Rookery at Ocean City 4

Tags

bird paparazzi, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, yellow-crowned night heron

In the first post for this series 11 days ago, I posted pictures of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron tending to her five eggs. Yesterday, I went back there and saw that the eggs have become young chicks covered with down, barely able to stand up. There were about twenty photographers gathered on the sidewalk above the nest, all vying to take pictures of the herons.

As I got there, the male heron had just landed with a twig in his beak. The female will take it and add it to the nest.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron arriving with twig.

Female taking twig from male.

Female adding twig to nest.

There were five eggs, but I only see three chicks. I wonder what happened.

Female and chicks.

Mother heron proceeded to feed the chicks.

Female feeding chicks.

Afterwards, she spread out her wings to shield her children from the hot sun. She kept her eyes closed, perhaps taking a well-deserved nap.

Female shielding chicks from sun.

Following are pictures of the Ocean City Welcome Center and the bird paparazzi.

Ocean City Welcome Center.

Bird paparazzi.

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Monochrome Monday

Tags

lotus, monochrome monday, photography, postaday

Three Lotus leaves.

Lotus leaf.

Lotus leaf.

Lotus 2018

Tags

photography, postaday, lotus, white lotus

Here are some pictures of Lotus flowers taken yesterday at the pond near our house.

Sisyphus, in this case a bee holding up a Lotus flower.

White Lotus.

White Lotus.

White Lotus.

White Lotus framed by a nearby leaf.

White Lotus.

Dragonflies, Hummingbird Moth

Tags

blue darter, dragonfly, hummingbird moth, photography, postaday, red-tailed darter

I went to the Lotus pond again this year. It no longer has any pink or red Lotus, and now every flower is white. While taking pictures of the flowers, I noticed many dragonflies fluttering about and switched to photographing them.

As usual, there were many Blue Darters.

Blue Darter dragonfly.

Then a couple of dragonflies with a reddish orange tail flew by. I am going to call it a Red-tailed Darter, but if you know the correct name, be sure to let me know. It is about 30% larger than the Blue Darter, and I did not see them land on any plant or anything else.

Red-tailed Darter.

Then as I was taking a shot of a Lotus flower, a rare Hummingbird Moth flew toward it.

Hummingbird Moth.

Finally, a couple more shots of the dragonflies.

Blue Darter.

Red-tailed Darter.

Bee, Butterfly on Milkweed

Tags

asclepias tuberosa, bee, milkweed, monarch butterfly, photography, postaday

I have been planting milkweed (Asclepias Tuberosa) in our backyard for the past three years. It’s an easy plant, requiring virtually no care (note the weed in its name). A sunny afternoon found a bee and a Monarch butterfly on the milkweed.

Bee on milkweed.

Bee on milkweed.

Monarch laying eggs on milkweed.

Monarch, done laying eggs.

Rookery at Ocean City 3

Tags

Black-crowned Night Heron, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, red-winged blackbird, rookery

Black-crowned Night Herons are a major presence at  the rookery next to the Welcome Center at Ocean City, NJ. These birds hunt for their food starting at dusk, and their eyes are one of their most noticeable features.

Black-crowned Night Heron.

Immature Black-crowned Night Heron.

Despite their size these Herons are easily intimidated by the Red-winged Blackbird, a fierce defender of its territory. I saw a Blackbird chase a Heron into a tree.

Red-winged Blackbird and Black-crowned Night Heron.

Pursued by the Blackbird, the Heron tried to hide among the branches. Unfortunately, too many leaves shielded the small Blackbird from the camera.

Black-crowned Night Heron very wary of Red-winged Blackbird.

Black-crowned Night Heron.

Rookery at Ocean City

Tags

ocean city, photography, postaday, rookery, yellow-crowned night heron

Ocean City, NJ is a resort town in South Jersey on an island which can be reached via a causeway. Driving on the causeway, before arriving in Ocean City, there is a turn-off for a Welcome Center. From a sidewalk right next to the center, every Spring and Summer it is quite easy to take pictures of Herons, Ibises, Egrets, and many other birds that fly in from the South to breed and raise their chicks. The sidewalk is almost as tall as the rookery trees, so one can look down on their nests and watch activities from breeding to incubating and finally fledging just before the birds migrate South. The birds seemed unperturbed by all the human lookers and photographers.

I missed going there last year, and this year I only managed to get to the rookery this past weekend. It is late in the season, but I still saw a Yellow-crowned Night Heron nest with unhatched eggs. The tired-looking mother had just stood up to scratch herself.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

After some more preening, she tidied up the nest.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

Then she sat down and resumed incubating. The eggs should be hatching in a few more days.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

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

Snowy Egret.

