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Tag Archives: great egret

Silent Sunday

30 Sunday Apr 2023

Posted by neihtn2012 in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

aigrette, great egret, postaday, snowy egret

Great Egret building nest.
Great Egret displaying aigrettes during breeding season.
Great Egret displaying aigrettes during breeding season.
Great Egret displaying aigrettes during breeding season.
Snowy Egret displaying breeding plumage.

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Swans, Great Egret, Red Fox, Goldfinch

11 Sunday Dec 2022

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 29 Comments

Tags

canada goose, goldfinch, great egret, mallard, mute swan, postaday, red fox, Tundra Swan

Mute Swans live year round at the refuge, but in the fall and winter Tundra Swans stop by on their way to warmer spots in the Mid Atlantic region.

Two weeks ago, I saw one immature Mute Swan, with a bill that was not fully orange yet.

Immature Mute Swan.

Not far from it there was a Tundra Swan swimming with a Canada Goose.

Tundra Swan and Canada Goose.

At another part of the refuge, three adult Mute Swans could be seen preening.

Three Mute Swans.
Three Mute Swans.

Not to be outdone, a Great Egret was also showing its preening skills.

Great Egret.

Closer to home, in our backyard, a Red Fox was sitting comfortably at the edge of the woods, watching us from a safe distance.

Red Fox.

Much closer than the Red Fox, a Goldfinch in its winter colors was visiting the birdfeeder.

Goldfinch.

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Great Egret, Cormorant

27 Sunday Nov 2022

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

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

Yesterday I went to the refuge to photograph some of the last birds that are still there before the onset of winter. I spotted a Great Egret that was looking for fish by a stream next to Wildlife Drive.

Great Egret fishing.

Suddenly I saw a Cormorant (I previously misidentified it as a Common Loon) emerge from the water with a fish in its bill.

Cormorant with fish.
Cormorant with struggling fish.
Cormorant with fish.
Cormorant with fish.

The Cormorant dove into the water with the fish. A couple of minutes later, it reemerged at another part of the stream, looking happy after having ingested its meal.

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Lens-Artists Challenge #205 – The Eyes Have it

30 Thursday Jun 2022

Posted by neihtn2012 in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

bluejay, Eastern Blue Bird, Eastern Bluebird, Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, great egret, postaday, white ibis, yellow-crowned night heron

This post is my response to Tina’s challenge at Lens-Artists Challenge #205 – The Eyes Have it. I almost never photograph humans, so my entries will consist of pictures of birds that I encounter in a rookery, a wildlife refuge, or in our backyard.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron shielding her eggs from the hot sun. You can see part on an eye behind her right wing.
Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron just waking up grumpy.
White Ibis after returning from a fishing trip.
Bluejay drinking from the birdbath in our backyard.
White Ibis preening.
Eastern Bluebird on top of Southern Magnolia tree.
Eastern Bluebird staring at photographer.
Great Egret landing on a branch.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird at feeder.
Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird at feeder.

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Rookery at Ocean City Welcome Center

25 Saturday Jun 2022

Posted by neihtn2012 in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

great egret, Ocean City Welcome Center, postaday

Yesterday the rookery next to the New Jersey Ocean City Welcome Center was teeming with egrets, herons, ibises, and many other smaller birds. The Great Egrets breeding season was at its peak as you can see from the following images.

Great Egret pair and newly hatched chicks.
Great Egret with chick and a still unhatched egg.
Great Egret bringing an eel to the nest.

The parent egret will eat the eel then regurgitate it into the bottom of the nest. Then the young chicks will be able to eat it.

Great Egret with three chicks. Not all of the young chicks may survive due to competition among them, unless the parents can provide plenty of food.

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Weekend Variety

14 Saturday May 2022

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography

≈ 30 Comments

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.

Black-crowned Night Heron in deep sleep.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron slowly waking up.
Bald Eagle shielding Eaglet from a strong wind. Ten days ago there were two Eaglets in the nest, but only one is visible now.
Canada Geese goose-stepping practice.
Great Egret landing.
White Ibis landing with twigs to build its nest.
Forster’s Tern looking for fish.
Purple Martin.
Snowy Egret.

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2021 Images in Review – Part 4

30 Thursday Dec 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 30 Comments

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!

