2021 Images in Review – Part 4

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, egret, Fish Crow, great blue heron, great egret, postaday, red-winged blackbird, yellow-rumped warbler

I have looked many times at the following image of a Red-winged Blackbird chasing a much bigger Fish Crow away from the vicinity of its nest. It was actually chasing two Fish Crows, but only one was caught by the camera. Gumption and tenacity are words that apply well to the Red-winged Blackbird.

Red-winged Blackbird chasing Fish Crow.

This year, one big bird was everywhere around the refuge. I shot many pictures and even have one post dedicated to it, Great Blue Heron. However, the following monochrome shot was liked by many.

Great Blue Heron.

In November, I saw Yellow-rumped Warblers for the first time. They were eating Juniper berries and did not fly away allowing me to take many shots. Here are two more unpublished until today.

Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Hundreds of egrets stay at the refuge almost year round from the end of February until December. They spend their time fishing, and sometimes fighting each other, jumping up like ballet dancers.

Great Egret with a great catch.

Great Egrets fighting.

With so many egrets and other birds , I sometimes wondered whether there ever is enough fish for them. One day a few weeks ago, I looked down into a shallow part of the refuge and saw thousands and thousands of fish swimming around, with not a bird in sight.

Young fish swimming in shallow water.

This concludes this 2021 Images in Review series. I wish all of you a Great and Happy New Year in 2022!

2021 Images in Review- Part 3

Tags

Big Eyes Butterfly., Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, monarch butterfly, postaday, sayen Gardens, snowy egret, sunflower, wildlife drive

I planted small sunflower plants this year. The deer left them alone since they had so much else to eat. The one below adorned a side of our driveway.

Sunflower.

In the spring and early summer Sayen Gardens was the ideal place for photographing flowers. One day, their pond looked milky white (I don’t know why) and the few plants showing through the water got an unusual and striking background. The following shot is in monochrome.

Conifer in pond at Sayen Gardens.

My year-round favorite place is the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. In these days of coronavirus, it is the perfect place to find fresh air and solitude. Audubon groups of birdwatchers with their binoculars came there almost every day, but they tended to congregate at places near the entrance to the refuge. I prefer to drive on the 8-mile long Wildlife Drive.

Some of Edwin B. Forsythe NWR marshes as seen from Wildlife Drive.

In the summer familiar, and sometimes unusual, butterflies abound along Wildlife Drive.

Monarch butterfly with damaged wing.

Big Eyes, a butterfly I had never seen before.

Egrets were in abundance at the refuge and provided many photo opportunities.

Snowy Egret.

Snowy Egret in monochrome.

Saturday Miscellaneous

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great blue heron, great egret, green-winged teal, Northern Shoveler, postaday, ruddy duck

I shot the following photos over the past several weeks. The birds and ducks shown are some of the usual visitors to the refuge during fall and winter.

Great Blue Heron waking up.

Green-winged Teal.

Ruddy Duck.

Northern Shovelers.

Female Northern Shoveler.

Ring-billed Gull.

Great Egret caught a fish.

Peregrine Falcon

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Peregine Falcon., postaday

Peregrine Falcons stay year-round along the ocean in New Jersey. I see them occasionally but usually they fly too fast for a good photo. In the fall they make a habit of perching themselves on nests that Ospreys abandon when they migrate to warmer climates. Two days ago I saw a Peregrine Falcon on Wildlife Drive at the refuge, surrounded by several cars like mine.

Peregine Falcon.

Like a fashion model, it knew how to pose and obligingly turned its head for another shot.

Peregine Falcon.

Finally too many cars had stopped, and it flew to another Osprey nest on the other side of the road and turned its back on all the humans.

Peregine Falcon.

Then it flew away very fast.

Peregine Falcon.

Great Blue Heron

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great blue heron, postaday

Yesterday the refuge was mostly deserted. Only a few white egrets remained, the rest having migrated just before the cold arrived. However, there were many ducks which come and stay during the colder months, and Great Blue Herons which do not migrate. I found several of them as soon as I arrived and, when the light was right, got the following shots.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Herons. The heron in the foreground was about to take off.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron.

Silent Sunday

Tags

bufflehead, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday

Bufflehead turning.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, juniper berry, postaday, yellow-rumped warbler

Yesterday, driving along Wildlife Drive I saw several birds jumping in and out of a juniper tree on one side of the road. I stopped and took photos of Yellow-rumped Warblers, birds which are quite abundant in the fall as they eat the plentiful berries on the juniper. These birds normally eat insects but in the fall they love the juniper berries which are too bitter for human consumption.