Monday Monochrome – Daisy

Tags

daisy.monochrome, photography, postaday

Daisy – B&W

Daisy – Color version

Which version do you like better?

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.

Silent Sunday

Tags

photography, postaday, wild geranium

Wild Geranium.

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.

Silent Sunday

Tags

colonial lake, photography, Pink Evening Primrose, postaday

I don’t know the name of the following flowers. If you do, please tell me.

Update: I searched for this flower image on the Internet, and it’s a Pink Evening Primrose!

Pink Evening Primrose.

Pink Evening Primrose.

Pink Evening Primrose.

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.

Early Birds – 2

Tags

house finch, northern cardinal, photography, postaday

This evening, I tried to shoot more photos near the bird feeder, and surprised two birds, one full of color, the other blander.

A Northern Cardinal flew in and landed on a magnolia branch. It shook itself as if to get rid of some water, and that’s when I took this photo. He was one of the reddest Cardinals I have ever seen.

Northern Cardinal.

A young female House Finch did not see me until I took her picture.

Female House Finch.

Early Birds

Tags

blue jay, carolina chickadee, house finch, northern cardinal, photography, postaday

This morning, I went out on the deck and took pictures of the early birds that came for breakfast. Some looked very young, and they may be this year’s fledglings.

Blue Jay.

Northern Cardinal: “Peekaboo!”

Blue Jay: “I see you!”

Young male House Finch.

Young Carolina Chickadee.

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

Silent Sunday

Tags

barn swallow, photography, postaday

Barn Swallows.

Cuteness in Nature

Tags

canada goose, duckling, gosling, mallard, photography, postaday

For this hot weekend, here are some cool images of cute creatures in nature that I saw at Colonial Lake a few weeks ago.

Canada Goose Gosling.

Female Mallard and Ducklings.

Have a great weekend!

Red Peonies

Tags

peony, photography, postaday

The remnants of the first hurricane of this year, Alberto, is giving us a rainy day. Our peonies are laden with rain drops and most are bent down, except for the red ones that I went out to photograph this morning.

Red peony.

Red peony.

Red peony.

Red peony.

Last Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: All-Time Favorites

Tags

daily post weekly photo challenge, photography, postaday

The link for this final Weekly Photo Challenge is:

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/all-time-favorites/

Here are my submissions:

The Wave at Coyotes Buttes North.

From inside The Wave looking out.

Clashing waves.

More clashing waves.

Wavy and graceful lines imprinted on red sandstone by the forces of nature.

Ocean wave near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Mallards

Tags

colonial lake, mallard, photography, postaday

A male Mallard was landing near a female Mallard at Colonial Lake.

Male Mallard landing.

He looked very happy.

Male Mallard: “Hi sweetie!”

She was indeed a pretty Mallard.

Female Mallard.

Female Mallard.

Barn Swallows

Tags

barn swallow, fortescue, photography, postaday

Barn Swallows live under a bridge at Fortescue, NJ. While observing the Horsehoe Crabs, I saw these birds darting around the bridge. They were too fast for me to catch them in flight. After a long time, two of them decided to rest on wood pilings and calmly posed for pictures.

Barn Swallow, female.

Barn Swallow, female.

Barn Swallows.

Barn Swallow, male.

Memorial Day 2018

Tags

colonial lake, lupine, memorial day, photography, postaday, rhododendron

Some flowers I saw on a recent walk around Colonial Lake.

Lupine.

Rhododendron.

Horseshoe Crabs 2018 – 2

Tags

dunlin, horseshoe crab, laughing gull, photography, postaday, red knot, sanderling

Here are some more photos to give you an idea of what the annual Horseshoe Crab egg feast is like on the South Jersey shoreline.

Sanderlings and other birds near an upside down Horseshoe Crab.

Shore birds, including Red Knots to the left of image, waiting for Horseshoe Crabs eggs being spawned on the right.

Shore birds flying up as a Bald Eagle passed by.

Red Knots, Dunlins, Sanderlings eating eggs by upturned Horseshoe Crab.

A couple of Laughing Gulls had needs other than food to be met.

Laughing Gulls temporarily did not care for Horseshoe Crab eggs.

Northern Mockingbird

Tags

fortescue, horseshoe crab, northern mockingbird, photography, postaday

While watching the Horseshoe Crab egg feast at Fortescue, I saw several other kinds of smaller birds flying around. One of them was a Northern Mockingbird that openly paraded on the road.