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2021 Images in Review – Part 2

28 Tuesday Dec 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 26 Comments

Tags

boat-tailed grackle, brood x cicada, east point lighthouse, great egret, postaday, white ibis

2021 was the year of the 17-year Brood X cicadas. Tens of thousands of their shells littered our yard and their singing during the day was incessant, lasting from early morning well into sunset.

Cicada molting and emerging from its shell.
East Point Lighthouse on the Delaware Bay, with sand berms to prevent erosion.
Great Egret taking off.
Boat-tailed Grackle.

Some of my most satisfying photo captures are the following of a superb flyer, a White Ibis near its rookery in Ocean City, NJ.

White Ibis.
White Ibis preparing to dive.
White Ibis diving.

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Saturday Miscellaneous

18 Saturday Dec 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 27 Comments

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.

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Monochrome Monday

15 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 16 Comments

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.

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Silent Sunday

14 Sunday Nov 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, postaday

Great Egrets.
Great Egrets.
Great Egrets.

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Taking Off

13 Saturday Nov 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, postaday

A Great Egret was taking off at the refuge.

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Fighting Egrets

24 Sunday Oct 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 26 Comments

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.

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Scenes from a Refuge

18 Monday Oct 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 32 Comments

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.

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Fishing at the Refuge

16 Saturday Oct 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 37 Comments

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.

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Wordless Wednesday

29 Wednesday Sep 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, postaday

Great Egrets: the have and have-not.

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Poses

18 Saturday Sep 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 31 Comments

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?

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Late Summer Photos

14 Tuesday Sep 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 28 Comments

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.

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Rookery at Ocean City Welcome Center Part 2

20 Sunday Jun 2021

Posted by neihtn2012 in Ocean City Welcome Center, Photography

≈ 25 Comments

Tags

glossy ibis, great egret, little blue heron, Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, rookery, white ibis

With bright sunshine, white clouds on blue sky, bearable temperatures, and a cool breeze from time to time, it was a perfect day for photography. There were already about a dozen photographers with their massive long lenses pointed at various points of the rookery.

Except for the sleepy night herons, the birds were very active, flying in and out of the trees every minute or so. I ended up taking many more pictures of birds in flight than I had planned.

Great Egret.
Great Egret.
Little Blue Heron, the first time I have seen one. In the background is the smokestack of a now-decommissioned power plant, the B.L. England Generating Station, also called Beesley’s Point Generating Station.
Glossy Ibis.
White Ibis.
White Ibis.
Juvenile Little Blue Heron.
White Ibis.

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Flying Egrets

25 Friday Dec 2020

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 31 Comments

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, photography, postaday, snowy egret

I took the following photos on October 1st, 2019 but did not post them as I temporarily stopped blogging to concentrate on finishing my second book. Now, more than a year later, here they are. A large group of Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets (with the black bills) was taking off at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Never had I seen so many flying together.

Flying Egrets.

Flying Egrets.

Flying Egrets.

Flying Egrets.

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On One Sunny Day

05 Saturday Dec 2020

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

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

This week has been rainy with only one sunny day in the middle. I drove to the refuge and by the time I arrived the sun was out but the clouds were many. The Great Blue Heron that used to stand by a sluice gate was now standing by the water.

Sunning Great Blue Heron.

There was a flash of white among the dried reeds. A Great Egret took off as soon as it saw me, but I managed to take a few shots of it flying away.

Great Egret taking off.

Great Egret in flight.

Great Egret in flight.

Toward the end of Wildlife Drive one tree still had its leaves on.

Autumn scene at Edwin B. Fosrsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

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Wings

24 Saturday Oct 2020

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 21 Comments

Tags

great egret, herring gull, long-tailed duck, monarch butterfly, Northern Shoveler, photography, postaday

I took the photos below at different times of this year, from January 1st on.

Herring Gull.

Long-tailed Duck.

Great Egret.

Northern Shovelers.

Monarch Butterfly.

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Silent Sunday

04 Sunday Oct 2020

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

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

Great Egret.

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Early Morning Great Egret

13 Sunday Sep 2020

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

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

Yesterday, conditions were almost ideal for photography. The refuge was dry, the sun was shining bright, and an ocean breeze was cool if at times gusty. I had just stepped out when a Great Egret flew toward me. I barely had enough time to lean against the car and bring my camera up to shoot. This was likely the closest I ever came to a Great Egret in flight.

