Boat-tailed Grackle

Tags

boat-tailed grackle, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

Yesterday a band of Boat-tailed Grackle congregated on a section of Wildlife Drive at Edwin B Forsythe NWR. I had seen this bird before, but never in such numbers, or so brazen, posing conspicuously for photographers.

Boat-tailed Grackles. Pointing their bill upward is typical of this type of bird.

Boat-tailed Grackle calling.

Boat-tailed Grackle singing.

Boat-tailed Grackles.

Boat-tailed Grackle foraging. These birds are omnivorous and will steal food from humans.

Their bright yellow eyes make the Boat-tailed Grackle appear fierce. By the way all these photos show male Boat-tailed Grackle and I did not see any female around. The female birds would have been brown. Usually, one male bird would have a cluster of female birds as his harem.

Boat-tailed Grackle.

Boat-tailed Grackle.

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2018 Year of the Bird

Tags

bald eagle, barn swallow, barnegat lighthouse, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, Long-billed Dowitcher, mourning dove, photography, postaday, ring-billed gull, sanderling, year of the bird

2018 is the Year of the Bird, as declared by the National Audubon Society, National Geographic, BirdLife International, and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. I didn’t know about that until now, but here are seven photos I took recently of birds around New Jersey.

Two Barn Swallows in Newton, NJ.

Mourning Dove on beach at Barnegat Light.

Great Egret at Edwin B Forsythe NWR.

Sanderling at Barnegat Light.

Young Bald Eagle at Edwin B Forsythe NWR.

Long-billed Dowitcher at Edwin B Forsythe NWR.

Juvenile Ring-billed Gull at Barnegat Light.

Immature Forster’s Tern

Tags

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

Two weeks ago I saw immature Forster’s Terns at the refuge. They were as active as their parents, and a little noisier. While the parents look well traveled and perhaps a little worn out, the younger ones still have some baby fat and show a lot of spunkiness.

Immature Forster’s Tern.

Immature Forster’s Tern.

Immature Forster’s Tern.

True to their species, they are great fliers and hunters.

Immature Forster’s Tern.

Even when they don’t catch anything.

Immature Forster’s Tern coming out of a dive.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

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

Male Osprey.

Juvenile Osprey.

Male Osprey.

Male Osprey.

Ospreys.

Male Osprey

Snowy Egrets

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, snowy egret, water lily

Some up close shots of egrets that were just posing several days ago at the refuge, without any fear of humans.

Snow Egret.

A younger version of the above Snowy Egret.

Juvenile Snowy Egret.

Juvenile Snowy Egret pursuing parent: “Where’s my food?”

Finally a shot of a water lily flower taken on the way out of the refuge.

Water Lily.

European Starlings

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, european starling, photography, postaday

Everyone has probably seen flocks of European Starlings, sometimes numbering in the thousands, flying as swarms over open fields. They are capable of incredible communications among themselves that allow the whole swarm to instantly change direction or reverse course as if they were all just one bird. Here’s part of such a swarm that I saw last week at the refuge.

Part of a swarm of European Starlings.

Following are some shots of a juvenile bird that landed on the side of the road very close to my car. There were also Red-winged Blackbirds mixed in with the Starlings.

Juvenile European Starling.

Juvenile European Starling.

Juvenile European Starling.

For comparison, here’s a photo of an adult bird taken this past winter during a snowstorm.

European Starling.

Black Skimmers Catching Fish

Tags

black skimmer, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

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!”

Ruddy Turnstone Scrape

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.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Tags

Black-crowned Night Heron, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

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.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postday, snowy egret

Snowy Egret.

Osprey Mother

Tags

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

In yesterday’s post, I wrote that I did not see the Osprey mother while the father was feeding the chicks. Today, with more time I saw the final picture I took of the father and the chick, and he was looking up at the sky.

Male Osprey and chick.

He had seen his mate! I did take a picture of her right after that, but she was so far away that I almost discarded the shot. However, as you can see below, she was flying in with an even bigger fish.

Female Osprey with catfish.

Barn Swallows

Tags

barn swallow, photography, postaday

I saw the Barn Swallow below under a walkway at the refuge. It did not seem to mind my presence. This type of bird gets along very well with people and has become established in our lore, culture, and even religion.

Barn Swallow.

I went to a part of the walkway right above it, and it was still okay with that, even looking up calmly.

Barn Swallow looking up at photographer.

It also sang and kept singing during the whole time I was there.

Barn Swallow singing.

Barn Swallows are very social birds that live together in large roosts, some containing as many as millions of birds. There were not that many at the refuge, but I saw several of them just twenty feet away from the one above. One bird was building its nest with mud. The others were typical onlookers, just like us humans observing our neighbors fix their houses.

Barn Swallows watching one of them landing near them.

Barn Swallows: note the one on the right carrying apiece of mud in its beak.

Barn Swallows. The one carrying mud had just flown up to the underside of the walkway.

