Windy and Cold

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, hooded merganser, mute swan, photography, postaday, snowy egret

Temperatures went as high as 84°F (29°C) yesterday, but today they are back down to 40°F (4°C), and it is very windy and cold. Even though I took the following photos last month and last week, they illustrate well this challenging weather we are having.

Mute Swan.

Great Egret and Snowy Egret.

Great Egret looking for fish.

Great Egret catching fish.

Great Egret and fish.

Hooded Merganser windblown.

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Flock of Egrets

Tags

aigrette, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, photography, postaday

Hundreds of Great Egrets were still sleeping or waking up and preening at a pond at the refuge. It was a bit nippy and there was some fog and frost on the brown reeds. I had never seen that many Great Egrets in one place, but could not capture the entire flock in one photo.

Great Egrets waking up. Note the Great Blue Heron on the left with eyes still closed.

All the birds were in their best breeding plumage and colors, with long white aigrettes that ladies at the beginning of the last century would have paid dearly to adorn their headdresses with.

Closer look at Great Egrets.

Great Egret.

Osprey Feeding

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

She was incubating and clamoring for breakfast.

Female Osprey incubating, calling out for her mate.

Male Osprey flying nearby.

Male Osprey bringing part of fish. He had already eaten the fish head.

Male Osprey and part of fish. He flapped his wings and stayed up in the air.

Male Osprey descending:”Here’s your breakfast, dear!”

Male Osprey landing on nest.

As she ate, he pushed her aside to get an older piece of fish.

He took the older piece away to where he was eating before.

She went on eating her breakfast.

Red-winged Blackbird

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, red-winged blackbird

Red-winged Blackbirds are everywhere at the refuge, with the male birds sporting red and yellow shoulder badges. This time of the year the males fly to find high perches from which they belt out their incessant songs. They show no fear of cars and humans, and are easy to photograh.

Red-winged Blackbird.

Red-winged Blackbird singing.

Young Red-winged Blackbird.

Red-winged Blackbird.

Where is Spring?

Tags

cattail, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, multiflora rose, photography, postaday, typha, typha latifolia

We are still having a little snow today and tomorrow. When I went around looking for flowering plants at the refuge, there were none. The following couple of shots are perhaps interesting, but Spring flowers they are not, yet.

Dried Cattail (Typha latifolia).

Multiflora rose.

Ospreys vs Crows

Tags

crow, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

I saw the first Ospreys for this year at the refuge less than a week ago. One of them was very busy building her nest on a platform.

Osprey building nest. Atlantic City in background.

At another part of the refuge, a pair of Ospreys was making distinct noises. Was the female telling her mate to go fishing?

Pair of Ospreys.

After several minutes, he had enough and flew away to land on half of a fish that he must have brought in earlier and left on the ground not far from their nest .

Male Osprey landing toward part of a fish.

Male Osprey landing on part of a fish.

He just stood on the fish for a long time as she kept calling out to him. Was she still hungry?

Female Osprey calling her mate.

He would not budge, and at times appeared to take a nap!

Male Osprey.

She flew up to a top pole of the nest platform, and kept calling for him.

Female Osprey flying up.

He did not move until a Crow flew in.

Crow landing near male Osprey.

Another Crow showed up.

Two Crows surrounding male Osprey.

The Crows definitely wanted the rest of the fish but the Osprey held on. The female Osprey kept calling out.

Female Osprey: “Dear, you better hang on to that fish!”

He held on firmly.

Male Osprey: “Don’t worry! I got the situation under control here.”

Crows and Osprey.

One of the Crows started cawing, perhaps calling for reinforcement. The standoff went on for much longer, but I had to leave. Crows are known to attack Ospreys at times, so I am not sure whether these two Ospreys were able to keep their fish or not.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Rise/Set – 2

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, sunset, weekly photo challenge

This is the second part for this Weekly Photo Challenge at the following link: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/rise-set/

The shot below is of the most colorful sunset I ever saw at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Sunset at EBF, January 2015.

Canada Geese Courtship

Tags

canada geese, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

Weatherwise, Spring is late this year with temperatures around the freezing mark, but otherwise it is already here for the birds, ducks, and geese. Spring is breeding season for them, and nature can’t wait. Today, I saw what is likely a courtship ritual between two Canada Geese at the refuge. It went on for about three minutes before the pair swam off together into the sunrise.

