26 Sunday Nov 2017
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Hooded Mergansers are my favorite winter ducks. The males really look cute with their black and white hood, especially when they try to get a female’s attention, like the one below. He was among many of its kind at the refuge yesterday.
Hooded Merganser.
Hooded Mergansers.
Hooded Merganser couple.
Meanwhile, a Mute Swan flew overhead, a rare sight for me.
Mute Swan.
Hooded Mergansers. Was he looking up at the swan?
Hooded Merganser.
25 Saturday Nov 2017
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
A bird with a name like Lesser Yellow Legs must have something to show for it. Indeed it has bright yellow legs, which are shorter than those of the Greater Yellow Legs, but still quite long, making it stand out among the birds of the marshes. I saw one while it was searching for food.
Lesser Yellow Legs.
The next instant it was half submerged in water.
Lesser Yellow Legs.
Lesser Yellow Legs with fish it had just caught.
Lesser Yellow Legs eating fish it had just caught.
Lesser Yellow Legs looking for next victim.
24 Friday Nov 2017
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
According to Audubon, Dunlin means “little dun-colored (gray-brown) bird”. It is a very common shore bird migrating about now from their breeding grounds in the Artic to coastal areas of the United States.
Dunlins are easily identified as they fly in groups ranging from a few dozens to hundreds or even thousands. They seem to have a way of communicating effectively with one another as they bank, turn, or climb up and dive down in perfect unison. Their flight is an amazing sight that I tried to capture in the following photos, with just a few members of a band of Dunlins.
Dunlins in flight.
Dunlins in flight.
24 Friday Nov 2017
Posted in Photography
Fall season in our area has been disappointing to say the least. It seemed like we went from summer to winter, with a handful of autumn days thrown in between. I went back to some photos taken two years ago in Montana to see some real yellow leaves, the way they should be in the fall.
Glacier National Park, Montana. On the way to Two Medicine Lake.
Yellow aspens at Glacier National Park, Montana.
Yellow aspens at Glacier National Park, Montana.
Yellow aspens at Glacier National Park, Montana.
23 Thursday Nov 2017
Posted in Photography
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Happy Thanksgiving to all my blogger friends and visitors!
Dunlins feasting on Horseshoe Crab eggs in May of this year.
19 Sunday Nov 2017
Posted in Photography
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I filled up our backyard feeder with sunflower seeds to help out the birds when it is so windy and cold. They came within minutes, and I took the following shots of two of our regular fall visitors.
Blue Jay.
Blue Jay.
House Finch looking up at bird feeder.
House Finch.
19 Sunday Nov 2017
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tundra Swans number over a hundred thousand, making them the largest swan population in North America. Yesterday some of them arrived at the refuge from arctic tundra regions, then faced a strong wind as they landed in one of the pools inhabited by Mute Swans. They were a good distance from me, so they appear small in the following shots. In fact, they are only slightly smaller than Mute Swans, and have a black bill compared to the orange bill of Mute Swans.
A family of Tundra Swans with the two young ones on the right and the parents on the left.
Tundra Swans landing among Mute Swans and other Tundra Swans. The swan in the water to the right of the photo with an orange bill is a Mute Swan.
Tundra Swans landing and displacing another Tundra Swan.
Tundra Swans landing.
Tundra Swans after landing.
18 Saturday Nov 2017
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
This morning was cloudy and windy, but I went to the refuge anyway, and among the many birds and ducks I saw a young Bald Eagle who put on an impressive flying exhibition.
Young Bald Eagle on Osprey nest. The Ospreys had migrated South a month or so ago.
People in several cars were trying to take its picture, so the Bald Eagle took off.
Young Bald Eagle.
It looked as if it was preparing to dive.
Young Bald Eagle.
Young Bald Eagle.
But it just banked and flew away.
Young Bald Eagle.
Here’s another shot of it against a small portion of the sky that was blue.
Young Bald Eagle.
12 Sunday Nov 2017
Posted in EBF Refuge
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Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, photography, postaday, snowy egret, sunrise, sunset
Like many of us, whenever I see a colorful sunrise or sunset I try to take a picture of it, if possible. Since the refuge is where I go most often to shoot pictures, in the past several years I did manage to have some sunrise and sunset shots from that place.
The following photo was taken 14 minutes after the shot of the pinkish sunrise I posted here a few days ago at https://neihtn.wordpress.com/2017/11/05/fall-at-the-refuge
Sunrise September 15, 2013.
Snowy and Great Egrets at sunrise September 15, 2013.
In the shot below, the sun hid behind thick clouds, but as it plunged below the horizon it produced magnificent colors ranging from blue and purple to red and yellow.
Sunset January 5, 2015.
11 Saturday Nov 2017
Posted in EBF Refuge
Here are some more photos of the swan that conducted from the marshes at the refuge. It spent a long time preening, diving into the water, splashing around, and must have ended with a thorough washing of its entire body.
Mute Swan.
Mute Swan.
Mute Swan: “You taking my pictures, right?”
Mute Swan.
Mute Swan.
Mute Swan.
11 Saturday Nov 2017
Posted in EBF Refuge, john heinz national wildlife refuge
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Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, john heinz national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday, snowy egret
Egrets stayed around at the refuge later this year because the weather has been warmer than usual. Not today though as Artic air has brought temperatures to lows unheard of since the 1930’s. Anyway, last week I saw a Snowy Egret by Wildlife Drive at the refuge and stopped my car not more than 20 ft (6 m) from it.
Snowy Egret.
Snowy Egret.
Other cars then began stopping behind me, and the Snowy Egret decided it had enough and flew away.
Snowy Egret.
Snowy Egret.
Looking through my files, I saw the following photo taken in November 2014 at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. I did not post it before, perhaps because at first glance it appeared too dark. But lighting was falling on the egret and not on the marshy background. So here it is.
Great Egret.
05 Sunday Nov 2017
Posted in Photography
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A few months ago, they were flowers like this one.
Southern Magnolia.
Then the flowers became fruit, which is ripening now.
Magnolia fruit.
And birds are beginning to eat the seeds.
Magnolia seeds.
05 Sunday Nov 2017
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Fall colors at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge have not been as vivid this year as in the past, mainly because of sparse rain during the summer. Still I tried some landscape shots to see how they would turn out.
Fall colors at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlfie Refuge.
Phragmites, an invasive grass, did very well this year, with widespread stands of dried tall grass in many parts of the refuge.
Dried invasive grass.
I had to to dig out of my archives the following sunrise shot of the refuge taken four years ago in September. Things looked prettier then.
Sunrise at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.
04 Saturday Nov 2017
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
At high tide, ocean water pours into the salt marshes at the refuge, and provides a fish bonanza to the birds that hover near the sluice gates. I saw a band of Seagulls diving with abandon into the churning water and I began shooting them. Only when I came home and looked at the images on the computer did I see that some of them actually had caught small fish.
Ring-billed Gull with fish.
Ring-billed Gull with fish.
Ring-billed Gull with fish.
A Cormorant was equally successful, though they usually catch much bigger fish. Perhaps this one was young and still learning.
Cormorant with fish.
neihtn 