Great Egret.

Great Egret banking away.

Great Egret.

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Egret Feeding

10 Thursday Sep 2020

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, photography, postaday, snowy egret

The Great Egret and Snowy Egret shown below were feeding in the marsh, stabbing the water, and jumping and turning around on a dime. They were very successful and got a fish at every attempt.

Great Egret feeding.

Great Egret feeding.

Great Egret feeding.

Snowy Egret feeding.

Snowy Egret feeding.

Snowy Egret feeding.

Snowy Egret feeding.

In this last photo, it was amazing to see the Snowy Egret twisting itself while looking for fish.

Snowy Egret hunting for prey.

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Harbingers of Spring

06 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by neihtn2012 in colonial lake, EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 21 Comments

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.

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2018 Unpublished Photos

30 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by neihtn2012 in colonial lake, Photography

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

american robin, blue jay, cosmos, great egret, mallard, montezuma national wildlife refuge, northern cardinal, photography, postaday

In 2018, some of my photos did not appear on this blog, normally because I didn’t want to have too many in any post. Now at year end, looking at them, some actually deserve to be shown, and here they are.

Northern Cardinal in January 2018.

Mallard mother and ducklings, May 2018.

Great Egret at Montezuma NWR, September 2018.

American Robin, November 2018.

Blue Jay, November 2018.

Cosmos brought inside, October 2018.

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Monochrome Monday

19 Monday Nov 2018

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

cormorant, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great blue heron, great egret, photography, postaday

These are some shots I have taken earlier this year, rendered in monochrome.

Great Blue Heron.

Cormorant.

Great Egret.

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Birds in Flight

03 Saturday Nov 2018

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 44 Comments

Tags

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

You won’t believe how many times I have missed capturing, or badly captured, birds in flight. Two days ago, at the refuge, I finally was able to get several good shots of a Great Blue Heron as it took off from the marsh.

Great Blue Heron in flight.

Great Blue Heron in flight.

Great Blue Heron in flight.

On the same day, a Great Egret also put on a good show.

Great Egret in flight.

Great Blue Heron in flight.

Great Blue Heron in flight.

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2018 Year of the Bird

25 Tuesday Sep 2018

Posted by neihtn2012 in barnegat, EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 23 Comments

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.

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Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge

19 Wednesday Sep 2018

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 20 Comments

Tags

bald eagle, great blue heron, great egret, montezuma national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday, ring-billed gull

Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge is at the Northern end of Cayuga Lake, one of the 11 finger lakes in New York state. It is less than a quarter of the size of Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, but has much of the same wildlife, with the addition of Sandhill Cranes and Black Terns that are not usually seen in New Jersey.

We drove on Wildlife Drive through Montezuma NWR, stopping occasionally to take pictures.

Marsh Mallows were vibrant and plentiful at Montezuma NWR.

Marsh Mallows at Montezuma NWR.

A young Bald Eagle surprised me by swooping overhead and diving toward the marshes. It was too fast and moved around too much for me to get good pictures, but the following will give you an idea of the drama evolving in the sky.

Bald Eagle at Montezuma NWR.

Bald Eagle at Montezuma NWR.

Bald Eagle at Montezuma NWR.

Bald Eagle at Montezuma NWR.

Bald Eagle at Montezuma NWR.

However, the young Bald Eagle failed to catch any fish.

There were several Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets that landed near Wildlife Drive then stood or walked in the water.

Great Blue Heron at Montezuma NWR.

Great Blue Heron and Great Egret at Montezuma NWR.

Great Egret preening at Montezuma NWR.

Great Egret at Montezuma NWR.

Great Egret at Montezuma NWR.

There were many Ring-billed Gulls and Canada Geese at Montezuma NWR. One gull was hovering over the marshes and crisscrossing the sky, asking to be photographed.

Ring-billed Gull at Montezuma NWR.

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Windy and Cold

15 Sunday Apr 2018

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, hooded merganser, mute swan, photography, postaday, snowy egret

Temperatures went as high as 84°F (29°C) yesterday, but today they are back down to 40°F (4°C), and it is very windy and cold. Even though I took the following photos last month and last week, they illustrate well this challenging weather we are having.

