Tags
bald eagle, great blue heron, great egret, montezuma national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday, ring-billed gull
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge is at the Northern end of Cayuga Lake, one of the 11 finger lakes in New York state. It is less than a quarter of the size of Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, but has much of the same wildlife, with the addition of Sandhill Cranes and Black Terns that are not usually seen in New Jersey.
We drove on Wildlife Drive through Montezuma NWR, stopping occasionally to take pictures.
A young Bald Eagle surprised me by swooping overhead and diving toward the marshes. It was too fast and moved around too much for me to get good pictures, but the following will give you an idea of the drama evolving in the sky.
However, the young Bald Eagle failed to catch any fish.
There were several Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets that landed near Wildlife Drive then stood or walked in the water.
There were many Ring-billed Gulls and Canada Geese at Montezuma NWR. One gull was hovering over the marshes and crisscrossing the sky, asking to be photographed.
bluebrightly said:
I like the first bald eagle from the rear shot – that’s a fun perspective. (Landing gear: down!) The Great egret photos are very graceful, and the Marsh mallow! Oh, I love it!
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T Ibara Photo said:
Thank you for sharing more of New York state’s amazing views with us. I enjoyed all your photos in this series.
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neihtn2012 said:
I am very glad that you like all these photos. Thank you for your kind comments.
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Lignum Draco said:
That’s a lovely series of the Bald Eagle in flight.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you. It all happened in less than one minute.
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quietsolopursuits said:
All the photos are excellent, and the ones of the eagle fishing were particularly good, but my favorites are the marsh mallows, what beautiful flowers! I wish that they grew in Michigan, or if they do, I could find them.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thanks Jerry! Those Marsh Mallows looked very good and had not been nibbled away by insects as many of them are in New Jersey. You probably have them also in Michigan. Look for them during one of your treks.
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de Wets Wild said:
What a lovely time you had out in nature again, Hien!
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Dries! It was good to get out in nature after so many days and weeks of rain.
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dianaed14 said:
Delightful photographs – so much detail
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Diana!
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Mz&Cho said:
Fascinating that there is so much of nature’s wonder despite the size of the refuge! Especially liked the one of the Great Blue Heron and Great Egret.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you! The refuge only appears small compared to the one I go to in New Jersey. If I had more time I would have explored more of it.
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Eliza Waters said:
Many good shots, including the action of the young eagle. My favorite is the one of the heron and egret coming and going, a lovely balance.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Eliza! That shot of the heron and egret was challenging because they were far apart, but I tried it anyway to capture those two “ships” passing each other.
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MichaelStephenWills said:
You had quit a show — the migrations are well underway.
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Michael! I was impressed with the number and variety of birds at the refuge, even in the very short time I was there.
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Irene said:
Your captures of birds in flight are always amazing. I will keep trying to come close to that level. Hey, this past week I realized that my butterfly photography has improved and I am happy about that. Grateful for the small things in life. 😊
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neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Irene! I still find it hard to capture birds in flight, with more misses than hits. Your butterfly photos are excellent!
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Irene said:
Thanks! 😉
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