Young Yellow-rumped Warbler eating juniper berries.

Yellow-rumped Warbler with a juniper berry.

Reaching up.

Make no mistake about it, it’s a yellow-rumped warbler.

Yellow-rumped Warbler.

I think they were female warblers. Some took time to look at the photographer.

“Make sure you tell them how pretty I am!”

Female Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, even if you are not in the US.

Monochrome Monday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, postaday

A flying Great Egret seems to be a good subject for Monochrome Monday.

Great Egret.

Great Egret.

Great Egret.

Great Egret.

Great Egret.

Silent Sunday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, postaday

Great Egrets.

Great Egrets.

Great Egrets.

Taking Off

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, postaday

A Great Egret was taking off at the refuge.

Silent Sunday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great blue heron, mute swan, postaday, ring-billed gull

A corner of Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Mute Swan.

Great Blue Heron.

Ring-billed Gull.

Bald Eagle

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday

This morning a Bald Eagle perched on an abandoned Osprey nest was surveying the marshes.

Bald Eagle on Osprey nest.

It looked directly at me as I got out of the car to take its picture.

Bald Eagle looking directly at photographer.

I took a few shots and turned away. At that instant it flew up in the air and I missed most of the flight shots, except for the following.

Bald Eagle preparing to dive.

It tried to catch something, but missed it.

It flew up.

Bald Eagle banking.

Bald Eagle flying away.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, lesser yellowlegs, postaday

The other day, when I arrived at the refuge a flock of several hundred birds flew up into the sky as if they were starting to migrate. They did not look like Canada Geese, and could have been Lesser Yellowlegs starting their migration to warmer places. Please let me know if you can identify them as another kind of bird.

Migrating Lesser Yellowlegs.

Migrating Lesser Yellowlegs.

A closer look at migrating Lesser Yellowlegs.

Flying

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Forster's Tern, great blue heron, postaday

A pair of Terns looking for fish.

Great Blue Heron patrolling the marsh.

Great Blue Heron soaring.

Fighting Egrets

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, great egret fighting, postaday

Two Great Egrets were fighting at the refuge. I have seen them do that before, with most “fights” lasting a few seconds. The following lasted almost a minute, over several bouts in succession until everything quieted down. Were they competing for territory, or for some female egret?

Great Egrets fighting.

Great Egrets fighting.

Great Egrets fighting.

Great Egrets fighting.

Great Egrets fighting.

Great Egrets fighting.

Great Egrets fighting. The one on the right retreated.

Hawk

Tags

cooper's hawk, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday

While I was photographing egrets at the refuge, a hawk flew down and landed no more than 20 ft (6 m) from me. I adjusted my camera and got the following shot.

Cooper’s Hawk.

It did not stay long and I only got three shots before it flew away. The other two shots don’t show the hawk’s face.

Cooper’s Hawk flying away.

Scenes from a Refuge

Tags

boat-tailed grackle, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, greater yellow legs, postaday, snow goose, song sparrow

Following are some scenes from the refuge that I photographed last Friday.

Boat-tailed Grackles.

Snow Geese. It was warm and the main migrating flock was nowhere in sight.

Song Sparrow: “How can I get rid on that feather that is sticking out?”

Greater Yellow Legs.

Greater Yellow Legs, one taking a noisy bath.

Great Egret graceful landing.

Silent Sunday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, fall, postaday

Early Fall at EBF Refuge.

Early Fall at EBF Refuge.

Fishing at the Refuge

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, postaday

Fishing by humans is not allowed at the refuge. But the birds are free to fish since it is sometimes their best way to obtain what they need to survive. The Great Egret shown below is an excellent practitioner of fishing. Yesterday, I watched from beginning to end as it plucked a fish out of the marshes.

Great Egret catching a fish.

Great Egret catching a fish.

Great Egret catching a fish.

Great Egret catching a fish.

Great Egret catching a fish.

Great Egret eating fish.

Butterflies, Egret

Tags

Big Eyes Butterfly., black swallowtail, Common Buckeye, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday, snowy egret

Here are some not yet published photos of butterflies and a young Snowy Egret I took in September at the refuge.

Common Buckeye or Big Eyes butterfly.

Black Swallowtail.

Snowy Egret.

Sunday Sleep In

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday, yellow-crowned night heron

The French have a great expression for sleeping in: “faire la grasse matinée”, literally do a fat morning. The Yellow-crowned Night Heron, a night hunter and feeder, practiced it when I met him.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron sleeping in.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron: “On your way, photographer.”