Mute Swan.

Great Egret and Snowy Egret.

Great Egret looking for fish.

Great Egret catching fish.

Great Egret and fish.

Hooded Merganser windblown.

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Flock of Egrets

10 Tuesday Apr 2018

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

aigrette, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, photography, postaday

Hundreds of Great Egrets were still sleeping or waking up and preening at a pond at the refuge. It was a bit nippy and there was some fog and frost on the brown reeds. I had never seen that many Great Egrets in one place, but could not capture the entire flock in one photo.

Great Egrets waking up. Note the Great Blue Heron on the left with eyes still closed.

All the birds were in their best breeding plumage and colors, with long white aigrettes that ladies at the beginning of the last century would have paid dearly to adorn their headdresses with.

Closer look at Great Egrets.

Great Egret.

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Great Egret

24 Saturday Mar 2018

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

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

This was the first Great Egret I saw at the refuge this Spring. It was still cold and quite windy so it did not stay too long.

Great Egret.

Great Egret starting its flight.

Great Egret airborne.

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Monday Monochrome

03 Sunday Dec 2017

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, Photography

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, fog, great egret, photography, postaday, snowy egret, spider web

A few weeks ago, the heavy morning fog led to some unusual monochrome shots.

Great Egret.

Snowy Egret.

Snowy Egret.

Spider Web.

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Sunrise Sunset

12 Sunday Nov 2017

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge

≈ 42 Comments

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, photography, postaday, snowy egret, sunrise, sunset

Like many of us, whenever I see a colorful sunrise or sunset I try to take a picture of it, if possible. Since the refuge is where I go most often to shoot pictures, in the past several years I did manage to have some sunrise and sunset shots from that place.

The following photo was taken 14 minutes after the shot of the pinkish sunrise I posted here a few days ago at https://neihtn.wordpress.com/2017/11/05/fall-at-the-refuge

Sunrise September 15, 2013.

Snowy and Great Egrets at sunrise September 15, 2013.

In the shot below, the sun hid behind thick clouds, but as it plunged below the horizon it produced magnificent colors ranging from blue and purple to red and yellow.

Sunset January 5, 2015.

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Fall Egrets

11 Saturday Nov 2017

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge, john heinz national wildlife refuge

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, john heinz national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday, snowy egret

Egrets stayed around at the refuge later this year because the weather has been warmer than usual. Not today though as Artic air has brought temperatures to lows unheard of since the 1930’s. Anyway, last week I saw a Snowy Egret by Wildlife Drive at the refuge and stopped my car not more than 20 ft (6 m) from it.

Snowy Egret.

Snowy Egret.

Other cars then began stopping behind me, and the Snowy Egret decided it had enough and flew away.

Snowy Egret.

Snowy Egret.

Looking through my files, I saw the following photo taken in November 2014 at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. I did not post it before, perhaps because at first glance it appeared too dark. But lighting was falling on the egret and not on the marshy background. So here it is.

Great Egret.

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New and Familiar

21 Saturday Oct 2017

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

cormorant, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, european starling, great egret, photography, postaday

Last week, at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, I saw for the first time an American Avocet standing among other familiar birds. In fact I did not know what it was until I got home, saw a strange bird in the photo and looked it up.

American Avocet, on the right, and Mallards.

Great Egret.

The following photo is unusually wide so that all the Cormorants in that one spot can be seen.

Cormorants drying their feathers.

Finally, many smaller birds were flying around: Grackles, European Starlings, and Red-winged Blackbirds. I did not get a good shot of the Red-winged Blackbirds, although they appeared to be leading packs of small birds around the marshes.

Grackles.

European Starling.

Great Egret.

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Have a Nice Weekend

06 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by neihtn2012 in Photography

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

great egret, photography, postaday

Great Egret: “Have a Nice Weekend!”

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Did They Smile?

16 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by neihtn2012 in EBF Refuge

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

great egret, photography, postaday

Unlike Great Blue Herons which prefer large fish, Great Egrets stick with smaller ones. The following Great Egrets each caught a small fish as I was photographing them. Looking closer at their photos, did they actually smile at the prospect of more food filling up their stomach?

Great Egret with fish it had just caught.

Great Egret with fish: was the egret smiling?

Great Egret with fish it had just caught.

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