30 Wednesday Jan 2019
Posted in Photography
Tags
brickhead, Fallingwater, Faustino Aizkorbe, frank lloyd wright, James Tyler, photography, postaday, purdue university, Transformation
Fallingwater at Mill Run, PA by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Brickhead at Purdue University by James Tyler.
Transformation at Purdue University by Faustino Aizkorbe.
27 Sunday Jan 2019
Posted in Photography
Tags
barnegat lighthouse state park, brant, canada geese, colonial lake, great black-backed gull, long-tailed duck, photography, postaday, ring-billed gull
Male Long-tailed Duck.
Male Long-tailed Duck.
Male Long-tailed Duck.
Great Black-backed Gull.
Brants.
Canada Geese.
Ring-billed Gull.
Ring-billed Gull.
23 Wednesday Jan 2019
Posted in Photography
Ring-billed Gull.
Ring-billed Gull.
Ring-billed Gull.
Ring-billed Gull.
22 Tuesday Jan 2019
Posted in colonial lake, Photography
Tags
Today, following the example of Eliza Waters (https://elizawaters.com/2019/01/21/brrrr/), I went to Colonial Lake close to home to photograph ice formations. The lake is man-made, capturing water coming from Shabakunk Creek, damming it, then releasing it further downstream back into the same creek.
It was around 20 °F (-6 °C), the lake was completely iced over, but the water underneath had to flow along its usual path.
Volcano on ice?
Ice bells.
Ice cold water.
Ice cover around trees.
Water and ice.
More ice than water.
Shriveled remnant of autumn.
There was a Great Blue Heron nearby, wondering what all the fuss was about.
Great Blue Heron resting.
20 Sunday Jan 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Beach sculpture.
Leaves in winter.
Female Northern Cardinal.
19 Saturday Jan 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
A few days ago, at Holgate I was captivated by the waves crashing on the beach and on the man-made barrier separating it from the rest of Long Beach Island.
The following photos are of the same wave as it folded and exploded under the wind.
Wave at Holgate.
Wave at Holgate.
Wave at Holgate.
Wave at Holgate.
Here are more waves assaulting the man-made barrier.
Wave crashing against barrier.
Wave crashing against barrier.
By the way, a birder reported seeing not one but two Snowy Owls at Holgate, two days after I was there!
18 Friday Jan 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Holgate is the southern end of Long Beach Island, NJ and a part of Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. In previous years I often went there to photograph Snowy Owls, and I tried to do that again three days ago. Unfortunately surveyors were roaming Holgate that day, traipsing into dune parts that Snowy Owls frequented. As a result, even though I hiked the length of Holgate and back, there was not a single bird that day, except for one seagull.
Surveyor at Holgate.
It was cold, starting at 17°F (-8°C) and slowly climbing to above freezing. As the tide was coming in, the wind made beautiful waves.
Waves at Holgate.
Wave at Holgate.
A Herring Gull was standing on the beach. I approached it carefully, 20 steps at a time, taking a camera shot before continuing.
Herring Gull.
When I finally got too close, it flew up holding a piece of clam in its beak.
Herring Gull snatching food from beach.
Herring Gull turning right.
Herring Gull turning left.
Near the entrance to Holgate, there were a dozen surfers.
Two surfers at Holgate, one with a paddle.
Surfer almost hidden by wave.
Barrier and surfer at Holgate.
When I came home and looked at the photos on my computer, I saw some Long-tailed Ducks in several of them.
Two Long-tailed Ducks in the surf.
16 Wednesday Jan 2019
Posted in Photography
Airplane.
13 Sunday Jan 2019
Posted in Photography
Tags
House Finch.
House Finch.
House Finch.
House Finch.
12 Saturday Jan 2019
Posted in Photography
This male Northern Cardinal was perched on the magnolia branches near the bird feeder. He easily outshone the other nearby birds: female Northern Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee, House Finches, White-breasted Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Juncos, and so on.
Northern Cardinal.
A scratch was needed.
Feeling better!
Ready for a feast.
11 Friday Jan 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
blue morph, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, snow goose, white morph
Snow Geese are mostly white (white morph), but some only have a white face, with the rest of their bodies dark brown and dark blue. They are not too rare, as I usually can see at least one or more in any flock of Snow Geese.