Friday Caller

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, grackle, postaday

A male Grackle led a noisy band of Grackles to a small island in the marshes. After they landed, he posted himself on the highest branch and called out to them.

Grackle.

Grackle: “Silence!”

Grackle: “You heard me!”

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, postaday

Great Egrets: the have and have-not.

Butterfly Saturday

Tags

Big Eyes Butterfly., Common Buckeye, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday, Sleepy Orange Butterfly

This morning I went to the refuge to photograph birds. There were indeed many egrets, terns, gulls, vultures, and so on. But I saw two unfamiliar butterflies and could not resist taking their pictures.

The first one, a Sleepy Orange, started to fly away as I took the shot, but you can still see its vibrant colors.

Sleepy Orange Butterfly.

The second one was a Common Buckeye (Big Eyes) Butterfly which took its time feeding and allowed me to take many shots.

Common Buckeye (Big Eyes) Butterfly and Bee.

Common Buckeye (Big Eyes) Butterfly.

Common Buckeye (Big Eyes) Butterfly.

Common Buckeye (Big Eyes) Butterfly.

Common Buckeye (Big Eyes) Butterfly.

Common Buckeye (Big Eyes) Butterfly.

Poses

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, grackle, great egret, laughing gull, postaday, snowy egret, tern

According to the dictionary, a pose is “a sustained posture, especially one assumed for artistic effect”. The second part of the definition does not apply to birds. Most birds fly, and they do so gracefully as their bodies have to conform to the demands of aerodynamics. At rest, they become more compact and assume natural poses to observe their surroundings, or to preserve heat when necessary.

Great Egret.

Laughing Gull.

Snowy Egret.

Grackle.

Tern after catching a fish.

Tern losing fish?

Late Summer Photos

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great blue heron, great egret, ladybug, postaday, snowy egret, tricolored heron

In one more week, summer will be ending. Some birds have already left the refuge but many remain as warm temperatures still prevail and food is abundant in the marshes. Here are some more shots of the Great Blue Heron shown in monochrome yesterday.

Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron landing.

Great and Snowy Egrets, including juveniles born this year are everywhere around the refuge.

Two Great Egrets looking for fish.

A Snowy Egret bristled in warning as a juvenile landed close to it.

Two Snowy Egrets.

The intruder left.

Still not happy.

There was a new bird for me. It was quite far away, but I think it was a Tricolored Heron.

Tricolored Heron on the right, Great Egret on the left.

While scanning the marshes, I saw a brilliant, shiny red spot in the middle of the milkweed. Mating season should be over by now, but two Ladybugs did not get the memo.

Ladybugs mating.

Monochrome Monday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great blue heron, postaday

Great Blue Heron.

Silent Sunday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday

A view of Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

A view of Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Silent Sunday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, postaday, snowy egret, water lily

Water Lily.

Snowy Egret: “Aw, Henri!”

Four Butterflies and a Turtle

Tags

cabbage butterfly, eastern black swallowtail, eastern mud turtle, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, mapleton preserve, postaday, sayen garden, silver spotted skipper, small skipper

Summer is the season for beautiful butterflies that flutter around plants and flowers, their colors and appearance letting us know that the outdoors are where we belong. I photographed the following butterflies at two different spots not far from home.

Cabbage White Butterfly at the Mapleton Preserve in Kingston, NJ.

Small Skipper at Sayen Gardens in Hamilton, NJ.

Silver Spotted Skipper at the Mapleton Preserve in Kingston, NJ .

Eastern Black Swallowtail at Edwin B. Forsythe NWR.

A small turtle (less than 5 in or 10 cm) was crossing the road as I drove by.

Eastern Mud Turtle at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Monarchs

Tags

asclepias tuberosa, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, milkweed, monarch butterfly, postaday

Following are three images of Monarch butterflies during a drive at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Monarch butterfly.

Monarch Butterfly enjoying milkweed (Asclepias Tuberosa).

Monarch butterfly. Note hole in wing.

Spring Scenes at the Refuge

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, osprey, photography, postaday

Last Saturday was a very breezy and cold day, with wind chill temperatures below freezing. It was also low tide when the refuge did not offer its best views.

Part of Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge at low tide.

Most birds were sheltering from the wind and cold, although many Canada Geese were strolling around, showing off this year’s offspring. The Goslings were busy foraging and tasting food.

Gosling 2021.

