Building the Next Generaton at Mud Lock

On my way to Sistah Kate's house on Saturday I decided I might as well check out Montezuma for signs of winter wildlife. Nothing much at the refuge, but I was surprised to see the eagles at Mud Lock sprucing up the nest and trying mightily to generate a new brood of young. I was there about 2 hours on Saturday and again for an hour or so this morning. Mom and Pop are actively repairing the nest and mating - I did not expect to see activity so soon and wonder if they spent the winter here.
Today there was also a small flock of tundra swans - about 4 or 5 flying about. I took a short drive down Cayuga lake and found this great black-backed gull soaking up some rays. There were also lots of goldeneyes at the lock. Several folks came and went while I was there both Sunday and today. Their lenses, cameras and tripods looked far superior to my modest set up but I got some good shots nevertheless. I would, however, appreciate some input on the photo of the immature baldy shown here. Can't seem to get it to sharpen up without messing up the color balance.

Who-o-o-o Done It?

I've been meaning to get out to Beaver Lake to take pictures of the winter birds. So yesterday I picked up Sarah and we headed out. It was probably not the best day to go since it was very gray and overcast, but I had procrastinated too long! I'd heard that there was a snowy owl who was hanging around one of the farms in Cato so we went there first. Two passes down the road netted no owl, but on our final pass we spotted him on the telephone pole. He was nice enough to pose patiently for us so we got lots of pictures.


From Cato we drove to Beaver Lake, stopping on the way to take a picture of a red tailed hawk who had been feasting on a deer carcass. BL was busy. Lots of birds feasting at the feeders. I don't know what kind of sparrow is in the photos here - the yellow wing stripe is a puzzler. **CORRECTION: it's not a sparrow, it's a pine siskin.