20 Thursday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
It was 101 °F (38 °C) when I got out of work this afternoon. The following photos of a handsome Northern Cardinal who has been coming to our bird feeder is illustrative of the red hot summer we have been enduring over these past few days.
Northern Cardinal.
Northern Cardinal.
Cooling rains are coming this weekend.
19 Wednesday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
Tags
Blue Dasher dragonfly.
Blue Dasher dragonfly.
Blue Dasher dragonflies: two to tango.
16 Sunday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
This is in response to a challenge by Paula at the following link: https://bopaula.wordpress.com/2017/07/16/black-white-sunday-after-and-before-2/
White Lotus: converted to B&W.
White Lotus, original in color.
Which version do you prefer?
16 Sunday Jul 2017
Posted in barnegat, Photography
I’d rather be sailing, but the following sailboats are not mine. I only saw them last week as they left Barnegat Bay to go toward the Atlantic Ocean.
Sailboat at Barnegat Light. The motor boat came close, but not too close.
Sailboat in Atlantic Ocean near Barnegat Lighthouse.
Sailboat in Atlantic Ocean near Barnegat Lighthouse.
15 Saturday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
This morning started with fog, followed by rain, then finally sunshine. After making sure the sun was there to stay, I went to the lotus pond near our house to photograph this year’s flowers. There were not many yet, it’s still too early for them.
White Lotus with visitor.
White Lotus.
Lotus leaves. Note the two fishes at the bottom of the leaf on the left.
There were many dragonflies flying around the pond. The Eastern Amberwings darted here and there, their orange color contrasting sharply with the green lotus leaves.
Eastern Amberwing dragonfly.
15 Saturday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
Rudbeckia Prairie Sun is supposed to be deer resistant. However, they are now all gone, including buds that had not opened yet. At the height they were cut, I am suspecting that the deer ate them. All I have left is this picture, taken the day before they disappeared.
Rudbeckia Prairie Sun, before the deer ate them.
10 Monday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
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Yesterday, in late afternoon, Fawns came back to our backyard to graze and eat the still green fruit from our peach tree. They were not the only visitors.
Fawn.
Fawn.
Doe, Fawn, and Red Fox in the back.
Red Fox and Doe.
The Fawns were excited but did not run away.
The Red Fox perked up every time I pressed the shutter on my camera.
Red Fox.
Red Fox.
The Red Fox, with a peach in its mouth, suddenly took off and ran into the woods. My panning skills could be much improved, but you get the idea.
Red Fox with peach.
09 Sunday Jul 2017
Posted in barnegat, Photography
Yesterday at the end of the Barnegat Lighthouse jetty, a Great Black-backed Gull Seagull grabbed a good-sized crab from the ocean.
Great Black-backed Gull catching a crab. It brought the crab to shore and ate most of it within five minutes.
Meanwhile a Herring Gull hovered, looking for a similar lunch.
Herring Gull.
08 Saturday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
Tags
Bixby, bridge, Carmel, hoi an, new jersey, postaday photography, Princeton, viet nam, weekly photo challenge
URL for this challenge is: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/bridge/
Following are photos that I took of bridges in my travels.
Bridge over Carnegie lake in Princeton, NJ.
New River Gorge bridge near Fayetteville, WV.
Bixby bridge at dusk, south of Carmel, CA.
Japanese bridge in Hoi An, Viet Nam.
Bridge to nowhere, in South Jersey. There is no road on the other side, only a dirt path and weeds.
06 Thursday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
While photographing Rudbeckia Prairie Sun (see preceding post from yesterday), I noticed a much smaller flower, a Nasturtium commonly named Empress of India. Its red color was beckoning me, and here’s the resulting photo.
Nasturtium “Empress of India”.
05 Wednesday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
This Spring I planted from seeds a new flower called Rudbeckia Prairie Sun, a cousin of the Black-eyed Susan of yesteryear. It has started to bloom after only a few months, just like a Cosmos. Here are some shots of the stunning first bloom that eclipses all the Cosmos flowers in sheer beauty and vigor.
