along Coast Guard Road.
Once the weather started to clear up and the winds calmed down, a little, the lake didn't look as angry as it did when we first arrived on Presque Isle.
An access road for Park Maintenance.
Another road running parallel to the dunes along the lake front.
After an early morning repeat tour of Presque Isle and a chance to fly some kites, we stopped at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center for this parting shot of Preque Isle. We didn't have the time to visit the center but hope to on a return visit to Erie.
Created as a fund raiser in 2004 a series of frogs were done as art pieces and can be viewed around the city. This one was in front of the former St. Joseph's Children's Home.
The Ken Boothe Sr. is the first tugboat completely built in Erie, PA
A boat sits in Dobbins Landing with the Biecentennial Tower in the background.
A view shot across Presque Isle Bay of two old houses built in the late 1800s or early 1900s on the Coast Guard base. This shot was taken from near the Port of Lake Erie. These will soon become just another part of history as they are scheduled to be razed in the near future.
So, not only did I get to see the train engines and the ship that was going to transport them, but I also got to see the trains being loaded.
After the engines were at the correct height, they were then swung sideways so they could be loaded.
Ring-billed gull
A view of the North Pierhead Lighthouse from the shore near the Port of Erie.
This old boat sits beside the parking lot at the Land Lighthouse and hasn't seen water since 1979.
Old outdoor advertising captured as we headed out of town.
I was somewhat surprised at this because people leave Erie, PA in December, not visit it. What could have turned out to be a bad move, actually turned out to be a good time and we had fun during our overnight road trip.
Sunrise. 0647 Friday morning shot just before hitting the road.
Frost covered trees along Route 80 just west of the Clarion River.
Although this wasn't our first stop on Presque Isle it was the first time I took a camera out of the van and shot in the rain. Although this structure is often mistaken for a light house, it is actually a pumphouse for the original water works that was at this site.
A lone boat sits at the marina on Marina Lake.
From the information my wife found on a blog called http://erieshipnews.blogspot.com/ we knew that there was a ship coming into the Port of Erie to load four new diesel train engines for the Freightliner Railroad in Great Britain but didn't think that we would be able to see them. We got lucky. This view was shot across Presque Isle Bay looking at the trains awaiting the arrival of the cargo ship at the Port of Erie.
After leaving Misery Bay we headed toward the U S Coast Guard Station on Presque Isle and happened upon the ship that was to take the train engines to Great Britain. This is the BBC Colorado as it sails into the Port of Erie just across from the US Coast Guard Station.
Aft and starboard view of BBC Colorado as it passed by us.
Ring-billed Gull -- Larus delawarensis
Presque Isle North Pierhead -- the only lighthouse of this design anywhere has been guiding mariners since 1857.
One of the benefits of being retired from the USMC is that we were given the courtesy of a tour of the US Coast Guard Station at Presque Isle.
The Colorado after it docked in the Port of Erie as seen from the shoreline at the US Coast Guard station.
House boats on Horseshoe Pond shot from along Coast Guard Road.
Once the weather started to clear up and the winds calmed down, a little, the lake didn't look as angry as it did when we first arrived on Presque Isle.
An access road for Park Maintenance.
Another road running parallel to the dunes along the lake front.
Saturday morning
After an early morning repeat tour of Presque Isle and a chance to fly some kites, we stopped at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center for this parting shot of Preque Isle. We didn't have the time to visit the center but hope to on a return visit to Erie.
Created as a fund raiser in 2004 a series of frogs were done as art pieces and can be viewed around the city. This one was in front of the former St. Joseph's Children's Home.
The Ken Boothe Sr. is the first tugboat completely built in Erie, PA
A boat sits in Dobbins Landing with the Biecentennial Tower in the background.
A view shot across Presque Isle Bay of two old houses built in the late 1800s or early 1900s on the Coast Guard base. This shot was taken from near the Port of Lake Erie. These will soon become just another part of history as they are scheduled to be razed in the near future.
So, not only did I get to see the train engines and the ship that was going to transport them, but I also got to see the trains being loaded.
After the engines were at the correct height, they were then swung sideways so they could be loaded.
Ring-billed gull
A view of the North Pierhead Lighthouse from the shore near the Port of Erie.
This old boat sits beside the parking lot at the Land Lighthouse and hasn't seen water since 1979.
The next three shots are of the Erie Brewery Company, a micro brewery that we visited while in Erie.
Old outdoor advertising captured as we headed out of town.
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