Northern Mockingbird crossing the road.

Northern Mockingbird looking at intruder.

The bird was very active flying in and out of some bushes by the road. Inside one of the bushes was a juvenile waiting to be fed.

Juvenile Northern Mockingbird.

The adult fed the youngster several times, but I could not see whether it was with a Horseshoe Crab egg or not.

Northern Mockingbird feeding juvenile.

The juvenile kept asking for more as the adult contemplated what to do next.

Northern Mockingbird.

Finally it flew up to an electric wire, surveying the landscape.

Northern Mockingbird on electric wire.

Horseshoe Crabs 2018

Tags

fortescue, horseshoe crab, laughing gull, photography, postaday, red knot, sandpiper

This year I had to go twice to the South Jersey shore at Fortescue, NJ to photograph Horseshoe Crabs as they come ashore to mate. It rained heavily last weekend, and I had to shoot from the car quickly before the camera got wet.

Upturned Horseshoe Crab, still alive.

Red-winged Blackbird eating Horseshoe Crab eggs.

The second time was yesterday, with plenty of sunshine. There were tens of thousands of birds of all kinds on a stretch of the beach no more than a quarter of a mile (0.4 km) long.

Sandpipers, Laughing Gulls at the mouth of Oyster Creek. The rocks in the water are Horseshoe Crabs.

Red Knots depend on Horseshoe Crab eggs to replenish their energy during their long migration flight of 9,300 miles (15,000 km) from the tip of South America to the Artic. This year there were many of them, and they appeared well fed and in good shape.

Red Knots (orange breasts) on beach at Fortescue, NJ.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

photography, postaday, reflection, siberian iris

Siberian Iris.

Reflections.

Cedar Waxwing

Tags

cedar waxwing, colonial lake, photography, postaday

Cedar Waxwings are quite common birds native to North and Central America. They live all year round in our area. However, it was only until yesterday that I could photograph one. It was perched high on a branch by the water at Colonial Lake. A band of them were flying around eating insects. They are normally fruit eaters but there was no fruit to be found yet at this time of the year.

Cedar Waxwing.

Cedar Waxwing.

Cedar Waxwing flying away.

 

Lotus – 2014

Tags

lotus, photography, postaday

Recently I inadvertently deleted some old posts and images from 2014. Today, another in a long string of rainy days for this week, I went back to my archives and recreated the images below. It appears that there are some viewers who have been trying to look at the images, which happen to be Lotus flowers from a pond near our house.

Pink Lotus.

White and Pink Lotus.

Pink Lotus.

Gray Catbird

Tags

gray catbird, photography, postaday

For many years I wondered what kind of bird sounded like a cat mewing in our backyard. It could have been flying among the tree branches, but it wasn’t until last week at Colonial Lake that one stopped long enough to pose for a few photos.

Gray Catbird.

Gray Catbird.

Gray Catbird.

American Robins

Tags

american robin, colonial lake, photography, postaday

The American Robin shown below was making so much noise and movement that I had to take its picture.

American Robin, excited and shouting.

The target for its cries was another Robin, who watched it very nonchalantly.

American Robin, cool and relaxed.

Here are the two of them in one photo.

Two Robins.

Perhaps the shouting Robin was a juvenile clamoring for food, and the older bird did nothing, as a way of telling the younger one to go find its own worm. Just my guess.

Silent Sunday: Gone Fishing

Tags

fishing, lure, photography, postaday

Gone fishing.

Cheaper by the Dozen

Tags

colonial lake, duckling, mallard, photography, postaday

This Mallard had 12 ducklings following along it on a sunny morning near Colonial Lake..

Mallard and 12 ducklings.

I have more photos, but uploading them to WordPress has been very iffy lately, so the above will have to do for this Mother’s Day.

Sleeping In

Tags

canada geese, colonial park, goslins, photography, postaday

Humans often indulge in the luxury of sleeping in late on weekends, if they can. A few days ago at Colonial Lake, some Goslings were sound asleep on the bank of Colonial Lake around 9 AM.

Sleeping Goslings.

Sleeping Goslings.

Sleeping Goslings guarded by parents.

Dogwood: White and Pink

Tags

dogwood, photography, postaday

Blooming from mid Spring on, Dogwoods put their special imprint on nature’s beauty. I try not to miss taking their photos every year, and I don’t have to go far for them.

White Dogwood in backyard.

Pink Dogwood at Colonial Lake.