Male Canada Goose swimming toward the female, making lots of noise and waves.

Courtship between two Canada Geese.

Courtship between two Canada Geese.

Courtship between two Canada Geese.

Courtship between two Canada Geese. She finally said “Yes!”  

Great Egret

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, photography, postaday

This was the first Great Egret I saw at the refuge this Spring. It was still cold and quite windy so it did not stay too long.

Great Egret.

Great Egret starting its flight.

Great Egret airborne.

Great Blue Heron Fishing

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great blue heron, photography, postaday

Not too far from the Snow Geese, a lone Great Blue Heron was fishing for breakfast, with excellent results.

Great Blue Heron fishing.

Caught one. Small but good to eat.

Looking for another fish.

Quick!

More good eating.

Snow Geese Migration – Part 3

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photographjy, postaday, snow geese

Some Snow Geese are mostly dark, with a little white on them.

Dark Morph Snow Goose.

The following photos show these Dark Morph Snow Geese in flight during their late winter migration, mixed in with the more common white ones.

Snow Geese Blue Morph in flight with a more common white goose.

Snow Geese.

Snow Geese.

Snow Geese.

Snow Geese Migration – Part 1

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, snow goose

Shortly after the Snowy Owls, thousands of Snow Geese appeared at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. New Jersey is on their migration path, and the refuge is a rest stop for them as they fly back to breeding grounds in the Canadian and Alaskan tundras.

The sky was a painterly mix of blue with gray and white clouds, and it was good to be clicking away knowing that one can get good shots no matter what. If you miss one there were always more geese to oblige you.

Snow Geese migrating North.

Snow Geese.

Snow Goose.

Snow Goose.

Snow Geese.

Snow Geese.

Snowy Owls 2018

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, snowy owl

I photographed my first Snowy Owl in December 2013, and again in January 2014 and 2015. Then for two years in a row, it made itself scarce. There were reported sightings in New Jersey, but every time I went to those places it was nowhere to be seen.

This past Sunday, there were two Snowy Owls at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. However, they were quite far, and there was no way to come nearer to them. I had to crop as much as 90% of the images, and the final results are disappointing.

Snowy Owl 2018.

Snowy Owl 2018.

Update: the banner image is from a photo taken in 2015.

Sleeping on Ice

Tags

canada goose, photography, postaday

Canada Geese are always present in our area, even in the deep of winter. I found a group of them sleeping on ice at the EBF refuge, with temperatures in the teens (-10°C)  during the day and even colder at night.

Canada Geese sleeping.

Some, however, were not sleeping and were already dabbling for food in a patch of water.

Canada Goose dabbling. Note the open eyes of the two other geese next to it.

Canada Goose dabbling.

Buffleheads

Tags

bufflehead, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

Buffleheads are very small ducks, about half the size of Mallards. I have found them to be difficult to photograph because of their size and colors. Females are gray brown with white patches on their cheeks. Males are white and black. In both sexes, the eyes are hard to distinguish from the dark areas surrounding them, unless there is good light, which is not always the case in winter.

A few days ago, I went to the refuge on a cold and windy day. The marshes were mostly frozen and there were only several gulls and Buffleheads. There were also very few cars, and so I was able to zoom in closer on some female Buffleheads who were actively diving for food.

Female Bufflehead.

Female Bufflehead.

Female Bufflehead diving.

There was no male Bufflehead at EBF on that day. The following photo shows one taken a few days earlier near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Male Bufflehead.

Here’s how the refuge looked on a cold day, when the highest temperature was well below freezing.

Marshes in winter.

Marsh plant in winter.

Monday Monochrome

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, fog, great egret, photography, postaday, snowy egret, spider web

A few weeks ago, the heavy morning fog led to some unusual monochrome shots.

Great Egret.

Snowy Egret.

Snowy Egret.

Spider Web.

Good Fishing

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great blue heron, photography, postaday

This Great Blue Heron was catching fish literally left and right. In the five minutes I spent photographing it, it managed to snatch five fishes out of the water. They were small but enough of them would be equal to a big catch. When I left, it was still looking for fish.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron.

