Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge

The 10,828-acre Iroquois NWR lies midway between Rochester and Buffalo, New York. The Refuge’s 6,000 acres of wetland host more than 100,000 Canada geese and 20,000 ducks and swans annually. More than 3,000 acres of bottomland hardwood and 1,800 acres of grasslands and shrublands support migratory and resident birds as well as other wildlife.

We decided to take a chance on the weather and drive the 45 minutes to Iroquois NWR this morning. At the visitor center we were told that some of the trails were under water and all the trails were pretty soggy. We had on our waterproof boots so we headed on out to the Kanyoo Nature Trail. We slogged our way through the beginning of the trail but after that it was not bad at all. We were the only ones on the trail. We might have been the only visitors in the whole refuge. We certainly didn’t see anyone else besides the refuge staff.


Kanyoo Nature Trail marsh


Mark on the boardwalk.

It turned out to be a very pretty trail.


Wood Duck


American Redstart


Lots of Fungi in this wet area.


Tree Swallow
Unlike other swallows, Tree Swallows eat many berries, allowing them to survive wintry spells.

Even though it was pretty cold, it never did rain on us. Unfortunately, by the time we started back to the RV the fog had rolled in. Visibility was about 50 yards on the road!

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