Blue morph Snow Goose amid white morph geese.
When still immature, the blue morph colors are less pronounced while the face has not turned white yet.
Juvenile blue morph Snow Geese among white morph geese.
Juvenile blue morph Snow Geese.
There were several thousands Snow Geese at the refuge while I was taking the above photos. Suddenly they shouted to one another and rose up in the sky.
Snow Geese rising up to fly.
Perhaps they were wary of some Bald Eagle, for they soon settled back on another part of the refuge.
09 Wednesday Jan 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
There were about a dozen Tundra Swans at the refuge, far away from the road and apart from the larger Mute Swans which are all-year residents. As their name indicates, Tundra Swans migrate from the artic tundra to the Midlantic shore to spend their winters under warmer conditions.
As I began shooting a Tundra Swan was landing.
Tundra Swan landing. Two other Tundra Swans were agitated by the newcomer. In the background are American Black Ducks.
Landing scuffle.
Now one swan is chasing the others.
Chaser seems to have the upper hand.
Oh, oh … Resistance?
Fighting?
Victory!
Peace.
06 Sunday Jan 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
Sun rays.
05 Saturday Jan 2019
Posted in Photography
In addition to Northern Cardinals, other regular birds at our bird feeder include Carolina Chickadees and two kinds of Woodpeckers. On the same cloudy days that brightly lit the cardinals, I was able to get several good shots of these other birds.
Male Downy Woodpecker.
Male Downy Woodpecker.
Red-bellied Woodpecker.
Carolina Chickadee. The eyes are often hard to discern, but here they are clearly visible.
Carolina Chickadee.
One more photo taken on January 1st, 2019.
Female Downy Woodpecker searching for food. It looks like a sunflower seed left under the bark by another bird or a squirrel.
05 Saturday Jan 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Manahawkin, Manahawkin Bay Bridge, photography, postaday
Readers of this blog know that I am mainly a bird photographer, with infrequent landscape and flower images. Recently I went to Bonnet Island, a newly opened section of the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. The Dorland J. Henderson Memorial Bridge, also called Manahawkin Bay Bridge, linking mainland New Jersey to Long Beach Island goes through Bonnet Island, and it has been undergoing repairs since 2010.
The part of EBF NWR on Bonnet Island, opened since last July, looks underwhelming at this time of the year.
Bench at Bonnet Island.
One of two pavilions at Bonnet Island.
What one sees is mostly weeds and new plantings, all with different variations of the color ochre. There were a few birds or waterfowls, but they were all too far away for my lens, even with the 1.4 extender attached. As soon as I took a picture of the following hawk, it flew away.
Hawk on Bonnet Island, maybe a Red-tailed Hawk.
There were mergansers and ducks swimming in the bay waters, but they appear tiny and blurry in all the images I took. So I turned toward the bridge itself and started photographing it from different angles.
Manahawkin Bay Bridge as seen from Bonnet Island.
West end of Manahawkin Bay Bridge.
East end of Manahawkin Bay Bridge.
Traffic and construction on Manahawkin Bay Bridge.
The town of Manahawkin is a coastal community facing Long Beach Island. Manahawkin comes from a Lenape Native American word meaning “fertile land sloping into the water”.
View of Manahawkin from Bonnet Island.
View of Manahawkin from Bonnet Island.
03 Thursday Jan 2019
Posted in Photography
Today the sky was mostly cloudy and it was rather nippy outside. A lot of birds came to our bird feeder. At one time, as I walked by the patio door, I saw three bright red Northern Cardinals perched on the magnolia tree, waiting for their turn. I got my camera out and started shooting, first with the 1.4 extender attached to the lens.
Male Northern Cardinal.
Male Northern Cardinal.
Male Northern Cardinal.
Two hours later, they were still flying in and out. This time I did not use the 1.4 extender.
Male Northern Cardinal.
Male Northern Cardinal.
Female Northern Cardinal landing on a branch. Her right leg is motion blurred.
I prefer the shots taken without the 1.4 extender as they are noticeably sharper, which will come in handy with large-size prints for framing. However, the ones with the extender are really not too bad.
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