Photos: Best of Long Island Wildlife (12-8-16)

Early December is an interesting time of the year for the Long Island Wildlife Photography group with some late season stragglers mixing in with the northern birds moving down to enjoy the relative warmth of our Winter.

The last of the whales seem to be moving south while the Seals are settling in on their favorite spots for the winter. Dr. Artie Kopelman wants everyone to know his Seal Walks start this weekend at Cupsogue Beach, click here for more information.

If you have never done this, I highly recommend it. Dr. Kopelman brings a wealth of knowledge and information to these walks and if the Seals cooperate you can end up with some great images.

This week’s highlights include new winter arrivals like Long Tail, Canvasback and Harlequin Ducks, and a nice variety of raptors including Peregrine Falcons and Northern Harriers.

We also broke protocol and included a fitting Tribute by Kenneth Mann in honor of the moriches whale. His painting touched a nerve on the page so we decided to include it here as well.