Wordless Wednesday

Tags

photography, postaday, sunflower

Sunflower.

Sunflower.

Sunflower.

Sunflower.

Sunflower.

Summer Flowers 2021

Tags

coneflower, photography, postaday, zinnia

Deers don’t eat zinnias, one of the reasons I planted Forecast Zinnias around the yard this year. Actually, they did sample one plant but since then have given up eating zinnias.

Baby Zinnia.

Forecast Zinnia, pink.

Forecast Zinnias.

White Forecast Zinnia being visited by a wasp.

Forecast Zinnias.

Green Bee on coneflower.

Cicadas Gone – Zinnias in Bloom

Tags

cicada, forecast zinnia, paw paw, photography, postaday, zinnia

Yesterday, the silence was deafening! The 17-year cicadas were gone, and so was the noise they made. In our local paper, high school students were promoting cicadas as food, deep-fried or what not. Claims were made that these insects do not harm anything, but one look at our backyard convinced me otherwise. Many trees have clumps of dead leaves, as seen in the following shot of this year’s Paw-paw fruit.

Paw-paw with dead leaves left behind by cicadas.

Meanwhile Zinnias have started to bloom after the spring flowers like peonies were done with putting on their show.

Forecast Zinnia.

Forecast Zinnia.

Forecast Zinnia.

White Ibis

Tags

Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, white ibis

The Ocean City Welcome Center rookery has many White Ibises this year. They make perfect subjects for birds in flight photography.

Diving White Ibis.

Diving White Ibis.

Three White Ibises.

White Ibis.

White Ibis.

Rookery at Ocean City Welcome Center Part 4

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.

Yellow-crowned Night Herons: mother preening and two always hungry juveniles.

Two juveniles Yellow-crowned Night Herons standing next to their mother: “What is she doing?! She ought to be out looking for food for us!”

In a nearby nest, a Black-crowned Night Heron juvenile was going through the same hunger pains.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron to mother: “Food, I want food! You did not give me enough!”

“You fed me but that was half an hour ago, and I am already starving!”

She suddenly lunged to put some food down his throat. Apologies for blurry photo, things happened fast all of a sudden.

“That’s not enough! I am still hungry!”

The mother flew away on a fishing expedition. Juvenile: “Make sure you bring back more than last time! I am STARVING!”

Rookery at Ocean City Welcome Center Part 3

Tags

Ocean City Welcome Center, photography, postaday, route 52 bridge, yellow-crowned night heron

The Ocean City Welcome Center was built as part of the Route 52 bridge that connects Ocean City, NJ to Somers Point, NJ. The 2.74 mi (4.41 km) bridge was built between 2006 and 2012, at a cost of $400 million.

Ocean City Welcome Center.

A few days ago, I walked down to the bottom of the bridge. From the Welcome Center sidewalk, one would look down on the rookery with many trees where the herons, egrets, ibises and other birds nested. Few birds, if any, were nesting at the bottom. Most photographers stay on the pedestrian walk above the rookery.

Underside of Route 52 bridge leading into Ocean City, NJ.

There were ducks and night herons swimming and drinking from small depressions where rain water had accumulated.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron drinking at bottom of bridge, with mallards in the foreground.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron finishing drink.

Route 52 bridge ending in Ocean City, NJ.

View from Welcome Center looking toward Somers Point, NJ. Rookery is on the left of the picture.

When the weather is nice, the bridge is a very active place. Thousands of cars cross it every day, as do pedestrians (walkers and joggers) and cyclists. There is also an area in the middle of the above photo which is reserved for people who want to fish from the ocean.

Rookery at Ocean City Welcome Center Part 2

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.

Rookery at Ocean City Welcome Center Part 1

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.

Black-crowned Night heron with two chicks. The chicks have yellow eyes while the adult has red eyes.

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.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron with its own tanning salon.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron with twig to be used for nest improvement.

These herons migrate long distances to their nesting grounds in New Jersey, and they do look impressive in flight.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron in flight.

Black-crowned Night Heron.

Double Knock Out

Tags

double knockout, photography, postaday, rose

The Knock Out rose was introduced in 1989 by William Radler. It rapidly became a favorite rose for many as it proved to be sturdy, disease resistant, and also beautiful. In 2004, Double Knockout came out and we have been growing it for the past decade. All our other roses died for one reason or another, but we have two bushes of Double Knockout which are thriving. Japanese Beetles love them as food , but one or two traps seem to take care of that every year. So, here is my entry to Cee’s CFCC: Flowers:

https://ceenphotography.com/2021/06/01/cffc-flowers/

Double Knock Out rose.

