Great Blue Heron

A Great Blue Heron looking mighty dapper on a September morning.  Caught this from the kayak during a morning paddle; shooting from the kayak opens up lots of access that isn’t possible from land, and has the added benefit of being seen as less frightening by a lot of wildlife.  Letting the kayak drift forward […]

Wood Ducks

Mama Wood Duck and her brood, out for a morning swim.

Autumn Killdeer

A mid-September paddle at Lackawanna State Park resulted in a welcome encounter with a flock of Killdeer along a muddy sandbar, near where the East Branch of Tunkhannock Creek flows into the lake.  Killdeer are a long-time favorite if mine, but are skittish, almost always hovering just a few feet farther away that would be […]

Goats

Goats living their best life at the Hancock Shaker Village in Massachusetts this past spring.

Nescopeck Birds

In addition to the loon, my visit to Nescopeck State Park this past spring included encounters with several other bird species, including a new addition to my life list! In order of appearance in the gallery above: The Black & White warbler includes Pennsylvania in its extensive breeding range, but in my experience it is […]

Nescopeck Loon

In the closing weeks of this past spring, I managed a visit to Nescopeck State Park.  Nescopeck takes a little extra effort to get to, so it has long been on my list of “I’d like to go there” places, but across the span of many years I’ve only made one actual visit, and it […]

Trumpeter Swan

A visit to Promised Land State Park a few weeks back, on an unusually cool summer morning, didn’t yield the morning light and sunrise images I had been anticipating.  It did, however, bring me something unexpected – a swan floating just offshore from the Lower Lake boat launch. Swans are in the area, but are […]

Osprey

BRENT PENNINGTON – Osprey perch on a nesting platform at the Lackawac Sanctuary, at Lake Wallenpaupack, PA, on the afternoon of 31 July 2023. BRENT PENNINGTON – Osprey perch on a nesting platform at the Lackawac Sanctuary, at Lake Wallenpaupack, PA, on the afternoon of 31 July 2023. BRENT PENNINGTON – Osprey perch on a […]

Promised Land Birds

A sampling of birds from a morning visit to Promised Land State Park, as a follow-up to my last post.  The shoreline at the Lower Lake, from the wildlife blind to the boat launch, and around to the creek, is often fruitful, even later into the summer than I’d generally expect.  It’s a good mix […]

Lone Goldfinch

A lone male Goldfinch on a cloudy morning.