14 Saturday May 2022
Posted in EBF Refuge, Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Tags
bald eagle, Black-crowned Night Heron, canada goose, Forster's Tern, great egret, postaday, purple martin, snowy egret, white ibis, yellow-crowned night heron
I have been saving photos of birds over the past several weeks, waiting for an opportunity to post them. Here are most of them, in no particular order.
26 Saturday Jun 2021
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Tags
Black-crowned Night Heron, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, yellow-crowned night heron
Night heron babies are not among the cutest by any stretch! They do grow up to be very handsome adults, and require a lot of feeding for that. That’s why their parents come back every year to the rookery which is surrounded in all directions by an ocean brimming with crustaceans and fish.
In a nearby nest, a Black-crowned Night Heron juvenile was going through the same hunger pains.
19 Saturday Jun 2021
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Tags
Black-crowned Night Heron, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, yellow-crowned night heron
Last year I missed going to the rookery right next to the Ocean City Welcome Center in Cape May County at the southern end of New Jersey. Three days ago, I went there in mid season. The rookery was filled with many birds, some I had never seen before.
The night herons have built nests, incubated their eggs and some were busy raising the young ones. There were probably some nests well hidden behind tree branches and leaves, with eggs that had not hatched yet.
The night herons, as their names imply, are most active after dusk when their eyes serve them well. During the day they appear somnolent, almost lethargic, which of course is good for photography as they can hold their poses for a long time.
These herons migrate long distances to their nesting grounds in New Jersey, and they do look impressive in flight.
23 Sunday Aug 2020
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
A few days ago, I went to the rookery next to the Welcome Center in Ocean City, NJ. It is quite late in the breeding season and most of the newborn herons, as well as their parents, have migrated. However, a handful were still around for pictures.
Black-crowned Night Heron.
Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron.:”Wake me up when this Covid stuff is over …”
22 Saturday Dec 2018
Posted in Photography
Tags
Black-crowned Night Heron, golden retriever, gosling, great blue heron, great sand dunes national park, lotus, northern cardinal, osprey, photography, postaday, squirrel
The following photos are some of the favorites that you, my WordPress readers, have either liked the posts where they were posted in, clicked on their images to see them in larger size, or mentioned them in your comments.
Northern Cardinal, June 2018.
White Lotus, August 2018.
Ospreys, June 2018.
Goslings, May 2018.
Black-crowned Night-Heron, August 2018.
Great Sand Dunes National Park, October 2015.
Great Blue Heron, December 2018.
Squirrel, October 2018.
Jackie, the Golden Retriever, and frisbee, April 2018.
21 Tuesday Aug 2018
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
On a drive around Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, I saw a sleepy Black-crowned Night-Heron right by the side of the road. It watched me warily but did not fly away immediately.
Black-crowned Night-Heron.
Another shot before it flew away.
Black-crowned Night-Heron.
This page header photo is from an image taken in July of this year.
07 Tuesday Aug 2018
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Two weeks ago, while the paparazzi were clustered around a nest with new chicks, I saw a Black-Crowned Night Heron fly to the marshes at low tide. These birds, as their name implies, normally feed in the evening, but this one was going to have lunch by pulling out worms from the sand.
Black-Crowned Night Heron landing on marshes.
Black-Crowned Night Heron catching sand worm.
Black-Crowned Night Heron eating sand worm.
The heron ate at least half a dozen worms.
Black-Crowned Night Heron posing one last time before flying back to the rookery.
21 Saturday Jul 2018
Posted in Photography
Tags
Black-crowned Night Heron, Forster's Tern, glossy ibis, mocking bird, photography, postaday, snowy egret
Here are some photos of flying birds that I’ve taken over these past several weeks.
Black-crowned Night Heron.
Mocking Bird.
Two Glossy Ibises.
Forster’s Tern.
Snowy Egret.
11 Wednesday Jul 2018
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
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.