The Osprey nests were empty at first sight and, for a moment, I thought they had flown to warmer places. However, when looking again, I could see part of a head peeking out from one nest. A female Osprey was chirping, her head clearly visible as she scanned the sky for her mate. I decided to stop and wait, but kept my window closed because of the strong wind.

Suddenly I saw the male Osprey flying in with a fish in his talons. By the time I got the window rolled down and my camera out he was already landing on the female bird.

Male Osprey landing on female Osprey.

The next photos show the Osprey mating rituals which lasted less than a minute.

Male Osprey jumping off female Osprey.

Male Osprey landing on female, again.

Male Osprey on top of female. Meanwhile she was probably beginning to eat the fish he had brought.

Male Osprey, business finished.

He landed a short distance away, watching her for a few minutes before flying off again, perhaps to find for more fish for her.

Nailing It and More Crocuses

Tags

crocus, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, ring-billed gull

With the prospect of watching gymnasts at the forthcoming Summer Olympics, I thought that this Ring-billed Gull nailed it.

Nailing It!

Here are some more photos of Crocuses I took yesterday.

Crocuses in the afternoon.

White crocuses.

Red-winged Blackbird

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, red-winged blackbird

Last week the refuge conducted controlled burning of areas around the marshes to get rid of some invasive plants. That cleared quite a few of the bushes while leaving blackened spots where green shoots have already managed to come up. Hopefully they are not those pesky weeds that were supposed to burn.

There was a male Red-winged Blackbird singing gleefully in a reedy area. I tried to follow it for a few minutes as it switched spots before finally finding a suitable perch and belted its song, spreading and puffing its feathers to impress potential mates.

Male Red-winged Blackbird singing.

Male Red-winged Blackbird looking around.

Male Red-winged Blackbird started singing again.

Fortissimo! It also looked twice as large.

Winding down after song.

Back to normal, almost.

 

Northern Shovelers

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Northern Shoveler, photography, postaday

The colorful Northern Shovelers are one of the more common ducks throughout the world. During the winter at the refuge, there are at least several hundreds of them foraging for food in the marshes with their typically long bills (2.5 inches or 6.35 cm).

In the US, during duck hunting season, an average of 700,000 Northern Shovelers are brought down each year! Yet, they are not on the endangered species list. Here are some recent photos of them at the refuge.

Northern Shovelers.

Northern Shovelers.

Northern Shovelers.

Male Northern Shoveler.

Male Northern Shoveler in flight.

Young Squirrel

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday, squirrel, turkey vulture

A young squirrel was looking hungrily at our squirrel-proof birdfeeder.

Young squirrel.

“Please, I will only take one!”

At the refuge, a Turkey Vulture was flying in the clear blue sky.

Turkey Vulture.

After a while, it landed not too far away and I drove there to shoot many photos of it. It is not the best looking bird but it is probably the best scavenger, cleaning up the countryside of road kills and dead animals that it sees or smells from high above.

Turkey Vulture.

Turkey Vulture.

Silent Sunday – Sleeping In

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, northern pintail, photography, postaday

Northern Pintails.

Hooded Merganser – Bad Hair Day

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, hooded merganser, photography, postaday

Hooded Mergansers, especially males with their fan-shaped crest, look dashing in the waters of the refuge. A few days ago, one of them was swimming by himself among several ducks.

Male Hooded Merganser.

He kept diving for food, small fish, crustaceans, mollusks, although I did not see him with any in his bill.

Male Hooded Merganser diving.

It happened to be windy that day, and when he came up strong wind gusts played freely with his crest.

Hooded Merganser.

Hooded Merganser.

Hooded Merganser.

Hooded Merganser.

Finally, the wind subsided a little, and he regained his normal looks.

Hooded Merganser.

Last and First

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, moon, photography, postaday, sandpiper

Last December 21st I went out at night to photograph the conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and the moon. There were too many clouds for that, but after a few minutes the clouds cleared just enough to allow me this last photo for the year.

Moon on December 21, 2020.

Three days ago, I went out on a sunny day to the refuge for my first shoot of 2021 to be greeted by this sandpiper.

Sandpiper, January 19, 2021.

Buffleheads

Tags

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

Buffleheads are the smallest diving ducks in North America, often seen at the refuge in late fall and winter. In early December of 2020 I saw one male and two female Buffleheads there.

Buffleheads, male in between two females.

The male gave a signal and all three of them decided to take off, giving me a unique opportunity to capture them in flight.

Buffleheads in flight.

Buffleheads in flight.

Buffleheads in flight.

Buffleheads in flight.