18 Monday Oct 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
boat-tailed grackle, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, greater yellow legs, postaday, snow goose, song sparrow
Following are some scenes from the refuge that I photographed last Friday.
17 Sunday Oct 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
16 Saturday Oct 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Fishing by humans is not allowed at the refuge. But the birds are free to fish since it is sometimes their best way to obtain what they need to survive. The Great Egret shown below is an excellent practitioner of fishing. Yesterday, I watched from beginning to end as it plucked a fish out of the marshes.
11 Monday Oct 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
Big Eyes Butterfly., black swallowtail, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday, snowy egret
Here are some not yet published photos of butterflies and a young Snowy Egret I took in September at the refuge.
03 Sunday Oct 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
The French have a great expression for sleeping in: “faire la grasse matinée”, literally do a fat morning. The Yellow-crowned Night Heron, a night hunter and feeder, practiced it when I met him.
01 Friday Oct 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
A male Grackle led a noisy band of Grackles to a small island in the marshes. After they landed, he posted himself on the highest branch and called out to them.
29 Wednesday Sep 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
27 Monday Sep 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Some birds probably look more striking in monochrome.
25 Saturday Sep 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
Big Eyes Butterfly., Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday, Sleepy Orange Butterfly
This morning I went to the refuge to photograph birds. There were indeed many egrets, terns, gulls, vultures, and so on. But I saw two unfamiliar butterflies and could not resist taking their pictures.
The first one, a Sleepy Orange, started to fly away as I took the shot, but you can still see its vibrant colors.
The second one was a Big Eyes Butterfly which took its time feeding and allowed me to take many shots.
18 Saturday Sep 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, grackle, great egret, laughing gull, postaday, snowy egret, tern
According to the dictionary, a pose is “a sustained posture, especially one assumed for artistic effect”. The second part of the definition does not apply to birds. Most birds fly, and they do so gracefully as their bodies have to conform to the demands of aerodynamics. At rest, they become more compact and assume natural poses to observe their surroundings, or to preserve heat when necessary.
14 Tuesday Sep 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great blue heron, great egret, ladybug, postaday, snowy egret, tricolored heron
In one more week, summer will be ending. Some birds have already left the refuge but many remain as warm temperatures still prevail and food is abundant in the marshes. Here are some more shots of the Great Blue Heron shown in monochrome yesterday.
Great and Snowy Egrets, including juveniles born this year are everywhere around the refuge.
A Snowy Egret bristled in warning as a juvenile landed close to it.
There was a new bird for me. It was quite far away, but I think it was a Tricolored Heron.
While scanning the marshes, I saw a brilliant, shiny red spot in the middle of the milkweed. Mating season should be over by now, but two Ladybugs did not get the memo.
13 Monday Sep 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
29 Sunday Aug 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
22 Sunday Aug 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge
08 Sunday Aug 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Great Blue Heron.
07 Saturday Aug 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
asclepias tuberosa, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, milkweed, monarch butterfly, postaday
Following are three images of Monarch butterflies during a drive at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.
03 Monday May 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Last Saturday was a very breezy and cold day, with wind chill temperatures below freezing. It was also low tide when the refuge did not offer its best views.
Most birds were sheltering from the wind and cold, although many Canada Geese were strolling around, showing off this year’s offspring. The Goslings were busy foraging and tasting food.
The Osprey nests were empty at first sight and, for a moment, I thought they had flown to warmer places. However, when looking again, I could see part of a head peeking out from one nest. A female Osprey was chirping, her head clearly visible as she scanned the sky for her mate. I decided to stop and wait, but kept my window closed because of the strong wind.
Suddenly I saw the male Osprey flying in with a fish in his talons. By the time I got the window rolled down and my camera out he was already landing on the female bird.
The next photos show the Osprey mating rituals which lasted less than a minute.
He landed a short distance away, watching her for a few minutes before flying off again, perhaps to find for more fish for her.
26 Monday Apr 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
It’s been a long time for Monochrome Monday, but here is an image that is made for it: a mother Osprey watching over her sleeping chick.
24 Saturday Apr 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
At the beginning of this week, Red-winged Blackbirds were everywhere at the refuge, the males gleefully singing their territorial songs. I selected the following shots for this year’s crop of photos of this most common bird.
28 Sunday Mar 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
With the prospect of watching gymnasts at the forthcoming Summer Olympics, I thought that this Ring-billed Gull nailed it.
Nailing It!
Here are some more photos of Crocuses I took yesterday.
Crocuses in the afternoon.
White crocuses.
21 Sunday Mar 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Last week the refuge conducted controlled burning of areas around the marshes to get rid of some invasive plants. That cleared quite a few of the bushes while leaving blackened spots where green shoots have already managed to come up. Hopefully they are not those pesky weeds that were supposed to burn.
There was a male Red-winged Blackbird singing gleefully in a reedy area. I tried to follow it for a few minutes as it switched spots before finally finding a suitable perch and belted its song, spreading and puffing its feathers to impress potential mates.
Male Red-winged Blackbird singing.
