Monday, January 28, 2013

Intense Cold/Our World/Nature Notes

Canada goose swimming in icy waters

A lone Canada goose taking a break from all the cackling and mayhem on a Lake Ontario beach...

A gazillion Canada geese

but these geese were sticking together - swimming, waddling and sleeping -  trying to hide from the wind with a wind chill factor of -29°C  (-20°F). Luckily the air warmed up a bit as the day wore on.

 Very cold

After an unseasonably mild first half of January,  the recent cold snap was a nasty surprise.  For sure I was winterized when I went outdoors with my camera - a few layers of warm clothing and a cup of cafe mocha helped a lot!

 A small portion of a gazillion scaups with a few other ducks mixed in

And it was worth being outdoors. Standing on a cliff over Lake Ontario, I witnessed the landing of a huge flock of mixed ducks - scaups, redheads and mergansers. It was a sight to see as they slipped into the bay,  then headed towards deeper water in long ribbons.

A scaup "invasion"?

More photos from Our World can be seen by clicking HERE.

Please visit Michelle at Rambling Woods for more
NATURE NOTES.
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47 comments:

  1. AndyJanuary 28, 2013 at 6:07 AM

    Excellent photos. Birds of a feather, flock together.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 28, 2013 at 6:34 AM

    Wow, LOT'S of birds. Well done for braving the freezing cold, great shots!

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  3. A Garden of ThreadsJanuary 28, 2013 at 7:14 AM

    Impressive, everyone staying together to keep warm?

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  4. Coloring Outside the LinesJanuary 28, 2013 at 7:43 AM

    Oh my- what luck! You were there just at the right time to see this!

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  5. KateJanuary 28, 2013 at 8:01 AM

    Excellent photo to show the importance of community!

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  6. DarlaJanuary 28, 2013 at 8:24 AM

    Wonderful shots but it looks Very Cold.

    Darla

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  7. MadSnapper n BeauJanuary 28, 2013 at 8:27 AM

    these are amazing, i have never seen so many geese... brreautiful on the first photo.. i would love to see all of this... wow

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  8. Gail DixonJanuary 28, 2013 at 9:26 AM

    Beautiful shots! I've never seen so many ducks and geese assembled in one area!

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  9. KathyJanuary 28, 2013 at 9:55 AM

    These are all beautiful. What kind of gloves do you wear so you can still push the shutter button?

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  10. TexWisGirlJanuary 28, 2013 at 10:35 AM

    these are awesome! that 2nd photo is just amazing!

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  11. Susie of ArabiaJanuary 28, 2013 at 12:14 PM

    Wow - the one with all the birds is just amazing!!!

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  12. Ruth HiebertJanuary 28, 2013 at 12:40 PM

    Fascinating pictures. I sometimes wonder how the ducks can stand being that icy water,but I guess they are created to be able to do that.

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  13. StephanieJanuary 28, 2013 at 1:01 PM

    Wonderful shots!

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  14. RedPatJanuary 28, 2013 at 1:44 PM

    I've never seen so many geese in 1 place!

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  15. JudyJanuary 28, 2013 at 2:07 PM

    Maybe even a gazillion and a half!!! I would so love the see such huge flocks!!! But they have left me behind, so they can visit you in the sunny south(yeah, I know it is about a 4 hour drive)...

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  16. Buttons ThoughtsJanuary 28, 2013 at 2:25 PM

    Wow it sure looks like a gazillion. I remember when they used to fly south I be they wished they still did. It is way to cold. Keep warm or in my case watch the ice:) B

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  17. Sylvia KJanuary 28, 2013 at 3:35 PM

    Incredible!! A gazillion indeed! Fantastic that you could get such terrific captures of SO many! Terrific captures -- all of them!! Hope you and the geese weather the cold this week!!

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  18. UnknownJanuary 28, 2013 at 3:37 PM

    Great Lake views!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  19. Joe ToddJanuary 28, 2013 at 4:19 PM

    I'm going to put another log on the fire...LOL Great post Liked your BarnCharm post to

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  20. Gemma Wiseman aka Pamela AdamsJanuary 28, 2013 at 4:29 PM

    Amazing captures of the Canadian geese! I wonder how so many can manage to survive in such large flocks! Gorgeous photos!

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  21. Photo CacheJanuary 28, 2013 at 4:38 PM

    wow, so many geese.

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  22. Suburban GirlJanuary 28, 2013 at 4:52 PM

    Wow, that's a lotta geese. What interesting patterns they make.

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  23. Fun60January 28, 2013 at 5:02 PM

    The noise must have been deafening.

