Category: Nature

When I visited Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area last month at sunrise for the snow goose migration, WNEP-TV from Wilkes-Barre, Pa. was on hand to film a segment for Pennsylvania Outdoor Life.  Host Don Jacobs and Middle Creek Manager, Lauren Fenstermacher, along with WNEP’s cameraman were filming as the sun came up on a very cold morning.  The episode of PA Outdoor Life aired last night and guess who made a cameo appearance?  Me!  There I am in the screen shot on the left wearing the green parka and tan hat – right around the 4:46 minute mark in the video segment.  Here’s a link to watch the episode, which is a really great way to get a feel for sunrise during migration at Middle Creek.  http://wnep.com/2017/03/19/snow-goose-migration-at-the-middle-creek-wildlife-management-area/

It was the day of the big snowstorm last week and I made sure to fill the feeders so that the birds, deer, squirrels and other critters would have something to eat.  I went outside with my camera during the storm to photograph the birds and this little sparrow caught my eye.  He wasn’t the least bit timid and was not more than a few feet away from me while digging in the snow to find seeds (see his little beak covered with snow?).  There was a pile of snow in front of the garage where it had drifted and he was hiding behind the pile and every so often would pop his head up and look at me to say hello.  It was so darn cute!

Another week … another trip to the store to purchase more bird seed!  Funny, these don’t look like birds!!  They are, however, hungry deer that visit our feeders nightly for a snack!  It’s Animal Planet live and in person for the cats!  They love to sit by the windows and watch all of the wildlife that visits our yard.  The evening when this photograph was taken, there were 5 deer taking turns at cleaning out the feeders.  With a fresh coating of snow on the ground, it becomes more difficult for them to find food in the winter.  For this reason, our yard has become a favorite hang out!  I am slowly going broke buying bird (er….deer) seed!

The Tundra Swans were taking to flight just before sunset at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area when I shot this photo.  The setting sun was casting pink and blue hues in the sky that reflected onto the water.  I love that one of the swans is literally running across the water and you can see splashes from each step that the swan had taken as he/she prepared to fly.  Nature is amazing!

As I was running errands on Saturday, I thought about this spot that I thought might offer some nice views of the valley after Friday’s snow.  What I wasn’t banking on was the amount of ice and snow cover on the narrow winding roads leading to the top of the hill.  The trek was a little bit of a nail biter, but I came away with a couple of images that I really like.  This is one of them.  There was just enough snow to allow the texture of the farm fields to be emphasized and the 3 trees were perfect accents.  The road, snowmobile tracks and shadows added a bit of extra interest.  With 10-18″ of snow predicted for early this coming week, I don’t think I’ll be trekking back up there for another shot any time soon!