Berry Breakfast

Tags

cape may warbler, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

I am not sure about this bird’s name, which may be Cape May Warbler. If you know that it should have a different name, please let me know. Update: Jerry from https://quietsolopursuits.wordpress.com/ has been kind to identify it as a female Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Anyway, last Saturday morning I found her eating juniper berries. She did not fly away when I came near enough to photograph her.

Yellow-rumped Warbler eating breakfast.

She even turned around to look directly at me.

Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Hooded Mergansers and a Swan

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, hooded marganser, mute swan, photography, postaday

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.

Lesser Yellow Legs

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, lesser yellow legs, photography, postaday

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.

Dunlins in Flight

Tags

dunlin, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

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.

Tundra Swans

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, Tundra Swan

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.

Young Bald Eagle

Tags

bald eagle, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

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.

Sunrise Sunset

Tags

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.

The Conductor II

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, mute swan, photography, postaday

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.

Fall Egrets

Tags

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.

Fall at the Refuge

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, phragmites, postaday

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.

Caught Fish

Tags

cormorant, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, ring-billed gull

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.

Sunday Odds and Ends

Tags

avocet, cormorant, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, yellow-crowned night heron

As a side effect of hurricane Philippe, we are being drenched with rain today, and I am staying home. Here are a few shots taken over the past several weeks that did not fit into any previous post.

Cormorants. They were moving fast in the water as evidenced by the wake they created.

Another group of Cormorants taking off.

Squirrel eating a walnut from our trees.

American Avocet.

American Avocet.

I am guessing the following two birds are immature Yellow-crowned Night Herons. October has been warm this year, and these two had not yet migrated South.

Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

Flying and Diving Aces

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Forster's Tern, photography, postaday

Once the fog had completely dissipated, Forster’s Terns came out and again earned their reputation as ace flyers and divers. I had my camera set to capture them at 1/3000 sec, but even that was barely enough to freeze their motion in mid air, especially during their almost vertical dives.

Forster’s Tern.

Forster’s Tern.

Forster’s Tern.

Forster’s Tern.

Forster’s Tern diving into water.

Forster’s Tern pulling out of dive.

Finally I was able to catch one of these birds with a fish it had just caught.

Forster’s Tern with fish.

Spider Webs

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, spider web

There were literally thousands of spider webs along both sides of Wildlife Drive, and the dew made them scintillate under the rising sun. Here are two: one with the classic  shape; the other, seen from the side, is more unusual. I did not see any spider. Maybe they were still in their warm hideouts.

Spider web.

Spider web.

The Conductor

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, nute swan, photography, postday

The light kept getting better at the refuge. Sunlight became more abundant, inundating the pond and the birds floating on it. One swan was particularly exuberant, showing characteristics of an orchestra conductor.

Mute Swan, conducting?

Mute Swan, conducting?

Mute Swan, conducting?

Mute Swan, conducting?

Mute Swan, conducting?

Mute Swan, conducting?

Mute Swan, conducting?

Mute Swan, done conducting?

Mute Swan: “Done!”

Beauty and the Fog

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, mute swan, photography, postaday

It was very foggy yesterday. On my way to Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge I could see no more than 100 ft (30 m) ahead, and twice almost ran into deer crosssing the road! When I arrived at the refuge, the usual scenery looked very iffy in the thick fog, but I was not about to go back after a two-hour drive.

Pond in fog.

Slowly the fog lifted, and after half an hour, sunlight fell on beautiful swans and other birds swimming in the sweet water pond. The swans were probably the same I photographed last week, but they had lost their juvenile colors and were all white. They had been preening and looked much cleaner than last week.

Mute Swans.

Mute Swan with Canada Geese in the background.

The following photos show a Mute Swan flapping its wings after it had finished preening and taken a dip in the water.

Mute Swan.

Mute Swan.

Mute Swan.

Mute Swan.

Mute Swan.

Bird Diversity

Tags

black skimmer, peacock, photography, postaday, red-winged blackbird, snow goose, snowy egret

Going through some unpublished photos I took over the last few months, I am struck by the many different kinds of birds that live in our small part of New Jersey. Here’s how diversity looks among birds.

Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird.

Black Skimmer.

Snow Geese. They are not all white.

Peacock.

Snowy Egret.

Did They Smile?