16 Monday Oct 2017
Posted in Photography
The American Bittern is a medium-sized heron that is supposed to be elusive, even secretive. Yesterday I thought I saw one, but Observer, see comment below, pointed out that this is not an American Bittern, but a Black-crowned Night-Heron, probably a juvenile one. It was standing out in the open on a wooden beam by the side of Wildlife Drive at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Maybe it was relatively early in the morning, as it allowed me to come within 20 ft (6 m) of it to take these up-close pictures. It stood still in one pose, so the dozen shots I took are almost all identical.
Black-crowned Night-Heron.
Close up of Black-crowned Night-Heron head.
27 Tuesday Dec 2016
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Going through my files from this past June, I found the following series showing a Red-winged Blackbird dive-bombing a Black-crowned Night Heron that had strayed too close to its nest. This all happened in less than a minute near the Ocean City Welcome Center in New Jersey.
Red-winged Blackbird dive-bombing Black-crowned Night Heron.
Red-winged Blackbird lifting up for another dive!
Red-winged Blackbird chasing Black-crowned Night Heron.
Black-crowned Night Heron landing. Note gap on its back.
Black-crowned Night Heron: “OMG, what was that?!”
23 Sunday Oct 2016
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Tags
atsion, Black-crowned Night Heron, cassidy arch, curlew, garrapata, marked godwit, photography, postaday, potash
Busy preparing for an upcoming long trip, I have not had a chance to go out and take any photo. The following images were taken many months ago, but have not yet been published on these pages. There is no rhyme or reason to them, just interesting shots of landscape and wildlife that I have seen.
Long-billed Curlew on Moss Landing beach in California.
Marbled Godwit at Moss Landing, CA.
Eagle taking off at Garrapata State Park, CA.
Controlled burn at Atsion, NJ.
Cassidy Arch at Capitol Reef National Park.
Black-crowned Night Heron at Ocean City, NJ.
Unidentified flower at Sayen Gardens, NJ.
Potash mine ponds at Dead Horse Point State Park, UT.
26 Sunday Jun 2016
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Tags
Black-crowned Night Heron, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, rookery, yellow-crowned night heron
Yesterday the rookery next to Ocean City Welcome Center was very busy, with photographers and birds. The former brought their long lenses firmly anchored to bulky tripods, or to study arms. The latter, especially the younger ones, were up to their natural feistiness.
Black-crowned Night Heron.
I tried to shoot a few bird-in-flight pictures, but ended up discarding most of them. Below is one of the better images.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron in flight.
Two juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron did not let up on their play acting, and I saw that other young ones in nearby nests were behaving likewise. Perhaps it’s a part of their growing up, preparing themselves for an independent life in a few more weeks,
Young Yellow-crowned Night Herons. I don’t know why the one on the right was showing his throat.
The one on the left promptly responded.
Young Yellow-crowned Night Heron on left: “Keep it closed, capice?”
15 Wednesday Jun 2016
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
This past Sunday, as I stood by the side of the Ocean City Welcome Center to photograph Night Heron nests, there were many herons flying in and out of the rookery every few minutes. I tried to swing my camera around and aimed at them, but they were so fast that I never knew whether I managed to capture any of them. Actually, I did miss most of them, but the following somehow came out rather well.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
Black-crowned Night Heron.
Same Black-crowned Night Heron, a fraction of a second later.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron carrying a stick back to nest.
This Grackle had just landed in a tree. It had some kind of berries in its beak.
12 Sunday Jun 2016
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center
Tags
Black-crowned Night Heron, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, yellow-crowned night heron
The Night Heron hatchlings from last week are now wide awake, clamoring for attention and food. You can see them in the following photos and the two short videos at the end of this post.
Newborn Yellow-crowned Night Herons.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron mother: “Open wide!”
One Yellow-crowned Night Heron nest still had a few more eggs to hatch.
I finally located a Black-crowned Night Heron nest.
Black-crowned Night Heron and hatchlings. The video is right below.
The following video shows activities at a Yellow-crowned Night Heron nest.
05 Sunday Jun 2016
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Tags
Black-crowned Night Heron, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, yellow-crowned night heron
Yesterday was the first time I used my camera to shoot a short video of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron tending to its babies in their nest. It is a little noisy, but here it is anyway so that you can see the interaction between mother and babies.
