2018 Year of the Bird

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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.

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Thaw

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Female Long-tailed Duck.

Male and female Long-tailed Ducks.

Male Long-tailed Duck being photo bombed by a female.

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.