Tags

great egret, photography, postaday

Unlike Great Blue Herons which prefer large fish, Great Egrets stick with smaller ones. The following Great Egrets each caught a small fish as I was photographing them. Looking closer at their photos, did they actually smile at the prospect of more food filling up their stomach?

Great Egret with fish it had just caught.

Great Egret with fish: was the egret smiling?

Great Egret with fish it had just caught.

Diving for Food

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Forster's Tern, photography, postaday

On a drive on Wildlife Drive at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, I kept hearing splash sounds in the ponds on either side of the drive. They were made by dozens of Forster’s Terns as they dove into the water to catch small fish. The Terns were amazingly energetic and fast, perhaps not to the level of Peregrine Falcons, but still way too fast for me. By the time I heard a splash sound, they were already in and out of the water, climbing toward the sky.

I tried to photograph them diving but found that I missed them practically all the time. Finally, I stopped following them with my camera as they were flying around, and aimed it at an an area of a pond where many Terns were diving, and then waited. As soon as I heard a splash, I clicked on the shutter. The images shown below are combined from two passes around Wildlife Drive.

Forster’s Tern looking for food.

Forster’s Tern looking for food.

Forster’s Tern looking for food.

The following photo is not sharp, but the Tern’s speed left me no time to react and focus properly.

Forster’s Tern diving.

Forster’s Tern diving into water.

Forster’s Tern coming out of dive.

Forster’s Tern out of water.

Forster’s Tern emerging from dive.

Forster’s Tern flying up.

Flying Birds – Continued

Tags

great blue heron, great egret, photography, postaday

There must have been at least a hundred Egrets and several Great Blue Herons at the refuge yesterday. They were very active fishing and flying from spot to spot, a golden opportunity for me to capture more BIF photos.

Great Egret.

Great Egret.

Here’s a sequence of a Great Blue Heron taking off.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron..

Osprey Drama – Continued

Tags

edwin b forstythe national wildlife refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

In my first Osprey Drama post, I wrongly attributed selfishness to the male Osprey who denied food to what I thought was his mate. As Donna pointed out, that younger Osprey was in fact an Osprey chick, his child. Adult Ospreys, male or female, encourage their fledglings to go find their own food by intentionally denying them the food they usually bring back to the nest. Once hungry enough the young ones have to fly out and find fish on their own.

Today I went back to the nest and found the father with another fish in his talon.

Osprey father with fish in his talon.

He kept looking around, as if searching for the young one.

He looked to his left.

He looked to his right.

I too waited for the young one to return to the nest, for almost 20 minutes. When I left him, he was still waiting.

Osprey at empty nest.

Osprey Drama

Tags

edwin b forstythe national wildlife refuge, great black-backed gull, osprey, photography, postaday

This post is now updated to reflect the correct information given by bayphotosbydonna in her comments below. Thank you Donna!

This morning I drove to the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Many of the Osprey nests were empty, perhaps because the young chicks have fledged and have begun migrating South with their parents. At one nest, however, the male Osprey had caught a big fish.

Male Osprey with big fish.

He ate the head of the fish while I could hear the young chick clamoring for food at their nest nearby. It called out to its father, asking him to hurry up and bring the fish back to their nest.

Osprey chick calling out to father.

He went on eating.

… and eating. That sashimi must really taste good.

Osprey chick called him several more times.

Finally, after waiting 25 minutes, it flew over to his perch.

It attempted to peck at the fish.

He flew away. Osprey parents usually hold back giving food to their fledged chicks to encourage them to be independent and go find food on their own.

The chick could only look at him. Neither of them noticed a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull flying toward their nest.

Osprey chick dejected.

Meanwhile, the Gull had snatched something from the Osprey nest.

The chick saw the intruder and immediately flew back. It made repeated alarm calls, but the Gull had already left.

Osprey father came back with the fish.

The chick was very agitated, spreading out its wings.

Not a happy Osprey chick.

When I left them, it was still fussing around the nest, not bothering to eat the fish.

Osprey Feeding Time

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Just before I arrived at the Osprey nest, I saw the father finishing the head of a big fish that he had caught. He flew with the rest of it to the nest, handed it over to the mother, then perched up high, keeping watch.

Thank you dear!

Go on with your feeding. I’ll keep watch.

Open wide!

There! That will make you grow up to be a strong Osprey.