Sunny Saturday

Tags

bleeding hearts alba, east point lighthouse, photography, postaday, tomato flower

This spring has been marked by rain and cool temperatures, and has thus prolonged the Brood X cicada season. They will live on a few weeks longer so that they can finish their mating activities and make sure, before they die, to give the world another generation in 17 years. I started seeing them in mid May, and as of now they are still singing incessantly during the day, the noise managing to penetrate closed windows and doors. Hopefully, that will end in another two weeks or so.

Our streets are littered with cicada shells and messy carcasses after they’ve been run over by cars. Our walls are sometimes covered with long rows of full-fledged cicadas. Fortunately, they don’t seem to eat any plant as they only spend their time and energy mating. Here are two pictures of them taken yesterday.

Brood X Cicada.

Brood X Cicada with a slightly damaged wing.

Some flowers have thrived, such as the white Bleeding Hearts pictured below.

Bleeding Hearts.

Bleeding Hearts.

In our vegetable garden most seeds have taken longer to sprout, but the tomato plants, bought from a big box store, are flowering and doing well.

Tomato flower.

Finally, a picture of East Point Lighthouse taken from a different perspective. This is how most people will see it as they arrive on site.

East Point Lighthouse Update

Tags

east point lighthouse, photography, postaday

Six years ago, in 2015, I went to the East Point Lighthouse in Heislerville on the Delaware Bay coastline at the southern end of New Jersey. It is a small but working lighthouse which somehow survived Hurricane Sandy but was in danger of the next major storm as the sea continually eroded a sandy beach less than 100 ft (30 m) away.

Here are a couple of pictures taken in 2015.

East Point Lighthouse

Beach at East Point Lighthouse in 2015.

Yesterday, I went back to see the lighthouse. Over the past several years, the Maurice River Historical Society which has managed the lighthouse since 1972, has done its best to restore the lighthouse. It definitely looks much improved from the outside.

East Point Lighthouse in 2021.

To try and deal with the real danger of beach erosion and flooding, in 2019 the state of New Jersey spent $460,000 installing giant sandbags called geotubes on the beach near the lighthouse.

Geotubes at East Point Lighthouse.

East Point Lighthouse view from South without geotubes.

Critics say that the geotubes are not high enough to prevent waves at high tide from spilling over and flooding the lighthouse. In a major storm, all bets are off, and anything could happen.

In the meantime, New Jersey authorities and the Maurice River Historical Society are in a contract dispute, and the inside of the lighthouse is closed to all. Visitors could still come and walk around the beach to look at horseshoe crabs in their annual mating rituals.

Silent Sunday

Tags

peony, photography, postaday

Peony.

Peony.

Peony.

Peony.

Peony.

Peony.

Deciduous Azaleas

Tags

azalea, photography, postaday, sayen Gardens

On a sunny day, Sayen Gardens near our house displayed hundreds of deciduous Azalea bushes and small trees. Their colors were vibrant and sunlight was just about perfect in highlighting them.

Azalea.

Azalea.

Azalea.

Azalea.

Azalea.

Azalea.

This last one is a Columbine with colors rivaling those of the Azaleas.

Columbine.

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.

Monochrome Monday

Tags

osprey, photography, postaday

It’s been a long time for Monochrome Monday, but here is an image that is made for it: a mother Osprey watching over her sleeping chick.

Osprey and chick.

Red-winged Blackbird 2021

Tags

photography, postaday

At the beginning of this week, Red-winged Blackbirds were everywhere at the refuge, the males gleefully singing their territorial songs. I selected the following shots for this year’s crop of photos of this most common bird.

Red-winged Blackbird.

Red-winged Blackbird.

Red-winged Blackbird.

Red-winged Blackbird.

Red-winged Blackbird.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

Eastern Bluebird attacking!

Eastern Bluebird.

Eastern Bluebird

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, house finch, photography, postaday

The Eastern Bluebird couple is well established near the birdhouse they have adopted for this year. The one they used last year remains empty at the moment, until some other bird moves in. The male still comes to our bay window once in a while to peck at his mirror rival! Otherwise, it is a slow wait until the eggs are hatched and incubation begins.