Rudbeckia Prairie Sun.
Rudbeckia Prairie Sun. In the background are Coreopsis Moonbeam flowers that have lived in the border for some 30 years.
Rudbeckia Prairie Sun.
Rudbeckia Prairie Sun.
02 Sunday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
It rained again last evening. Early today I went out and found our summer flowers in full bloom, still in the shade or gently caressed by rays from a sunrise that was not yet too hot. It was a feast for the eyes, and for my macro lens.
Asclepias Incarnata (Butterfly Weed).
Daylily.
Cosmos.
Nasturtium.
Cosmos.
Cosmos with landing insect helicopter.
Cosmos.
01 Saturday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
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I saw Cowbirds for the first time this year. They looked like House Finches, but were visibly bigger.
Female Cowbird.
Female Cowbirds are brood parasites, laying their eggs in other birds’ nests, and letting their children be raised by other birds. These new Cowbirds appeared with the bunch of House Finches that we usually see around our bird feeder, so maybe they had House Finches as surrogate parents and siblings.
Female Cowbird.
For comparison, here’s a shot of a male House Finch.
Male House Finch.
Because of their aggressive brood parasitism, Cowbirds are said to be a threat to other bird specie by overwhelming and outgrowing them
30 Friday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
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Late this afternoon, two fawns wandered through our backyard behind their mother, and laid down on the grass, innocent and with not a worry in the world.
Fawns.
They stayed there for long time, perhaps even settling in for the night. Tired of waiting for them to stand up and move around, I took a picture of one of our roses.
Knockout rose.
25 Sunday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
There seems to be a lot more juvenile birds in our backyard this year. They look young, and they are not too shy. They strike poses that exude youthful confidence and vigor.
Tufted Titmouse.
Tufted Titmouse: “Hey, you, Finches! I can fly too!”
Female House Finch.
Female House Finch.
Male House Finch.
Male House Finch: “What? You want me to jump now?”
Male House Finch: “Dive, dive!”
24 Saturday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
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For the past several years, I’ve been planting Cosmos flower seeds among our perennials to add some colors. The heat and the rain of the past few weeks have been perfect for them and they are starting to show up. Here’s the first one of the season.
Cosmos
18 Sunday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
It’s been raining off and on again, and getting very hot, well above 90 °F (32 °C), so I stayed home and went around the yard to see if there are any summer flowers to photograph. I was immediately attracted to a large blooming Southern Magnolia (Magnolia Grandiflora) flower.
Southern Magnolia flower. It was about 12 in (30 cm) across.
Closer look.
Southern Magnolia.
Since the flower was mostly white, I converted the above shot to monochrome. Which version do you prefer?
Southern Magnolia, monochrome.
11 Sunday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
Tags
blue flag iris, buttercup, eastern painted turtle, great swamp national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday, snapping turtle
Along the walkways at Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, I only had to look over the railings to see frogs, turtles, and beautiful wildflowers which added vibrant colors to the green (vegetation) and blackness (water) of the swamp.
(11-Jun-2017: Eliza Waters gave me pointers on the names of the turtles and flowers and I have updated this post accordingly.)
At first I thought this was a rock, but then it moved very slowly. It was a Snapping Turtle.
Snapping Turtle at Great Swamp.
There was another more recognizable Eastern Painted Turtle which only poked its head above the water. It was smaller than the one above.
Box Turtle at Great Swamp.
A handsome Green Frog was basking in the early morning sun.
Green Frog at Great Swamp.
Green Frog at Great Swamp, from another angle. A prince maybe?
A tiny but brilliant Buttercup growing on land at Great Swamp.
Blue Flag Iris at Great Swamp.
10 Saturday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge extends over the marshy remains of a large lake that existed in Northern New Jersey some 15,000 years ago. I don’t go there often, and today’s trip was the first in five years.
