Long-tailed Ducks

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barnegat lighthouse, barnegat lighthouse state park, long-tailed duck, postaday

Last Monday I went to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park to photograph Long-tailed Ducks. There were two large groups of these ducks swimming in the ocean near the lighthouse. Estimates ranged from 100 to 300 ducks.

Despite their names, only mature male ducks have a very long tail curved at their backs. Female and immature male ducks do not have it.

Long-tailed Ducks: two males with long tails, and three females.

They are very good divers and are capable of foraging under water at depths up to 200 ft (61 m) to look for food, mainly invertebrates plucked from the bottom.

Long-tailed Ducks, with splashes showing those that have already dived into the ocean.

Long-tailed Ducks landing.

Long-tailed Ducks.

Two female Long-tailed Ducks.

Long-tailed Ducks, female on left, male on right.

A Day After Blizzard

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american robin, barnegat lighthouse, european starling, postaday, white-throated sparrow

Last week, a day after this year’s Nor’Easter blizzard, I went to the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge refuge, only to find that it was closed because there was too much snow to be cleared. I turned around and drove to the Barnegat Lighthouse. It was still very windy, cold, and the sea was rough.

Barnegat Lighthouse after blizzard.

There was a small patch of blue sky right above the lighthouse.

Blue sky over Barnegat Light.

A young White-throated Sparrow was braving the wind. It kept jumping around, but I finally managed to get a shot of it.

White-throated Sparrow.

There was a small park next to the lighthouse. It was loaded with snow.

Small park next to Barnegat Light.

Higher in a tree, an American Robin did not seem to be too affected by the weather.

American Robin.

European Starlings were flying around and landing here and there, asking to be photographed.

European Starlings, with one offering a juniper berry to the other.

As I started to go home, I saw a cheery sign for an art gallery.

Wildflowers Too! gallery.

Ruddy Turnstones

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barnegat lighthouse, photography, postaday, ruddy turnstone

I took the following photos of Ruddy Turnstones in January of this year near the Barnegat Lighthouse, but only now have I found the time to post them here.

Several groups of these birds were congregating on rocks covered with seaweed. Some slept, others were starting to look for food, but none cared the least about a photographer getting right above them. The early sun was shining bright, making it appear as if I was using a flash.

Ruddy Turnstones on top of seaweed.

Ruddy Turnstones, with one apparently yawning.

Ruddy Turnstone drill sergeant: “Up, everybody up!”

Ruddy Turnstone looking for something to eat.

Ruddy Turnstone looking for food.

Ruddy Turnstone pulling up seaweed.

Crab Cake

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, common loon, crab, photography, postaday

A few days ago, while I was photographing Long-tailed Ducks, there were two or three Common Loons swimming around the same area.

Common Loon swimming near Barnegat Lighthouse.

At one point, I heard a big crunching noise. Turning toward the source of the noise, I saw a Common Loon eating part of a crab that it had caught and broken apart.

Common Loon eating crab.

It practically swallowed that part, then dipped into the water and brought up several more parts to eat.

Common Loon eating crab.

Common Loon eating crab.

Common Loon eating crab.

Common Loon eating crab.

Common Loon eating crab.

After finishing the crab, it took a drink of water and tilted its head up to swallow it and perhaps the mashed up crab also.

Common Loon swallowing.

Long-tailed Ducks

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, barnegat lighthouse state park, long-tailed duck, photography, postaday

Long-tailed Ducks also breed in the Artic Coasts and winter in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic coast, although New Jersey, Delaware, and parts of Maryland are as far South as they will go. There were many of them yesterday near Barnegat Lighthouse. They swam back and forth during the time I spent there, providing many opportunities for photographs.

Male Long-tailed Duck near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Female Long-tailed Duck near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Female and male Long-tailed Ducks near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Just before I left, a male Long-tailed Duck flew around several times, at least three, calling out constantly, perhaps reminding all the other ducks that migration time was fast approaching. It was quite a show and a photographer’s dream.

Male Long-tailed Duck flying and calling near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Male Long-tailed Duck flying and calling near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Male Long-tailed Duck flying and calling near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Male Long-tailed Duck flying and calling near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Brants

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barnegat lighthouse, barnegat lighthouse state park, photography, postaday

A Brant is a relatively small goose that breeds on the Artic coasts of Western Siberia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland. In late fall, they migrate to Western Europe from Siberia. In North America, they fly down from Alaska and the upper reaches of Canada to the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, at times making non-stop flights that could be as long as 1,000 miles (1,600 km) or more. While the Pacific and European Brants have black bellies, the Atlantic Brants that I see have white ones.

Atlantic Brant.

Atlantic Brants near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Yesterday, as temperatures climbed to the 50’s (10 °C) I went to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park where the Brants put on quite a show in preparation for their impending flight back to their breeding grounds.

Atlantic Brant near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Atlantic Brants near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Atlantic Brants near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Atlantic Brants landing on water near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Long-tailed Duck

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, long-tailed duck, photography, postaday

Long-tailed Ducks breed in the Arctic parts of Canada and Alaska, and only migrate to the coast of New Jersey in the winter. Thursday of this week, I saw several near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Female Long-tailed Duck. Only the males have a long tail.