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  24. RoseJanuary 28, 2013 at 5:15 PM

    That first shot..oh, it looks soooo cold.

    Seems like even though I dress in layers, I cannot keep warm days like this.

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  25. eileeninmdJanuary 28, 2013 at 5:27 PM

    It is cool to see the big flocks of geese and ducks. I assume you are having some cold weather there. Great shots and mosaic. Have a happy week!

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  26. NatureFootstepJanuary 28, 2013 at 5:49 PM

    wow, that´s a lot of birds. But they seem to need to get together to keep warm.

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  27. LowellJanuary 28, 2013 at 6:03 PM

    I know Canadian geese are party poopers (or poopers in general) but I didn't think they were so dumb as to not fly to Florida for the winter!

    P.S. Your comments today were quite witty! Someone told me that today, too, but I think they said "half-witty." I dunno.

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  28. Susan AndersonJanuary 28, 2013 at 6:18 PM

    Wow, thanks for sharing these. I've never seen anything quite like it!

    =)

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  29. Pamela GordonJanuary 28, 2013 at 7:09 PM

    Beautiful photos! That is a lot of Canada geese and ducks in one place. I've never heard of scaups before. We have a warming trend coming for a few days which will be a nice relief from this cold snap.

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  30. Esther JoyJanuary 28, 2013 at 7:14 PM

    Great pictures, but I think you must have sent the "snow birds" that couldn't stand that cold weather to come down south where we are! When I took my little dog for a walk today, there was so much Canada goose poop along the edge of the duck pond that I quickly decided to go back to the street to walk.

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  31. carol l mckennaJanuary 28, 2013 at 8:07 PM

    Absolutely beautiful shots ~ Gorgeous ~ tis cold!

    ( A Creative Harbor) ^_^

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  32. CarverJanuary 28, 2013 at 8:19 PM

    Beautiful winter shots. Those are some tough ducks and geese.

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  33. DanaJanuary 28, 2013 at 9:09 PM

    I don't think I've ever seen so many geese in one place. Nice photos!

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  34. RandyJanuary 28, 2013 at 9:13 PM

    That first shot is amazing. It does look a bit chilly.

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  35. Yogi♪♪♪January 28, 2013 at 10:16 PM

    Nice shots, I have to tell you though that if I were a bird I'd want to be one of those that head south for the winter.

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  36. JackJanuary 28, 2013 at 11:18 PM

    I am so glad that some of the Canada geese have found their way up to Canada. I though most of them were lolling around New England.

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  37. UnknownJanuary 29, 2013 at 3:06 AM

    i can't imagine a -29 deg C temperature--but i'm sure it's colder than a freezer.:p i don't know how these birds could survive the cold. and you, too--you were out shooting in the cold weather.:p

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  38. AnonymousJanuary 29, 2013 at 4:01 AM

    Cold and oh so beautiful! Gorgeous shots.

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  39. IndraniJanuary 29, 2013 at 6:57 AM

    Wow! So many together, I have never seen something like this.

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  40. LauraJanuary 29, 2013 at 8:51 AM

    beautiful photos... good for you getting out to witness nature firsthand despite the biting cold. Thanks for your bravery... I've been staying in the past few weeks with the drop in temps (single digits and teens in daytime, not as frigid as where you are, but nursing a cold)... I look forward to walks outside again soon.

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  41. Small City ScenesJanuary 29, 2013 at 12:07 PM

    Brrrr, now that is cold. Nice shots. MB

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  42. Rambling WoodsJanuary 29, 2013 at 1:01 PM

    Wow..so that is where the waterfowl go to find open water. That is an amazing sight... It has been cold and today I am sure you are getting the warmer temps and rain...Thank you for linking in EG...Michelle

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  43. KarenJanuary 29, 2013 at 10:01 PM

    That's a lot of geese!

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  44. amandaJanuary 30, 2013 at 11:42 AM

    As your northern Minnesota neighbor, we've been feeling the same cold temps! (even colder, -40° wind chills.. my poor little ones when they go out the door to the school bus each morning.)
    Keep warm, and I really like the photo of the "loner." :)

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  45. LONDONLULUJanuary 30, 2013 at 1:03 PM

    I think I'd need many, many layers, that is intensely cold! Hope you stay warm, we finally got our cold snap too, but nothing like this!

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  46. kayerjJanuary 30, 2013 at 8:53 PM

    I've never seen anything like that! amazing.

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  47. SnowcatcherJanuary 31, 2013 at 7:17 PM

    Our geese and ducks gather like that when a storm is coming. Better forecasters than the weathermen, if you ask me!

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