Great Swamp has wooden walkways so that you don’t have to muddy your shoes, and blinds to observe and photograph birds. However, the Barred Owl below was standing on a tree branch by one of the walkways, and it barely budged even though several people were pointing their scopes, smartphones, or cameras at it.
Barred Owl at Great Swamp NWR.
Barred Owl at Great Swamp.
The owl has beautiful black eyes needed to hunt at night, but this owl was probably taking a daytime nap.
Barred Owl at Great Swamp.
Eastern Phoebes is a songbird living in the East of North America, from Canada to Mexico. It is quite common and not on the endangered list. I saw this one from a blind at Great Swamp NWR.
Eastern Phoebe at Great Swamp.
Eastern Phoebe at Great Swamp.
07 Wednesday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
Lately our weather has been nothing but rain and clouds, so I have not gone out much, relying on the birds around our bird feeder to pose for photographs. They did not disappoint.
Goldfinch.
A moody House Finch.
Northern Cardinal.
House Finch.
Young female House Finch with stray feather.
This last one is not a bird, although it would like to be one to get at the food.
Squirrel at bird feeder.
04 Sunday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
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After building their nests, the House Wrens do not shy from singing their prowess to attract potential mates. Here are some shots of the House Wren that was so busy the other day amassing twigs for its nest.
House Wren singing, eyes closed.
House Wren in between songs.
House Wren singing from the top of birdhouse. Note the feet beating time!
House Wren singing from rooftop.
House Wren singing from oak branch.
03 Saturday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
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There are Red Foxes in a wooded corner of our backyard for many years now. A few years ago, there were six of them, but this year we only have two that I can see, a mother and her cub. Being Foxes, they are naturally shy and I had to take the following photos from about 300 ft (100 m) away. However, the evening sunlight was bright and directed perfectly at the spot.
Mother fox and cub running.
Mother Red Fox.
Mother Red Fox, probably telling her young one that those leaves were nothing worth worrying about.
Young Fox.
Mother, seated, and son.
02 Friday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
Tags
For several years, I’ve put up birdhouses in the hope of attracting Bluebirds. I must have placed them in the wrong places, because no Bluebird came, and only Chickadees and House Wrens have taken advantage of my birdhouses. Yesterday, I saw an energetic House Wren busy building its nest inside one of the birdhouses.
House Wren bringing twig to add to its nest inside birdhouse.
House Wren handling long twig.
House Wren and long twig.
House Wren, eyes half closed, cramming another twig into nest.
House Wren flying in nest material.
House Wren and another twig!
Air House Wren.
When will it stop bringing in more materials?
House Wrens are mostly plain brown, but they sing well and are one of the most common birds in North America and South America.
31 Wednesday May 2017
Posted in Photography
Marsh Marigolds.
30 Tuesday May 2017
Posted in Photography
The Sharp-shinned Hawk landed on a tree branch in our backyard, about 100 ft (30 m) away. It stayed there for a good ten minutes, allowing me to go get my camera, tripod, and set up. It was late evening on a cloudy day, forcing me to bump up the ISO to 1000, then to 2000.
Sharp-shinned Hawk. It was holding a twig in its beak, probably to build a nest somewhere in the woods.
Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Sharp-shinned Hawk.
29 Monday May 2017
Posted in Photography
Here are some monochrome photos to highlight this Horseshoe Crab season. Currently, the populations of Horseshoe Crabs, as well as of the birds that eat their eggs, Red Knots, Dunlins, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Ruddy Turnstone, are all supposed to be in decline. There is no single cause and probably many unknowns as well.
Female Horseshoe Crab, its outer shell encrusted with sea snails and other sea shells. She was trying to shelter under a bridge over Oyster Creek at Fortescue, NJ.
Dunlins eating Horseshoe Crab eggs. They must have found a food spot!
A good scratch: Ruddy Turnstone between feedings on Forstescue beach.
28 Sunday May 2017
Posted in Photography
Tags
Hamilton, nj, photography, postaday, saigon, sayen Gardens, water lily
Water Lily, taken in Sai Gon, Viet Nam last November.
Reflecting pool created by abundant rain in May at Sayen Gardens in Hamilton, NJ.
27 Saturday May 2017
Posted in Photography
Today was peak season for Horseshoe Crabs. I had never seen so many as evidenced by the following photos taken at Fortescue, NJ on the Delaware Bay.
Horseshoe Crabs coming ashore to mate.
Horseshoe Crabs on a bank of Oyster Creek that empties into Delaware Bay. Note Great Blue Heron at upper left.
The Great Blue Heron did not seem to join in the egg feast that other birds were indulging in.
Great Blue Heron on a bank of Oyster Creek at Fortescue, NJ.
A quarter mile of the beach was covered with Horsehoe Crabs and the birds eating their eggs.
A lady who was monitoring the beach to make sure people did not go near the birds told me that Horseshoe Crabs were late this year, probably because of cooler weather and abundant rain. However, migratory birds like the Red Knot landed in New Jersey at their regular time and could not find enough eggs to eat! They rely on the eggs to fuel themselves for their 9,000 mi journey (15,000 km), and alarms are going up about their fate this year. They are way underweight at the mid point of their migration.
Red Knot standing among Semipalmated Sandpipers.
Semipalmated Sandpipers eating Horseshoe Crab eggs.
24 Wednesday May 2017
Posted in Photography
Daddy Red-winged Blackbird: “Sonny, here’s how you begin. Lift your wings and start flapping them.”
Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird: “No, I won’t do that! I just want food!”
21 Sunday May 2017
Posted in Photography
Tags
This morning I found a thin layer of morning dew on our peonies.
White Peony.
White Peony.
Red Peony.
Red Peony.
21 Sunday May 2017
Posted in Photography
The Semipalmated Sandpiper is a small bird about 5 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm) or about the size of Piping Plovers. I found one among a band of Semipalmated Plovers near Barnegat Lighthouse two weeks ago.
Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Yesterday there were quite a few of them on the South Jersey shoreline.
Semipalmated Sandpiper. Note the partially webbed feet.
Semipalmated Sandpipers were among the subject of some research by a government agency in New Jersey. While they and other birds were feasting on Horseshoe Crab eggs, researchers captured some with nets. Then they were banded, measured, and blood samples were taken from them, among other indignities.
Semipalmated Sandpiper being banded.
Blood sample being tkane from Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Measurements.
Semipalmated Sandpiper being handled by researcher.
20 Saturday May 2017
Posted in Photography
Tags
The shores of South Jersey bordering Delaware Bay are where Horseshoe Crabs come ashore every May to mate. The female crabs lay eggs in the sand and the male crabs fertilize them. The eggs are a favorite source of food for many birds, particularly for Red Knots, those long-distance migrators that travel more than 9,000 miles (15,000 km) from Tierra del Fuego at the very end of South America to the Artic in North America.
So at this time of the year. there are literally thousands and thousands of shore birds, including Red Knots, at the South Jersey shore. To protect the birds the beaches are off limits to people for one month, from May 7th to June 7th, which meant I could only take pictures from a good distance away.
Small island off Fortescue, NJ, a typical scene at this time of the year.
Even in the above photo, you can see several Horseshoe Crab that got upended, laying on their backs waiting for the tide to help them get back on their feet. Many will eventually die if that does not happen, becoming another source of food for seagulls and other birds.
Horseshoe Crab trying to turn itself over. They can’t, and they need help from the waves.
Horseshoe Crab dying. It was still trying to move its feet.
Dunlins looking for Horseschoe Crab eggs buried in sand.
Shore birds, among them a Red Knot, eating eggs around female Horseshoe Crab half buried in background.
Ruddy Turnstones eatings eggs next to two Horseshoe Crabs.
Red Knot, long-distance migrator.
Typical scene at South Jersey shore in May. No people, just birds.
18 Thursday May 2017
Posted in Photography
Tags
I planted some Delphiniums this year, and the Spring rain has been really good for them. One of them has flowers with some of most vivid and prettiest blue colors.
Delphinium.
Delphinium.
Delphinium buds.
16 Tuesday May 2017
Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
Cee’s challenge is here: https://ceenphotography.com/2017/05/16/cees-fun-foto-challenge-all-one-color/
This was not easy, but here’s my interpretation:
Pink flowers.
13 Saturday May 2017
Posted in Photography
There is highway robbery, and then there is shore robbery. Early one morning two weeks ago, I saw a Sandpiper catching a clam on the seashore of Assateague Island in Maryland.
Sandpiper catching clam.
Sandpiper trying to open clam.
Out of nowhere, a Boat-tailed Grackle swooped in and stole the food.
Boat-tailed Grackle stole the clam.
A dejected Sandpiper left the scene.
I thought that was the end of it, but just as I turned away, another Grackle flew in, snatched the clam, and flew away.
Boat-tailed Grackle watching after another Grackle took the clam away.
13 Saturday May 2017
Posted in barnegat, Photography
Today is a rainy day, with up to 2 in (5 cm) of rain to fall all day long. It’s time then to show photos taken on a sunny day last week of an Oystercatcher named T2 and his companion, Lady Hamilton, as dubbed by the locals at Barnegat.
T2 standing on one leg.
T2 walking away.
Beautiful Lady Hamilton follows T2.
They went inside the restricted area of the beach, walked up the dunes and maybe toward their nest. Another blogger on WordPress said that this pair, together now for several years, has not yet managed to produce any offspring, but there could be hope for this year.
Oystercatcher are of national conservation concern, with several thousands living on the shore of Mid Atlantic states like New Jersey.
T2 and Lady Hamilton near their nest?
All these coming and goings under the watchful eye of Barnegat Lighthouse.
Barnegat Lighthouse.
09 Tuesday May 2017
Posted in barnegat, Photography
Semipalmated Plovers are very close to Piping Plovers in size and cuteness. They look similar but with different feather colors as you can see in the photos below. I found several dozen of them in the roped off area of the beach at Barnegat Lighthouse, with one or two Piping Plovers running through their midst.
Semipalmated Plover.
Semipalmated Plover standing on one leg.
Semipalmated Plover.
A crucial distinction is that the Semipalmated Plover is not considered endangered, with a population estimated to be about 200,000. There are fewer than 10,000 Piping Plovers.
Semipalmated Plovers.
08 Monday May 2017
Posted in barnegat, Photography
Piping Plovers are considered an endangered species, or they are at least on the verge of being so. That’s why a section of the beach and dunes at Barnegat Lighthouse is roped off from April to September. Signs placed at regular intervals warn that the area is a nesting site for them, and for two other kinds of shore birds, Black Skimmers and Least Terns.
Of course these cute little birds disregard the signs, and I have seen some running out to search for food on the beach and near the water. They look like cotton balls trotting up and down between the dunes and the waves.
Beach sign.
Piping Plover running down to shoreline.
Piping Plover running back to dunes.
Piping Plover.
07 Sunday May 2017
Posted in barnegat, Photography
A male Northern Cardinal will often court a female by offering her food. I have seen that behavior before, but today was the first time I managed to capture it in photos. This took place this morning in a small grove next to Barnegat Lighthouse.
A male Cardinal holding a seed in his beak.
He fed the seed to an appreciative female Cardinal.
A fraction of a second after the “kiss”.
06 Saturday May 2017
Posted in Photography
Today was supposed to be cloudy and rainy, but there was about an hour during which the sun burst through the clouds. I went to Sayen Park Botanical Garden, a local place filled with flowers and where many weddings take place from Spring to Fall. There was just enough time to take the following shots before the sky became menacing and the good light disappeared.
Yellow Iris.
Azaleas.
Bleeding Hearts.
Tulips were mostly gone, their leaves and stems cut to the ground, but some were still putting on a valiant show.
Tulip.
Tulip.
On the other hand, Rhododendrons were in their prime season.
Rhododendron.