I could not photograph a male Long-tailed Duck swimming in the water, so here’s a photo of two males taken in 2016.

Male Long-tailed Ducks, immature in background and mature at center.

This past Thursday, there was a male that took off from the water as shown in the following flight shots.

Male Long-tailed Duck taking off.

Male Long-tailed Duck taking off. Noe the long tail in the back.

Male Long-tailed Duck taking off.

Male Long-tailed Duck flying.

These ducks are about half the size of Common Eiders, and their take off is shorter and quicker. Although there are no estimates of their current population, they are classified as Common Bird in Steep Decline as of 2014.

Common Eider Flight

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, common eider, photography, postaday

Since they are so big, Common Eiders take a long time to get airborne and fly, like Cormorants and Swans. Yesterday, one immature Common Eider put on quite a show.

Immature male Common Eider.

Immature Common Eider trying to take off.

Immature Common Eider trying to take off.

Immature Common Eider becoming airborne.

Immature Common Eider flying.

Common Eider

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, common eider, photography, postaday

In late fall, Common Eiders appear as far South as the coast of New Jersey. Yesterday several dozens of them were swimming along the jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse. They are the largest ducks, weighing from 2.5 to almost 7 lbs (1.1 to 3 kg).

Barnegat Lighthouse as seen from jetty.

It is not breeding season yet, so the males are not showing their distinctive and handsome colors.

Male Common Eider.

Female Common Eider.

Female Common Eider and two males.

There was some kind of hunting going on and I often heard sounds of gunfire coming from the other side of the bay. An immature Common Eider was sitting on a rock right next to the jetty. It would not move even as I came very close to it. A fellow photographer said that it may have been wounded by a shotgun pellet, could not move, and would probably die eventually.

Immature Common Eider, wounded perhaps.

In the 19th century, hunting almost wiped out this species in the Atlantic. However, their population has rebounded and Common Eiders are not on the list of endangered species.

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.

Thaw

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, island beach, photography, postaday

It was foggy at Barnegat Lighthouse yesterday, as you can see from the photo below. However, it was not cold, and the ice that covered most of the bay was starting to break up, helped along by two Coast Guard vessels.

Island Beach as seen from Barnegat Lighthouse.

There was a thaw indeed. In the two hours I was there, snow had retreated quite a bit from the sand, or was melting away even if the sun was hidden by clouds.

Melting snow.

Weekly Photo Challenge: 2017 Favorites – 3

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, great blue heron, photography, postaday, wave, weekly photo challenge

The URL for this challenge is: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/2017-favorites/

This is my third and final submission.

Great Blue Heron spearing a fish.

The following photo has not yet been published previously.

The eye of a wave near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Waves

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, photography, postaday, waves

The remnants of Hurricane Jose were way out on the ocean, but the weathermen predicted big waves for New Jersey shoreline, so I went there today. The waves were indeed more violent than usual, a little bit higher, but nowhere near the big Kahuna that surfers crave for.

Waves near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Waves near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Waves near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Waves near Barnegat Lighthouse.

I’d Rather Be Sailing

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, photography, postaday, sailboat

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.

Oystercatcher Couple

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, oystercatcher, photography, postaday

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.

Semipalmated Plover

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, photography, postaday, semipalmated plover

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.

Piping Plovers

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, photography, piping plover, postaday

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.

Juxtaposition

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, black cherry, fishing, photography, postaday

I took the following photos near Barnegat Lighthouse within a few minutes of each other. Now seen side by side, there are some similarities between them, even though the subjects could not be more different.

Black Cherry flowers.

Fishing at Barnegat Lighthouse.

Scarlet Tanager

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, photography, postaday, scarlet tanager

Last Sunday I saw a vivid flash of orange fly by as I walked along a trail next to Barnegat Lighthouse. It was a male Scarlet Tanager, the first time I saw one. It kept jumping from branch to branch, even spending some time on the ground. It had to be one of the most handsome birds in the Northeast United States. Because it was so active, I had trouble focusing and only two shots turned out well enough to post here.

Scarlet Tanager.

Scarlet Tanager.

Flying Gull

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, jonathan livingston seagull, photography, postaday, ring-billed gull

Somehow the following photo reminded me of the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, who became famous 47 years ago when the book by the same name was an instant best-seller in 1970. Do people still read it now?

Ring-billed Gull flying near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Loon, Long-Tailed Duck, Red-Breasted Mergansers, Mallards

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, common loon, long-tailed duck, mallard, photograpy, postaday, red-breasted merganser

A week ago at the Barnegat Lighthouse, many people came to walk along the beach, as it was sunny and the wind was bearable, especially if one wore a good winter jacket or coat.

Barnegat Lighthouse on January 1st, 2017.

Along the jetty, but away from the swift currents that Harlequin ducks preferred, there were three other kinds of ducks or waterbirds swimming and diving calmly for food.

Common Loon, a large waterbird in its non-breeding colors.

