The “Wolf Moon” and more…
The Wolf Moon 1/2/26
What a fine way to begin 2026 with a brilliant full moon on the evening of the 3rd of January. Full transparency here….I photographed this shot on the 2nd in anticipation of hazy skies the next night and it was the right move. Even though I was a day early, the magnificent full moon known as the “Wolf Moon” was quite impressive. At this point in the celestial year, the moon is in near perigee, the closest point to the earth in the moon’s orbit. According to NASA, “at its closes point, the full moon can appear up to 14 % bigger and 30 % brighter than when the moon is at its faintest.” The apparent size of the moon in the night sky was quite obvious, but the most astonishing feature of the night was the moon’s brilliance.
Moonlit backyard - 1/2/26
The image above was shot at 9:13 PM, almost 4 1/2 hours after sunset. No flash or other external lighting and straight out of the camera with no enhancements. Not only is everything quite visible, but the shadow of the surrounding trees on the snow is pretty impressive. Nice way to begin the new year!
The next morning, I checked the feeders as it was the first of our weekend “Feeder Count” period for Cornell Labs and was treated to a a pair of Carolina wrens having breakfast together on the woodpecker feeder block. These wrens will be with us all winter and the fact that they were both at the block this morning is not unusual as they often forage in pairs. The pairs are life-long bonds and they are very site-loyal. We can hear then singing together all year long. Great neighbors!
Carolina wren pair - Ondaora - 1/3/26
Although the temperatures were down in the mid-20s, the sun shone brightly and the late afternoon made for some nice photographic opportunities. I revisited one of my favorite haunts Iona Island. Access was a little sketchy given the recent snow and freezing rain, but I made it out onto the island with little problem. It was nice being the only human on site and the wildlife seemed to appreciate the lack of human intrusion as well. As soon as I got out onto the island I was greeted by three young white-tailed deer. They seemed as interested in me as I was in them and I made every attempt to keep a low profile so as not to disturb them.
Young white-tailed deer - Iona Island - 1/3/26 Nikon Z8 with Nikon F 500 mm prime lens 1/1000 f/14 ISO 900
I found a respectable number of birds on the island today including a somewhat distant female Belted kingfisher looking for some open water. Lots of ice along the shores of the marsh, but there are still patches of open water closer to the Hudson, so the kingfisher will probably do just fine in its hunt for a meal.
Belted kingfisher - Iona Island - 1/3/26
I decided to check out the Hudson waterfront down at Tomkins Cove about 6 miles south of Iona Island. I’m hoping that some of the ice from up north has made its way down this far and that the winter migration of Bald eagles will have begun. Heading into the little community of Jones Point, I have plenty of “LBJ”s (little brown jobs) aka sparrows flitting along the roadside and into the brambles along the road. As I finally got to see the River, I was disappointed to see that the ice was all confined to the edges and no flows had developed in the main channel. As I was turning to head back out to Rte 9W, however, I heard the unmistakable cry of an eagle. I backed up and saw a very young bird land and continue to call out. It was surprisingly close and allowed for some nice images. This is more than likely a youngster from one of the nearby resident nests. What a great success story the comeback of these iconic birds have written.
Juvenile Bald eagle - Jones Point - 1/3/26
As I processed the image on my computer when I got back home, I realized that this is a banded bird. Apparently the Blue band indicates it has in fact been banded here in New York. I’ve contacted the local bander to see if I can get any other information and I’ll relay any data I receive in a later blog post. Great way to start off the New Year.
