30 Thursday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
Monarch butterflies are still visiting the milkweed plants every day. This morning I went out to look at the plants and was surprised to see caterpillars on them.
Monarch butterfly from four weeks ago.
Monarch caterpillars as of today.
Monarch caterpillars as of today.
Monarch caterpillar as of today.
I hope these caterpillars will transform into pupa (chrysalis) and after that become the next generation of Monarch butterflies.
29 Wednesday Aug 2018
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
For the past five years I have watched and photographed Black Skimmers draw straight lines with their bills on the marsh water at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, always wondering if they ever catch anything. They must, since they still exist and are actually thriving. Here’s a shot of a bunch of them yesterday.
Black Skimmers.
Following is a closer look from a week ago.
Black Skimmers.
They skim the water anywhere there may be fish, even right next to other birds.
Black Skimmer cruising by a Snowy Egret.
The following series of shots shows one that finally got a fish on camera!
Black Skimmer.
Black Skimmer.
Black Skimmer.
Black Skimmer: “Caught one!”
26 Sunday Aug 2018
Posted in barnegat, Photography
Sanderling.
Sanderling.
Sanderling.
Sanderling.
Sanderling.
Sanderling.
25 Saturday Aug 2018
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
barnegat lighthouse state park, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, ruddy turnstone
Ruddy Turnstones are fairly common on the New Jersey shore. I have been seeing them since this Spring. Wearing their breeding colors, they are easy to spot on the jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.
Ruddy Turnstones. The one on the left was apparently resting.
Ruddy Turnstone.
Ruddy Turnstone.
In flight they look stunning.
Ruddy Turnstones in flight.
Last week at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, many birds covered a small island in the marshes. Scanning the island through my camera’s viewfinder, at one point I saw sand being thrown upward by tiny feet. After a few minutes, it turned out that it was a Ruddy Turnstone making a perfectly round scrape as a nest site.
Scrape made by Ruddy Turnstone.
22 Wednesday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
St. John’s Wort.
21 Tuesday Aug 2018
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
On a drive around Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, I saw a sleepy Black-crowned Night-Heron right by the side of the road. It watched me warily but did not fly away immediately.
Black-crowned Night-Heron.
Another shot before it flew away.
Black-crowned Night-Heron.
This page header photo is from an image taken in July of this year.
18 Saturday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
Tags
The other day several fawns came to frolic and lounge in our backyard. There were as many as six of them! Deer is quite destructive in our area, but I couldn’t resist taking the following shots.
Fawns.
Fawns.
Fawns.
16 Thursday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
Tags
There is a field that I have been going to for the past several years to take pictures of sunflowers. This year, I went early to catch the morning light. The farm planted corn on three sides of the field, shrinking the number of acreage with sunflowers significantly. It does not compare with the miles after miles of sunflower fields that I drove by in South Dakota, but this is perhaps the best we can get in this small state.
Sunflower field.
Sunflowers.
Sunflower.
Sunflower: “Tada…”
Sunflower.
Sunflowers.
12 Sunday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
Tags
Blue Jay.
Blue Jay.
11 Saturday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
Tags
This year I planted from seeds several Hibiscus or Rose Mallow varieties. They came up easily and grew fine until one night the deer ate their tops off. I sprayed deer repellent on the remaining parts of the plants, stopping the nasty deer grazing. The plants are now doing well, sending gorgeous saucer size blooms one after the other.
Red Hibiscus.
White Hibiscus.
Pink and white Hibiscus.
Hibiscus pistil.
Red Hibiscus.
Finally, here are some of them together.
Hibiscus.
10 Friday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
I have one hummingbird feeder in the backyard. A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird has been almost the sole visitor for several weeks. When he appears, the female hummingbirds keep away. He makes sure of that, first looking right.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Then checking out the photographer.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird checking out photographer.
Then looking left.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
When feeding he flies up and down, constantly watching. I would think he could be wasting a lot of energy that way, but he doesn’t mind.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Last week I took the feeder apart for cleaning and refill. The male bird showed up as I was doing that, and promptly flew away, angry perhaps. He has not been back since.
Two female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have now replaced the male. However, one of them will inevitably chase away the other when she sees her. She dives toward the intruder so quickly that I haven’t been able to take a picture of that yet.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird landing.
The female bird is very dainty, almost like a fashion model.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird: “Waiter, there is a fly in my nectar!”
In flight, she looks just as nice as the male, even without those rubies on her throat.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Update: one more photo of the bird which flew away too fast, leaving only a blurry image looking like a painting.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird flying up and away.
08 Wednesday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
White Lotus.
White Lotus.
White Lotus.
07 Tuesday Aug 2018
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Two weeks ago, while the paparazzi were clustered around a nest with new chicks, I saw a Black-Crowned Night Heron fly to the marshes at low tide. These birds, as their name implies, normally feed in the evening, but this one was going to have lunch by pulling out worms from the sand.
Black-Crowned Night Heron landing on marshes.
Black-Crowned Night Heron catching sand worm.
Black-Crowned Night Heron eating sand worm.
The heron ate at least half a dozen worms.
Black-Crowned Night Heron posing one last time before flying back to the rookery.
05 Sunday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
Yesterday this female Twelve-spotted Skimmer dragonfly, shown in the following three shots, landed on some stones in our garden. This common dragonfly is found in Canada and all the American 48 states below it. Its male counterpart would have 10 white spots next to the brown ones.
Twelve-spotted Skimmer.
Twelve-spotted Skimmer.
Twelve-spotted Skimmer.
04 Saturday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
Summer would not be the same without Hummingbirds. The only kind that comes to our backyard feeder is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Once the feeder is up, they magically show up, males and females separately. Here are some pictures of a male that monoplized the feeder for a while today.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
The rascal had no respect for any human, including the photographer.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
03 Friday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
In addition to Monarchs, several other kinds of butterflies have been visiting and partaking from our milkweed. An often seen visitor is the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, one of the most common butterflies of Eastern North America. The one shown below was quite willing to stop once in a while to allow me to take its pictures.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on milkweed.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on milkweed.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on milkweed.
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on milkweed.
03 Friday Aug 2018
Posted in barnegat, Photography
Tags
This year rain has been plentiful in our area, and plants everywhere have been responding gleefully. Last week I went to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park and was surprised to find more than half of the beach covered with vegetation. Here’s what it looked like.
Beach at Barnegat Lighthouse.
Various plants were thriving in the sand. In normal years they grew further inland, but this year you had to walk through them to get to the ocean.
Plants at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.
Plants at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.
Plant at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.
While taking these photos, I heard wings flapping up in the sky. It was an Osprey carrying a freshly caught fish back to its nest.
Osprey carrying fish past Barnegat Lighthouse.
01 Wednesday Aug 2018
Posted in Photography
Cosmos.
neihtn 