Fall Egrets

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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.

Fall Foliage

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fall colors, john heinz national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday

I took this photo in the fall of 2014 at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. Because of the lack of rain this past several weeks, forecasters are saying that fall colors this year will not be as colorful and bright, and will not last very long.

Autumn Leaves.

Mallards

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john heinz national wildlife refuge, mallards, photography, postaday

Last Saturday at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, I came too close to some Mallards and they took off flying with a great deal of noise, almost like a series of explosions. First the female.

Female Mallard flying away.

Then the male.

Flying male Mallard.

As I walked on, I found them again after a while, swimming and looking for food as they do most of the time.

Mallard couple.

Northern Pintails

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john heinz national wildlife refuge, northern pintail, photography, postaday

As of 2014, the Northern Pintail is on the list of birds in steep decline. Yesterday, though, I saw many of them at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, outnumbering all the other ducks combined. They were busy looking for food, flying about from one spot to another, and allowing me ample opportunities for photos.

Northern Pintails at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. The one of the right is the male.

Female Northern Pintail with her head above water. The two diving ducks with long tails are male, and the other one female.

Northern Pintails in flight.

Landing on water at end of flight.

Female Northern Pintail putting on the water brakes.

Cardinal Among the Reeds

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john heinz national wildlife refuge, northern cardinal, photography, postaday

Today, temperatures rose to 64^oF (18^oC) which made it feel like Spring. I went to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge opposite Philadelphia International Airport on the other side of I-95. Vegetation still looked drab and dull, but among the light brown reeds I saw a flash of brilliant red. It was a male Northern Cardinal. He kept foraging for food in the same area for several long minutes. I took a series of shots and the following turned out to be the better ones.

Male Northern Cardinal at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

Northern Cardinal.

Northern Cardinal.

Mallards

Tags

john heinz national wildlife refuge, mallard, photography, postaday

Mallards are the most common ducks seen in many places. They are easily recognizable and can put up with human presence around them. Lately I have captured a few pairs of mallards at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge near Philadelphia, PA.

Female Mallard at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

Male Mallard at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

Two Mallard couples at John Heinza National Wildlife Refuge.

Female Mallard at John Heinza National Wildlife Refuge.

Female Mallard at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

Mallards swimming and dabbling at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. Mallards do not dive, and only dip their heads in the water to look for food.

Great Blue Herons: Flight

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great blue heron, john heinz national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday

Great Blue Herons are large enough birds that I found it relatively easy to photograph them in flight. Here are some photos I took at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge a few days ago. They are of three different herons.

Great Blue Heron taking off.

Another Great Blue Heron in flight.

Great Blue Heron in flight, one second later.

Another Great Blue Heron taking off.

Same Great Blue Heron, a fraction of a second later.

All of the above herons flew only short distances to position themselves at a different fishing spot. They probably never went higher than 20 ft (6 m) above the surface of the pond.

Great Blue Herons Fishing

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great blue heron, john heinz national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday

True to their name, Great Blue Herons are the largest herons in North America with striking shapes and colors that are hard to miss. Yesterday I saw a dozen of them at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge on the other side of I-95, opposite Philadelphia Airport. Despite the near freezing temperature, they were busy catching their breakfast.

Great Blue Heron stabbing the pond looking for fish.

Within less than a second, a fish!

The above fellow or gal was very skilled. It caught three fish within 13 minutes!

Another fish caught.

And another!

Later I saw another Great Blue Heron catching frogs.

Great Blue Heron caught a frog.

Another frog caught.

Here’s a shot of a Great Blue Heron spreading its wings. Despite their enormous size, these herons weigh only about 6 lbs (2.7 kg).

Great Blue Heron spread out.

2014 Photos: Odds and Ends – 4

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coreopsis, john heinz national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday

More odds and ends, this time of some coreopsis that I encountered during a walk last October at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. These images should bring some colors to those of us in the Northern hemisphere where winter has now officially started.

Coreopsis, against a strong wind gust

Coreopsis and bee

Northern Shovelers

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john heinz national wildlife refuge, Northern Shoveler, photography, postaday

The Northern Shoveler is a common wetland duck distinguished by its long bill which is wider and its tip than at its base. It uses it to forage for food, which can be plants or small crustaceans.

I found the following trio swimming around at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge last weekend.

Northern Shovelers

Here’s another look. As usual, the male has colorful plumage while the females are more subdued.

Northern Shovelers

Turtles

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abbott marshlands, Edwin B Forsythe Wildlife Refuge, john heinz national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday, terrapin, turtle

Once in a while, I encounter a turtle during my walks or drives around the marshes. Here are those that I met this year.

Baby turtle at Abbott Marshlands

Terrapin crossing the road at Edwin B Forsythe Wildlife Refuge. Green marking on top of its shell was probably done by park rangers.

Turtle at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge