Horseshoe Crab 2019

Tags

fortescue, horsehoe crab, nj, photography, postaday

Last week I went to Forstecue, NJ to see Horseshoe Crabs come ashore for their annual mating. The weather was cool and the tide high which may explain why there were not many Horseshoe Crabs to be seen. However, the birds were very busy feasting on the crabs’ eggs.

Shore birds eating eggs. A female Horseshoe Crab was surrounded by three males in photo center.

As usual some Horseshoe Crabs were upended and helpless on the beach.

Horseshoe Crab laying on his back.

Upended Horseshoe Crabs.

Birds eating Horseshoe Crab eggs at Fortescue, NJ.

Boat-tailed Grackle watching the feast.

Boat-tailed Grackle taking off.

Ruddy Turnstone flying away from beach.

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Oculus

Tags

Oculus, photography, postaday

Oculus is the name of the World Trade Center station in New York City completed in 2016. Today I went there for the first time to take photographs from different angles of the wonderfully striking building. However, I forgot to bring a spare battery for my camera, which cut drastically short that plan. In the end I was only able to take the following shots.

Oculus, outside.

Oculus.

Oculus.

Oculus, inside.

Oculus.

Oculus.

One of these days, I will have to make another trip to the city to take other photos of the rest of Oculus and the World Trade Center, with at least one spare battery.

Backyard Flowers

Tags

iris, photography, postaday, Viburnum plicatum

Irises and Viburnum are blooming in our backyard. Here are some shots of these spring flowers that come back year after year without any help.

Iris bud.

Iris.

Iris.

Viburnum plicatum flowers.

Miniature Horses 2019

Tags

miniature horses, photography, postaday

The South Jersey farm where miniature horses are raised has been on sale for a few years, so I was not too hopeful when I drove there to photograph them a few days ago. But they are still there, at least some of them, grazing peacefully on two lush fields covered with yellow flowers. As usual, the male and female horses were kept apart, separated by a wire fence.

A white mare saw me and approached, looking for a treat that I did not have! She looked very pregnant.

Very pregnant looking mare.

She came close to the fence, batting her eyelashes …

White mare.

I did not see any baby horse, perhaps because it is too early in the season? Meanwhile the male horses were grazing peacefully in an adjacent field.

Male miniature horse.

Male miniature horses.

Male miniature horses.

Miniature horses.

Male miniature horse.

More Longwood Gardens Flowers

Tags

allium, anthurium, carolina silver bell, foxglove, lilly, Longwood Gardens, photography, postaday

Here are more photos I took at Longwood Gardens last week, both inside the Conservatory and outside. There were many more flowers, but rain and time were the limiting factors to our visit.

Lilly.

Allium.

Allium.

Anthurium.

Foxglove.

Carolina Silver Bell.

Lilly.

Longwood Gardens Flowers

Tags

Abutilon Indian Mallow, Gesneriad, lollipop plant, Longwood Gardens, painted tongue, photography, postaday, powder puff tree, royal pelargonium

Longwood Gardens is a botanical garden in Pennsylvania about 75 miles (121 km) from our house. We took some friends there on a rainy day last week and saw flowers mainly in its Conservatory rather than in the many gardens extending over 1,077 acres (436 hectares). Here are some of the flowers that were most prominent and colorful.

Painted Tongue (Salpiglossis sinuata) a relative from Chile of petunias.

Flowers from the Powder Puff Tree (Calliandra haematocephala) from South Africa.

Royal Pelargonium.

Lollipop Plant (Pachystachys lutea).

Abutilon Indian Mallow.

Gesneriad, identified thanks to Eliza.

A Dozen Plus One

Tags

duckling, mallard, photography, postaday, sayen garden

A Mallard mother was leading her 13 ducklings around a small pond at the Sayen Garden in Hamilton, NJ.

Mallard and Ducklings.

She seemed very proud of her brood. They in turn enjoyed her tour, nibbling at plants in and out of the water.

Mallard and Ducklings.

Mallard and Ducklings.

Here are some closeups of the Ducklings.

Ducklings.

Ducklings.

Ducklings.

Ducklings.

Duckling: “Hi!”.

Mallards Up Close

Tags

colonial lake, mallard, photography, postaday

The fish are mostly gone from Colonial Lake. They were either eaten by Bald Eagles, Ospreys, and Cormorants, or humans fished them out of existence not too long after the state allowed fishing in mid March after stocking the lake with trout. The large raptors are now rarely seen at the lake. However, Mallards are plentiful and didn’t mind my coming close to them to take the following photos.

Male Mallard.

Female Mallard.

Some were strolling or marching down to the water as if they owned the lake, which they probably do.

Male Mallards.

Female Mallard.

Some male Mallards were completely brown from their neck down, and were perhaps hybrids of Mallard with some other type of duck.

Mallard, a hybrid perhaps.

Mallard, hybrid?

Green-winged Teal

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, green-winged teal, photography, postaday

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.

Spring Flowers

Tags

clivia, orchid, photography, postaday, tulip

Usually Monday would be reserved for monochrome photos, but yesterday some spring flowers were so vibrantly displaying their colors that an exception can easily be made for them. The tulips are from our garden, while the other two are plants we grow inside the house.

Tulips.

Clivia.

Orchid.

Silent Sunday

Tags

magnolia, photography, postaday, rock, silent sunday

Magnolias.

Rock.

Soaring Birds

Tags

bald eagle, colonial lake, photography, postaday, red-tailed hawk, turkey vulture

One afternoon, a Bald Eagle flew in and circled Colonial Lake several times looking for fish. It even dove toward the water once but still came up with no fish, but it provided good opportunities for photographing in the waning sun.

Bald Eagle at Colonial Lake.

Bald Eagle at Colonial Lake.

Bald Eagle at Colonial Lake.

A few weeks ago, a Turkey Vulture was also soaring above Colonial Lake for several minutes, looking for carrion in the nearby woods, or perhaps for dead fish dropped by the eagles.

Turkey Vulture over Colonial Lake.

It came down low enough for me to take a shot looking at its back. I did not see it catch anything.

Turkey Vulture over Colonial Lake.

Then a Red-tailed Hawk (tentative identification) also made its appearance.

Red-tailed Hawk over Colonial Lake.

Goslings 2019

Tags

canada goose, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, gosling, photography, postaday

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.

Silent Sunday

Tags

mallard, photography, postaday, Purple Finch

Purple Finch, male.

Purple Finch, female.

Mallard, female.

Notre Dame de Paris

Tags

notre-dame de paris, photography, postaday

Following are some photos of Notre Dame de Paris I took in 2014.

Notre Dame de Paris , March 27, 2014.

Notre Dame de Paris, March 26, 2014.

Notre Dame de Paris, March 26, 2014.

Notre Dame de Paris, March 27, 2014.

North Rose in Notre Dame de Paris, March 26, 2014.

Silent Sunday

Tags

american robin, colonial lake, mallard, mourning dove, photography, postaday, red-bellied woodpecker

Storm clouds.

Mourning Dove.

American Robin.

Mallards.

Mallards.

Mallards.

Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Butterflies (Yellow) Magnolias

Tags

butterflies magnolia, carolina chickadee, goldfinch, house finch, photography, postaday, Purple Finch, yellow magnolia

Our Butterflies Magnolia tree is in full bloom, covered with flowers and hardly any leaf.

Butterflies Magnolias.

Butterflies Magnolias.

I planted the tree near the bird feeder, which is why many birds perch on its branches while waiting for their turn. They also tend to land on it as a place to break apart the sunflower seeds they pick out from the feeder.

Carolina Chickadee.

Goldfinch.

Today I noticed some birds that resemble House Finches. Looking them up at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology web site, it turns out they are Purple Finches. These birds are losing out to the House Finches which came to the East Coast after they were brought to New York City in the 1950’s. Between 1966 and 2014, populations of Purple Finches have declined by 52%!

Male Purple Finch.

Female Purple Finch.

Male Purple Finch.

Here’s a photo of a House Finch on the same Magnolia tree.

Male House Finch.

Yellow Magnolia, Bluebird, Egg

Tags

bluebird, canada goose, egg, photography, postaday

Our yellow Magnolia tree flowers late, and has managed to attract Bluebirds for the second year in a row.

Bluebird on yellow Magnolia branch.

The Bluebird, or its partner, checked out one of the birdhouses I put up.

Bluebird checking out birdhouse.

However, there is no sign yet that the birdhouse is occupied by any bird.

Meanwhile, during a walk around Colonial Lake, I saw an abandoned Canada Goose egg on the ground, near the water. It was quite big, but there was no Canada Geese around it.

Abandoned Canada Goose egg.

Canada Goose egg.

One can see many Canada Geese at Colonial Lake, either swimming in the water or grazing onshore. I have no idea why this one egg was left out in the open with no mother goose tending it. Another mystery.

Mid-Week Monochrome – MWM -15 – Flowers

Tags

mid-Week Monochrome - MWM, photography, postaday

In answer to RyanPhotography challenge: https://ryanphotography.uk/2019/04/10/mid-week-monochrome-mwm-15-flowers/

Flowers.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

bald eagle, colonial lake, photography, postaday

Bald Eagle.

Bald Eagle.

Bald Eagle.

Bald Eagle.

Bald Eagle.

Bald Eagle.

April Showers …

Tags

magnolia soulangeana, Magnolia Stellata, photography, postaday, Saucer Magnolia, star magnolia

We received a good soaking of rain yesterday, while temperatures soared into the 70’s (20’s Celsius). The Magnolias trees outdid each another to bloom and open up their flowers. We have two trees and together they have thousands of buds opening up today.

Saucer Magnolias (Magnolia Soulangeana).

Saucer Magnolias (Magnolia Soulangeana).

A Star Magnolia (Magnolia Stellata) is normally the first one to bloom, but this year it yielded to the above trees.

Star Magnolia (Magnolia Stellata).

Star Magnolia (Magnolia Stellata).

Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata).

Star Magnolia (Magnolia Stellata).

Star Magnolia (Magnolia Stellata).

Silent Sunday

Tags

colonial lake, mallard, photography, postaday

Mallard landing.

Mallard landing.

Mallard landing.

Mallard landing.

Mallard landing.

Harbingers of Spring

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.

Sanderlings and Cat

Tags

barnegat lighthouse state park, cat, photography, postaday, sanderlings, tabby cat

A few days ago, a flock of Sanderlings appeared to be still sleeping around 9 AM on several boulders near Barnegat Ligthouse.

Sanderlings.

Sanderlings.

Later on I saw a Tabby Cat in a wooded area not too far from where the Sanderlings were. I have seen him several times for the past three years, roaming among the trees and bushes, perhaps stalking for prey. However, the Sanderlings usually kept by the beach, so maybe the Tabby Cat was after smaller birds.

Tabby Cat near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Inside, Outside

Tags

clivia, crocus, photography, postaday

Our Spring weather has so far brought us only cool temperatures. Flowers are blooming late, except inside the house.

Clivia growing and blooming inside.

Crocuses outside.

Silent Sunday

Tags

colonial lake, osprey, photography, postaday

Osprey hunting.

Osprey Diving.

Osprey diving.

Osprey caught fish.

Osprey with caught fish.

Osprey with caught fish.

Osprey with caught fish.

Double-Crested Cormorants

Tags

colonial lake, double-crested cormorant, photography, postaday

There are many Double-crested Cormorants at Colonial Lake. A few days ago, they took turns taking off and flying around the lake, sometimes right over my head. I had plenty of opportunities to practice camera panning to follow their flights.

Double-crested Cormorant.

Double-crested Cormorant.

Double-crested Cormorant.

Double-crested Cormorant.

Double-crested Cormorant.

Naturally all this flying around requires a lot of energy. I saw at least two Cormorants diving and coming up with fish that they promptly swallowed in a few seconds.

Double-crested Cormorants. The one on the left just came up with a big fish.

Double-crested Cormorant swallowing fish.

Early Spring Flowers

Tags

japanese andromeda, miniature daffodils, photography, pieris japonica, postaday, sayen park botanical garden, tete-a-tete

Our region does not have too many Spring flowers yet. A few days ago, I went to Sayen Park Botanical Garden, a local park famous for the many weddings that are held there. Most of the flowers were still in hiding. Even Hellebores were still low on the ground, and among the Narcissus, the only blooming flowers were miniature daffodils like Tete-a-Tete and Jetfire.

Miniature Daffodils: Jetfire.

Miniature Daffodils.

One the other hand, there were an abundance of clusters of Japanese Andromeda, Pieris Japonica, in long pendulous clusters of red and white. At least that’s what I think they are. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Japanese Andromeda.

Japanese Andromeda.

Northern Mockingbird

Tags

merrill creek reservoir, northern mockingbird, photography, postaday

Yesterday, after I arrived at a parking lot near Merrill Creek Reservoir in Harmony township, I heard what sounded like a dozen of birds singing lustily. Looking around I only saw a single bird perched up high on an electric wire.

It was a Mockingbird, a species with a unique ability to learn other birds’ songs and sing them day and night. In the following photos, you will see that its bill was almost constantly open as it went through its repertoire. A repertoire could include as many as 150 distinct songs, and may include two groups, one for spring and the other for autumn.