Going through my files from yesterday, I found one of an immature heron, probably a Black-crowned Night Heron.
Immature Black-crowned Night Heron.
And here’s one of an adult heron carrying a twig.
Black-crowned Night Heron.
04 Saturday Jun 2016
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Tags
Black-crowned Night Heron, glossy ibis, great egret, hatchling, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, yellow-crowned night heron
As predicted, the eggs in the Night Heron nests have begun to hatch. I went to the Ocean City Welcome Center today to look at them, and saw little balls of fur moving while the parents were busy preening or redecorating their nests.
Yellow-crowned Night Herons with new hatchlings in nest.
Yellow-crowned Night Herons planning redecoration.
At another nest, the male heron brought a twig back.
Female heron: “What took you so long?” Note that one egg still had not hatched.
Male heron passing twig to female.
While he flew away to look for other twigs, she tidied up their nest.
At yet another nest, no eggs had hatched.
All the eggs were still whole.
There were many other birds around the herons. I only managed to get shots of Ibises and Great Egret.
Great Egret throwing up food.
Several Glossy Ibises were flying around. Maybe they also had nests in the rookery.
Black-crowned Night Heron. They also had nests but those were well hidden in the rookery trees.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron on the hunt.
30 Monday May 2016
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Tags
Black-crowned Night Heron, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, yellow-crowned night heron
Yesterday I went back to Ocean City Welcome Center to check on the Night Herons, both Yellow-Crowned and Black-Crowned kinds. They now have eggs, and this was the first time I was able to photograph bird eggs in their nests.
Yellow-Crowned Night Heron eggs. The parents left them untended for about a minute.
Yellow-Crowned Night Heron re-arranging nest.
Yellow-Crowned Night Heron breaking another branch to add to nest.
Black-Crowned Night Heron with eggs.
Black-Crowned Night Heron with eggs.
In case your are wondering, here’s a picture of Ocean City Welcome Center.
Ocean City Welcome Center.
And here’s a shot of the place from where I’ve been photographing the Night Herons.
Observation railing at Ocean City Welcome Center. Two photographers are in the picture, one at the railing, and another walking in the shadows on a path below.
Finally, a photo of a Night Heron incubating.
Yellow-Crowned Night Heron incubating.
Incubation lasts up to 25 days, so next week, there may be new hatchlings.
23 Saturday Apr 2016
Posted in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography
Tags
Black-crowned Night Heron, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, rookery, yellow-crowned night heron
The Welcome Center in Ocean City, NJ is right next to a rookery with many kinds of birds, including Yellow-crowned Night Herons. These herons are active during daylight hours, in contrast to the Black-crowned Night Heron that are nocturnal. The herons arrived a little over two weeks ago, but within a week they had been busy courting, choosing their partners, and building nests. I took the following photos last Sunday.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron standing next to a nest, thinking about what else could be added to it.
As a female Yellow-crowned Night Heron works on her nest, a male approaches.
“Move over, I want to help!”
He tried to impress her with a display of feathers.
At another nest, a male Yellow-crowned Night Heron brought a branch to add to the nest.
Meanwhile the Black-crowned Night Herons were starting to wake up.
Black-crowned Night Heron. “Those yellow-crowned cousins sure make a lot of noise!”
Black-crowned Night Heron:”Yeah, what’s all the fuss about?”
10 Sunday Apr 2016
Posted in Photography
Black-crowned Night Herons winter in Mexico and further South, coming North to breed when Spring comes. I was told by a fellow photographer that they migrate to Ocean City, NJ, about 20 miles South of Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge where I usually go.
This morning I went to the Ocean City Welcome Center which opened 3 years ago and is becoming famous for its population of Black-crowned Night Heron. It had snowed the day before, but they were there, about two dozens of them, most perched on tree branches. They were half asleep since they are normally only active at night. I had never seen them until today, so these are my first shots of this kind of heron.
Black-crowned Night Heron at Ocean City Welcome Center. Note snow on the ground.
Black-crowned Night Heron at Ocean City Welcome Center.
Black-crowned Night Heron at ocean City Welcome Center.
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron at Ocean City Welcome Center.
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