Long-tailed Duck. This kind of duck can deep dive up to 200 ft (60 m). This one was just looking around and enjoying the sun.

Red-breasted Mergansers, a rather large duck compared to the well-coiffed Hooded Mergansers that I photographed last year.

Earlier in the day, I saw a pair of Mallards dabbling for food at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge which has been practically closed due to road repairs for at least half a year now.

A pair of Mallards. They don’t dive and just dabble for food near the surface of the water.

Harlequin Ducks 2017

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, harlequin ducks, photography, postaday

Today, the first day of 2017, I went to the Barnegat Lighthouse jetty to find Harlequin ducks. For years, they have chosen that place as their favorite Winter playground because the current is swift along the jetty rocks, and also because there must be a lot of mollusks and crustaceans for them to eat.

Today the sun was finally shining bright after a long string of gloomy days. The Harlequin were out in force, at least a dozen of them, swimming, diving, and the males trying to pair off with several females. They were so busy that they did not mind several photographers hovering nearby taking their pictures. I was able to come quite close to them without scaring them away.

Male Harlequin at Barnegat Lighthouse jetty.

Male Harlequin.

Male Harlequins.

Male Harlequin beginning dive for food.

Two male Harlequins diving.

Harlequins. The female is the second duck from the right.

Male Harlequins deciding on which female to court. The two females are at right of picture.

Lighthouse and Sanderlings

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, long beach island, photography, postaday, sanderlings

Barnegat Lighthouse at the north end of Long Beach Island in New Jersey is well known and usually looks pretty much like in the following photo.

Barnegat Lighthouse

Today, I stood at its feet and pointed my camera up toward the top of the structure.

Barnegat Lighthouse, a different perspective

Half a mile away, Sanderlings were congregating on the shoreline, flying in and out as the surf pushed them around.

Sanderlings

Sanderlings in flight

Sanderlings landing

Before the Storm

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, hermine, photography, postaday

Tropical storm Hermine is coming toward our area in the next day or two. This morning I went to Barnegat Lighthouse and walked from there to the beach fronting the Atlantic Ocean. Many people were fishing, while parents, children, and even some dogs, were strolling along the beach, trying to enjoy this last weekend before school starts again next week.

It was very windy and going toward the water was harder than usual. The wind was blowing sand and droplets of water on everyone. I tried to protect my camera and lens as much as possible, and hurried to take the following shots before the elements got too destructive.

End of jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. The small steel tower at the end of the jetty was constantly struck by high waves crashing against it.

Another view of the end of the jetty in a momentary calm minute. The tower is probably 20 ft (6 m) high.

Waves on the beach at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park.

Beach front at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. Note the 2-foot drop shoreline already carved out by the waves.

Looking back at Barnegat Lighthouse. These were thousands of swallows flying near a fresh water hole on the beach. They are those black dots on the lower right of the photo.

 

Long-tailed Duck

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, long-tailed duck, photography, postaday

On the inland side of Barnegat Lighthouse some thirty Long-tailed Ducks were foraging for food. They are the same size as the nearby Harlequin Ducks. They swam back and forth, diving frequently for what seemed like a long time. They are reputed to be capable of reaching depths up to 200 ft (60 m). They live near the Artic and winter on the East Coast. Only the males have the distinctive long black tail that curves upward.

Male Long-tailed Ducks.

A pair of Long-tailed Ducks. Female is on the right.

Immature male Long-tailed Duck.

Male Long-tailed Ducks.

Male Long-tailed Duck, immature male on the left.

Sailboats

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, harlequin duck, photography, postaday

When Harlequin Ducks preen and groom themselves, they go through deliberate contortions which create peculiar sights. I thought of sailboats when I saw this duck.

Harlequin sailboat.

Moving slightly to the left, he can be seen working diligently behind his wing.

Intense preening. Must have been some itch!

Other Harlequins were even more vigorous.

Wing flapping, perhaps to shoo a rival away?

Mostly they were peaceful and just swam around, diving occasionally for food. When that happens you may be looking at Harlequins one moment, and a second later there would be nothing but water.

Two male Harlequins.

Female Harlequins are not as colorful as their male counterparts, appearing mostly brown, with some white patches.

Beautiful female Harlequin.

Handsome male Harlequin.

In a few weeks they will be going back way up North, closing this chapter on Harlequin sightings during the 2015-2016 winter season at the Barnegat Lighthouse.

Barnegat Lighthouse.

Harlequin Ducks

Tags

barnegat lighthouse, harlequin duck, photography, postaday

The waves around the jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse in New Jersey are the favorite winter playground for Harlequin Ducks that come down from Greenland and Iceland. With their unique coloring and markings these ducks stand out from all ducks and photographers don’t walk but run toward them as soon as somebody points out their location.

Last Sunday was my lucky day. There were many Harlequins in several places along the jetty, the sun was shining brightly over everything, and I was able to get some really close shots of these ducks.

Five Harlequin Ducks near Barnegat Lighthouse.

Female Harlequin Duck.

Male Harlequin Duck.

Female Harlequin Duck.

Trio of Harlequin Ducks. Female is at right.