Mockingbird singing.

It was not shy and let me come very close to it before flying away and landing a short distance away.

Mockingbird singing.

Mockingbird singing.

Because they sang so well, in the 19th century people caught Mockingbirds and sold them as caged birds. This nearly led to their disappearance from parts of the East Coast.

Wood Ducks

Tags

colonial lake, photography, postaday, wood duck

Wood Ducks are among the most stunning ducks, rivaling Mandarin Ducks from Asia. I have been looking in New Jersey to photograph them for several years, going in vain to places where people have reported seeing them. Then yesterday, while I was taking pictures at Colonial Lake about 5 miles from home, I saw two ducks jump down from a tree onto the lake. It was a beautiful couple of Wood Ducks, and they were worth waiting for all this time!

As usual for ducks, the male Wood Duck was more striking, but the female was very pretty.

Female Wood Duck.

Male Wood Duck.

Male Wood Duck.

Male Wood Duck.

Female and male Wood Ducks.

Female Wood Duck.

Silent Sunday

Tags

bald eagle, colonial lake, photography, postaday

Bald Eagle.

Bald Eagle.

Red-Breasted Mergansers

Tags

photography, postaday, red-breasted merganser

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.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

bald eagle, brant, european starling, great blue heron, photography, postaday, ring-billed gull, snow geese

Brants.

Brant.

Snow Geese.

Great Blue Heron.

Bald Eagle.

Ring-billed Gull.

European Starling.

Mallards Landing

Tags

colonial lake, mallard, photography, postaday

This Mallard couple had a very long landing on Colonial Lake. I took a shot, but could not pick which cropped version is the better one to show. Let me know what you think.

1. Mallards landing.

2. Mallards landing.

Bald Eagle 2019 – II

Tags

bald eagle, colonial lake, photography, postaday, Trout

More photos of the Bald Eagles at Colonial Lake, NJ, taken three days ago.

Bald Eagle at Colonial Lake.

Bald Eagle at Colonial Lake.

Bald Eagle at Colonial Lake.

About a week ago, Colonial Lake was stocked with 170 Trout. That may explain why Bald Eagles have been coming there to fish, although other lakes in New Jersey were also restocked with Trout, mainly for recreation fishing by humans.

Bald Eagle holding a trout at Colonial Lake.

For some reason, the half-eaten fish fell to the ground (I did not know that until much later when I passed by the tree the Bald Eagle was on).

Bald Eagle at Colonial Lake, after half eaten fish fell to the ground.

Bald Eagle starting to fly away.

Weekend Photos

Tags

Chipmunk, cygnet, Eastern Blue Bird, Great Swamp, mute swan, photography, postaday, red-winged blackbird

I took the following photos today while visiting the Great Swamp of New Jersey, on a very windy and cold day. There were not too many birds or animals around, but some may be good eye candy for the weekend.

Eastern Blue Bird.

Red-winged Blackbird.

Mute Swan Cygnet.

A Chipmunk ran across my path then took refuge in a tree hole.

Chipmunk.

Male Bufflehead Courtship

Tags

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

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.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

dark-eyed junco, house finch, photography, postaday, white-breasted nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch.

Dark-eyed Junco.

House Finch.

Bald Eagle 2019

Tags

bald eagle, colonial lake, photography, postaday

As temperatures today climbed above 50 °F (10 °C), I went to Colonial Lake to see if the birds responded to the sudden warmth after a long winter. At first I only saw seagulls and Mallard ducks, then just as I got back into the car to go home, two Bald Eagles appeared! They flew around the lake.

Bald Eagle flying at Colonial Lake.

Then they went to perch on tree branches and looked down on walkers, joggers, and photographers. Apparently, they had caught and eaten some fish and were just happy to sit up high and enjoy the scenery.

Bald Eagle at Colonial Lake.

Bald Eagle at Colonial Lake.

Bald Eagle at Colonial Lake.

Female Buffleheads

Tags

bufflehead, photography, postaday

Buffleheads are among the smallest ducks, one with a large head relative to the body. A small group of them was swimming near the Barnegat Lighthouse a few days ago. These ducks live mainly in North America, but may be seen in some Western European countries and Japan, but only rarely.

Female Buffleheads near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Suddenly they took off flying toward the open sea.

Female Buffleheads near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Female Buffleheads near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Female Buffleheads near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Then they began landing on the water.

Female Buffleheads near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Here are two of them swimming around, watching the humans and the other ducks and loons.

Female Buffleheads near Barnegat Lighthouse.