Male Red-winged Blackbird looking around.
Male Red-winged Blackbird started singing again.
Fortissimo! It also looked twice as large.
Winding down after song.
Back to normal, almost.
08 Monday Mar 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
The colorful Northern Shovelers are one of the more common ducks throughout the world. During the winter at the refuge, there are at least several hundreds of them foraging for food in the marshes with their typically long bills (2.5 inches or 6.35 cm).
In the US, during duck hunting season, an average of 700,000 Northern Shovelers are brought down each year! Yet, they are not on the endangered species list. Here are some recent photos of them at the refuge.
Northern Shovelers.
Northern Shovelers.
Northern Shovelers.
Male Northern Shoveler.
Male Northern Shoveler in flight.
01 Friday Jan 2021
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Following are unpublished photos of a juvenile Bald Eagle I took on October 1st, 2019. It was cruising over the marshes hunting for fish.
Juvenile Bald Eagle.
Juvenile Bald Eagle.
Juvenile Bald Eagle.
Juvenile Bald Eagle.
Happy New Year to everyone of you!
22 Saturday Aug 2020
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
There were many Forster’s Terns at the refuge, with about half of them being still immature or juvenile. They were all superb acrobatic fliers and their diving into the marshes to catch fish was a challenge I cannot resist photographing year after year.
Immature Forster’s Tern yelling at its friends.
“Nice flight!”
Forster’s Tern in flight.
Dive!
Emerging from dive.
Forster’s Tern coming out of dive, no fish.
I often tried to capture the moment they caught a fish, but the best I could do this time is a not-so-sharp photo.
Forster’s Tern with a fish.
09 Saturday May 2020
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
american robin, carolina chickadee, Eastern Bluebird, goldfinch, jane magnolia, Judy Zug Magnolia, Northen Cardinal, photography, postaday, red-tailed hawk
The weatherman says it has never been this cold on this day in our town. This morning the temperature is at 31°F or -0.5°C. With a strong breeze, it feels like 24 °F or -4.4°C. I will have to go out to the garden and see whether the tomato plants grown from seeds and put into the ground last week survived.
Three years ago I planted a yellow magnolia tree named Judy Zuk Magnolia, in honor of a former President of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It grew one flower the first year, none the second year, and this year it is displaying a dozen of bright yellow flowers mixed with small streaks of orange-red. Here are some shots of the flowers which are bigger than those of the Butterfly Magnolia from last month.
Judy Zuk Magnolia.
Judy Zuk Magnolia.
Here’s another kind of Magnolia that is blooming late in the season. In fact, it keeps blooming during a good part of the summer when all other magnolias have come and gone.
Jane Magnolia.
I’ll finish this post with photos of our backyard birds who have been quite busy during this spring mating season.
Goldfinch ruffled by wind.
Carolina Chickadee.
Male Northern Cardinal hiding in Jane Magnolia tree.
American Robin.
Eastern Bluebirds couple taking a break from incubation chores.
Female Eastern Bluebird getting ready to go back inside birdhouse.
Then someone who thinks it is a bird.
Squirrel eating up high on an oak tree.
Finally, a shot of a Red-tailed Hawk at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge on February 22, before the coronavirus lockdown.
Red-tailed Hawk.
25 Wednesday Mar 2020
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
barnegat light, clivia, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, harlequin duck, magnolia, mute swan, Northern Shoveler, photography, postaday, snow goose
I have not been posting here since last July, but have continued to photograph, although not as often as I used to. Hopefully, the following photos may help reduce stress for all of us during this coronavirus pandemic.
Harlequin Ducks at Barnegat Light , January 2020.
Mute Swan at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, January 2020.
Snow Geese at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, February 2020.
Northern Shovelers at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, March 2020.
Star Magnolia in our backyard, March 2020.
Clivia at home, March 2020.
02 Thursday May 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
I took the following photos of Green-winged Teals at the refuge a month ago. They are the smallest among dabbling ducks, much smaller than Mallards. They feed by looking for vegetation in shallow water. The ones seen below live in North America. They differ from their Eurasian counterparts by having a white stripe on their breast. The Eurasian Green-winged Teal have that white stripe along their shoulders.
Green-winged Teal, male.
Green-winged Teals, male and female in back.
Green-winged Teals, female and male in back.
Green-winged Teal, male.
26 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Goslings are now commonly seen at the refuge and are often the subjects of the cutest Spring scenes.
Goslings and mother.
Goslings and parents.
“You are eating WHAT?”
My internet connection has been very iffy these past two weeks, and it was only last night that it came back to normal and allowed me to read emails and access various sites, including WordPress. My apologies for not having been able to respond to your comments or visited your posts. I will try to catch up for sure.
06 Saturday Apr 2019
Posted in colonial lake, EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
american robin, canada geese, colonial lake, diamondback terrapin, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, photography, postaday, snowy egret
American Robins don’t migrate during the winter, merely keeping out of sight most of the time. They reappear with the coming of spring, when the ground is no longer too hard for them to try to pull out worms.
American Robin, 2019 spring.
