Sandhill Crane Photo by John VanNiel
River Otter
“Big Five” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge went so far as to call them majestic. “The great blue heron is emblematic of the Finger Lakes, as it relies on our beautiful waterways and wetlands,” she explains. “It is usually seen alone, walking slowly and quietly, stalking prey; or standing statue-like, waiting to ambush a small aquatic animal for its next meal. However, when nesting, great blue herons gather in large flocks, high in trees. It can be comical to experience these “heronries,” as the birds’ normally graceful appearance along the water gives way to a raucous, clumsy party of gangly, noisy birds.”
Lake Trout I must confess, I am not much of an angler and I never even thought of a fish when I came up with my nominees for this list. But several people nominated fish, with lake trout being mentioned the most often. I asked Scott Smith, a NYS DEC biologist, why he considered this species for the list. “I'm just intrigued by the history of lake trout fishing in the Finger Lakes,” he explains. “There are old guys that still fish without a rod – just holding on to a copper-wire ‘Seth Green’ rig, giving it just the right twitch to activate the
Lake Trout
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~ LifeintheFingerL akes.com
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