Late Breakfast at Osprey Nest

Tags

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

Yesterday I arrived at the refuge, near the nest of the Ospreys I have been following this year. The two chicks were not visible, but the two parents were there, with the mother making loud calls.

“Honey, the kids are hungry! Time to go fishing!”

He seemed oblivious to her calls. After about twenty long minutes he finally flew away. She watched him soar toward the marshes.

“He better catch something good!”

Some twelve minutes later, he was back, with no fish!

Male Osprey landing back on nest.

“Honey, I tried, but …”

In no time she sent him back out again. Another half hour passed during which she flew around to look for him, leaving the nest without adults protecting it.

Osprey nest without parents. The two chicks were in it but not visible from my angle.

The two chicks were making noises and eventually stood up in the nest.

Osprey chicks in nest.

Finally, the male Osprey came back with a big catfish.

Male Osprey with catfish.

Young Ospreys looking at their meal delivered by male Osprey.

The father proceeded to tear out pieces of catfish and fed them to one chick while the other waited for its turn without complaining. It would not be fed until the first chick had finished eating.

Male Osprey feeding chick.

I did not see the female Osprey again, but she was probably somewhere nearby either fishing or eating her fish. I had spent roughly an hour and a half watching the nest and it was time for me to go.

New and Old Birds

Tags

common grackel, common yellowthroat, house sparrow, mallard, photography, postaday, snowy egret

Recently I encountered a new bird, for me anyway, the Common Yellowthroat, a small warbler with a Lone Ranger black mask, a white head top, and a very yellow throat.

Male Common Yellowthroat.

Male Common Yellowthroat singing.

This House Sparrow was preening itself one morning, and looked down curiously at a photographer.

House Sparrow.

Meanwhile, a female Mallard took off from Colonial Lake.

Female Mallard.

Snowy Egret stabbing water after a fish.

A Common Grackle laughed at the scene.

Common Grackle: “You missed!”

Have a great weekend!

Turtles

Tags

colonial lake, diamondback, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, snapping turtle, terrapin, turtle

One day last week I had to stop several times to let turtles cross the road in front of me. Here are a few shots of them at different places in the refuge, and one shot at Colonial Lake closer to home.

Diamondback Terrapin.

Diamondback Terrapin.

Snowy Egret with turtle under water in background.

Snapping Turtle at Colonial Lake.

At the beginning of last century, Terrapins were eaten by humans, almost to extinction. It was only two years ago in 2016 that New Jersey officially banned the hunting of Terrapins for any reason. They are currently classified as a species of Special Concern. Snapping Turtles are classified as Least Concern.

Osprey Feeding Time

Tags

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

I arrived at the nest just as the male Osprey brought in a fish it had caught that morning, presumably after it had eaten the head. The female Osprey was waiting with two lanky and hungry young chicks.

Female Osprey with two chicks. Male was in the back after flying in the fish it had caught.

Having delivered breakfast, the male Osprey flew up to his perch, but he seemed to be nibbling something at his feet.

“What is he eating up there?”

Feeding time.

Mama feeding chicks while Papa watched out for intruders.

Sky Divers

Tags

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

Forster’s Terns have impressive sky diving skills when they hunt for fish, and I have been trying to capture them doing aerial acrobatics in photos. Yesterday’s several of them put on a fantastic show at the refuge under a sunny sky.

Forster’s Tern hovering.

Forster’s Tern hovering.

Forster’s Tern starting dive.

Dive, dive!

Forster’s Tern diving straight into water.

Black Skimmers

Tags

black skimmer, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

A flock of Black Skimmers, those amazing birds that draw perfectly straight lines with their beaks on the water as they look for fish, was parked on a sand bar at the refuge. They were quite far away from me, and those that were fishing were flying fast.

Black Skimmers.

Two Black Skimmers.

Two Black Skimmers. The one in front must have just missed a fish.

Here’s a picture of one that I took last year.

Black Skimmer 2017.

Here’s one from 2015 where the straight line is seen clearly.

Black Skimmer in action

Forster’s Terns

Tags

Forster's Tern, photography, postaday

The following pair of Forster’s Terns were unconcerned by my presence as I parked close to the guardrail where they were perched. They seemed busy deciding when to plunge into the marsh water to look for fish.

“Lots of fish down there! High tide is bringing them into the marsh.”

“Here we go, 1, 2, …3”

“I can’t do it!”

“Sure you can! Go!”

Forster’s Tern hovered before coming back to the guardrail.

“Again!”

Flight.

Landing.

Standing.

Goslings

Tags

canada goose, flower photography, gosling, postaday

Conversations between Canada Goose goslings at the refuge in yesterday’s 90°F (32°C).

“Mommy said we should be eating veggies!”

“Here are some!”

“Look at her chewing that grass!”

“She’s right, it’s yummy!”

“Mommy is always right!”

Canada Goose and goslings.

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.

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.