thegreatconnection.com - Photo Archives February 2022

1 February 2022
Welcome February! A fine sunny day which has warmed up to 36 degrees after starting off at 0. Below, in photo 1, the sun was shining directly on this Cardinal as she looked over her shoulder at me. Birds always seem to have one eye on us humans.

Photo 1 - Female Cardinal

3 February 2022
A dreary rainy day, starting off at 33°, and reaching high of 41°. Through the kitchen window, I see rain, ice with puddles of water, and wet snow with green grass peeking through. Forecast is for temp to dip to 24° with snow storm starting at 5pm. Suppposed to last through 5pm tomorrow. No photos for today.

4 February 2022
21° this morning with very light fine snow coming down. Overnight about an inch had fallen and as the day has gone on, a bit more has accumulated. The goldfinches were the first to arrive to enjoy some seed that had dropped off the feeder. On the suet, two of the more brilliantly colored birds, the Blue Jay and the Red-bellied Woodpecker, shared a meal.

Photo 1 - Goldfinch
Photo 2 - Blue Jay

6 February 2022
6° below zero this morning with pale peach sky at the horizon. For our walk at Fort Hunter, by mid-afternoon, it had warmed to around 14° above zero. We walked along the river with the old canal to our right and the Mohawk on our left with the north-east wind at our face. Even though it was mighty cold, we enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine while being accompanied by the whistling soundtrack of the passing trains across the river. So interesting to see the frozen river looking a bit like whipped sand dunes.

Photo 1 - Frozen Mohawk River at Schoharie Crossing

12 February 2022
We had a nice surprise today when the weather turned out completely opposite from what the forecasters had been predicting. It wasn't cloudy gray with rain, but a beautifiul sun appeared within the brilliant sapphire sky. Temperature was very mild as it has been for the past several days. We walked at Peebles Island along the cliff overlooking the Mohawk River. Too early for the birds, although we heard one lonesome duck quacking as it crossed in the sky above. The trails were a combination of slush, running water and ice - definately a day for those mountain climbing cleats!

Photo 1 - Icy Trail at Peebles Island
Photo 2 - Tar
Photo 3 - Beautiful Mohawk at Peebles Island
Photo 4 - Mohawk River at Peebles Island

13 February 2022
It was a cold 20° afternoon with a strong breeze blowing on the trail at the Galway Nature Preserve. With sturdy cleats on our feet and treking poles to guide us, we walked briskly around the red and yellow trails. Must say - we were glad to get back to our car!

Photo 1 - Crossing frozen creek at Galway

17 February 2022
While working in the kitchen on this 50 degree day, I heard a fracus outside which sounded like a squabble between birds. Grabbing my camera from the other room, I was in time to capture the demise of a starling, the victim of a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Not the sort of photo op that thrills me, but it is nature at work.

Photo 1 - Sharp-shinned Hawk
Photo 2 - Sharp-shinned Hawk
Photo 3 - Sharp-shinned Hawk
Photo 4 - Sharp-shinned Hawk

19 February 2022
The trails at Galway on this very cold day were rough with crunchy snow, ice underneath and in places beautiful shades of meltwater flowing overall. With freezing hands, I was able to shoot a few pictures of these waters that continually fascinate me. It pays to leave the comfort of one's home to take it all in.

Photo 1 - Flooding trail at Galway
Photo 2 - Meltwater
Photo 3 - Leaf on water

20 February 2022
A beautiful day with some sun and blue skies. Looks like Spring may actually be on the horizon. Today, we drove over to Yankee Hill Lock to see how the ice breakup was proceeding. With cleats on, we remained attentive to the widespread ice as we walked to the Mohawk River. A good portion of the ice blocks had already left the area and were probably by now in the Hudson River. This seasonal transformation of the river provides food for thought along with much enjoyment.

Photo 1 - Icy conditions at Yankee Hill Lock
Photo 2 - Frozen Canal
Photo 3 - Rippling Waters
Photo 4 - Ice Blocks on the Mohawk

25 February 2022
The snowstorm in the early morning hours had brought us around 4 inches of snow. By one o'clock in the afternoon, another couple inches were added. Not the big storm that had been forecast, at least not for us. It was 16 degrees first thing this morning. The birds took advantage of the feeders and once again, I shot through the kitchen window to capture a few shots.

Photo 1 - Spruce shelter for birds
Photo 2 - Female Red-bellied Woodpecker>
Photo 3 - White-breasted Nuthatch
Photo 4 - Male Cardinal
Photo 5 - Nuthatch
Photo 6 - Cardinal

26 February 2022
Was surprised to see that it was minus 3 degrees this morning. It did warm up a bit for our walk at the Galway Nature Preserve this afternoon. It appeared that only one other person had been in since yesterday's snowfall and we followed those tracks. Even the untracked section of trail was fairly easy walking because of it being such a light silky snow.
Photo 1 - Tracks in the snow

28 February 2022
This last day of February started off at seven degrees. Warmed to around 23 by afternoon. No new birds appeared in back yard, but I did shoot three familiar visitors. The Red-breasted Nuthatch, the White-breasted Nuthatch and the Goldfinch.
Photo 1 - Red-breasted Nuthatch
Photo 2 - White-breasted Nuthatch
Photo 3 - Goldfinch