Flocks of Canada Geese flying overhead is another sign that the seasons are changing. However, I can’t figure out what they are doing since they seem to be flying in all directions.
Canada Geese flying East.
Just a minute after the above shot, those Canada Geese reversed direction and flew over me again.
Canada Geese flying West.
I thought that was the last of that flock and started walking toward the woods. Then they flew North and passed overhead once more.
Canada Geese flying North.
Another sure sign of spring is the return of Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets. They appeared two weeks ago, then went away when the weather turned cold. Now they are back.
Great Egret and Snowy Egrets at Edwin B Forsythe NWR.
Great Egret.
Finally the turtles are out sunning themselves. I think they are Diamondback Terrapins, but am not positive. They all jumped into the water as I tried to come closer to them to get a better look.
Seven turtles at Colonial Lake.
23 Saturday Mar 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Red-Breasted Mergansers are high energy birds that migrate in the winter to our coastline from Canada. Whenever I see them, they are always busy diving and looking for food. They have to eat 15 to 20 fish a day and must spend 4 to 5 hours every day diving for fish!
I usually wait until they surface to photograph them, and as a result they have a constant wet look with water beading all over their faces and bodies. Both male and female birds have the spiky and shaggy head prized by some young people today.
Red-breasted Mergansers, female behind male.
Male Red-breasted Merganser.
Female Red-breasted Merganser.
Female Red-breasted Merganser.
Male Red-breasted Merganser.
14 Thursday Mar 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Two days ago I happened upon about a dozen Buffleheads involved in their annual courtship rituals at the refuge. Male Buffeheads court their future mates by a vigorous exercise of head bobbing, diving, running on water, and flying over the head of the female ducks.
Male Bufflehead.
Male Bufflehead running toward female.
Male Bufflehead flying over female.
Male Bufflehead flying over female.
Male Bufflehead trying to impress female.
Sometimes, a female Bufflehead chased a male away.
Female Bufflehead chasing after male: “Get out of my sight, you … duck!”
Male Buffleheads competing for attention from female.
Male Bufflehead: “I am the greatest!”
Female with male Buffleheads paddling fast in background.
The courtship also took place underwater, perhaps with the males trying to prove they could be good foragers. I saw them dive and spend a minute or two submerged, but unfortunately was not equipped to take photos under water.
06 Wednesday Mar 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Mallards.
Mute Swan.
16 Saturday Feb 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
carolina chickadee, dark-eyed junco, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great blue heron, photography, postaday
The flu has forced me to stay home these past two weeks and I have not gone out to take any picture, or visited your posts as often as before. The following photos are the results of my editing of recent shots of backyard birds that show some different views of the two most common visitors to our feeder in the winter.
Dark-eyed Junco.
Carolina Chickadee.
About two weeks ago, I also caught a Great Blue Heron jumping around a pond, probably on a fishing expedition.
Great Blue Heron.
Great Blue Heron.
Great Blue Heron.
Great Blue Heron.
Great Blue Heron.
09 Saturday Feb 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
There were two male Hooded Merganser at the refuge cruising around on a patch of water amid the ice, looking for food. They swam, dove, and came up for air. These small ducks are specific to North America, with the males very noticeable because of their black and white hood.
Male Hooded Mergansers at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.
Male Hooded Merganser.
Two Hooded Mergansers, one diving.
Male Hooded Merganser plunging into icy water.
In the water, Hooded Mergansers hunt for food by sight. They have an extra eyelid, a nictitating (blinking) membrane, that they can deploy to protect their eyes, somewhat like humans who use goggles when swimming underwater. You can see it in the following shot.
Hooded Merganser with extra eyelid showing.
They can also adjust the refractive property of their eyes to improve their vision under water.
Very wet Hooded Merganser emerging from dive.
06 Wednesday Feb 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Mute Swans.
Mute Swans.
Mute Swan.
04 Monday Feb 2019
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, fort hancock, photography, postaday, sanderling, sandy hook, sandy hook lighthouse
As temperatures slowly climbed above freezing, I ventured out yesterday to view scenes of the wintry landscape left by that Polar Vortex storm everyone was talking about last week. I was hoping that a thaw would be in full force, but everything still looked cold and encrusted in ice. The first place I went to was Sandy Hook, a barrier island in New Jersey facing New York City across Raritan Bay.
View of Sandy Hook Bay.
View of Sandy Hook shoreline, with an empty Osprey nest on the right.
View of Sandy Hook shoreline.
There were hardly any bird, just a few lonely gulls and three Sanderlings.
Sanderlings.
I drove around the old Fort Hancock, an abandoned Army fort, at the tip of Sandy Hook island.
Sandy Hook Lighthouse. It is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States.
There were some antique cannons, the biggest one shown below, and two Cold War era missiles.
Old cannon a Fort Hancock.
Cold War era missiles.
Leaving Sandy Hook I went to my familiar haunt, the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. All the ponds there were frozen as well, and snow had fallen the previous day.
Winter scene at Edwin B Forsythe NWR.
Another view of winter scene at Edwin B Forsythe NWR.
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.
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.