Male and female Eastern Bluebirds in front of their birdhouse.

Of the two, the male seems to be very active defending their space.

Male Eastern Bluebird standing guard on roof of birdhouse.

Male Eastern Bluebird running toward intruders.

Male Eastern Bluebird: “Shoo!”

Male Eastern Bluebird: “Go away!”

The intruders are other birds that perch on the magnolia branch waiting their turn at the bird feeder. Some are quite handsome, like this House Finch below.

Male House Finch.

Butterfly Magnolia and Bluebirds

Tags

Eastern Bluebird, photography, postaday

The Eastern Bluebird couple have returned and are busy rebuilding their nest inside a birdhouse that I cleaned up a few weeks ago. It stands right next to a small magnolia tree with yellow flowers.

Butterfly Magnolias.

Female Eastern Bluebird with pine needles. She’s the one building the nest.

He stands guard while she’s inside the birdhouse.

Male Eastern Bluebird spreading his wings.

Male Eastern Bluebird.

I took these photos through our bay window only about four feet from the birdhouse. The male Bluebird kept coming to the window ledge and knocking on the glass with its beak throughout the day. I wonder if that was because he saw his reflection and thought he had a rival!

Signs of Spring

Tags

bluebird, clivia, downy woodpecker, house finch, photography, postaday, red-bllied woodpecker

Today WordPress is forcing me to use their new editor instead of their “classic” editor. Let’s hope this post turns out all right.

Clivia in bloom.

Male Bluebird.

Female Downy Woodpecker.

Male Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Male House Finch.

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.

Heat Wave Crocuses

Tags

crocus, photography, postaday

Yesterday our local temperature climbed to 80°F (26.67°C), the highest ever recorded for March 26th. Any snow still on the ground has already melted a few days earlier, and the crocus flowers wasted no time in coming up and bearing vibrant flowers. Here are some shots of those at the front of our driveway.

Crocuses.

Crocus.

Crocus.

Crocuses.

Crocuses.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

american black duck, carolina wren, northern mockingbird, northern pintail, photography, postaday

Northern Pintail.

Carolina Wren.

American Black Duck.

American Black Duck.

Northern Mockingbird.

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.

 

Cape May Lighthouse

Tags

bunker, cape may lighthouse, mute swan, northern mockingbird, photography, postaday

Tuesday I went to the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge to find it closed because they were conducting controlled burns of invasive plants along the marsh edges. Rather than going home, I drove one more hour to get to the Cape May Lighthouse at the southern tip of New Jersey.

Cape May Lighthouse.

I walked down to the beach and saw a strange bunker, a World War II relic slowly being reclaimed by the ocean.

World War II bunker.

The bunker was used to defend against a possible German invasion! It had four 155 mm artillery pieces which had never been fired and were removed many years ago.

World War II bunker as seen from lighthouse.

Wood pilings in ruin.

Nearby there were several small ponds where swans and various ducks were swimming and feeding.

Mute Swan.

Sparrows and one Northern Mockingbird kept flying around me as if wanting their pictures taken.

Northern Mockingbird.

Northern Mockingbird.

Northern Mockingbird eating a berry.

There were several bushes of holly laden with gloriously red berries.

Holly berries.

Holly berries.

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.

February Thaw

Tags

photography, postaday, snow melt

In the last few days, temperatures have managed to climb into the thirties and low forties, causing snow to melt everywhere around us. I was watching a birdhouse in our backyard and saw droplets of water from the snow on the roof make their way to the ground.

Snow melt.

Snow melt.

Snow melt.

Is Spring Coming?

Tags

bleeding hearts, bluebird, great blue heron, photography, postaday

As I write this, snow is falling steadily outside, with as much as 9 inches (about 23 cm) expected, and another snowstorm is forecasted for this weekend.

Recently, I saw the following Bluebird at the refuge. It came back too early and looked disappointed at the cold and bleakness of winter.

Bluebird.

Nearby, a Great Blue Heron who did not migrate offered some advice.

Great Blue Heron: “Hang in there, kid! Spring will be here before you know it!”

Bleeding Hearts from Spring 2010.

Snow Fall

Tags

photography, postaday, snow

Snow started falling Sunday afternoon, then all day Monday, and this morning, Tuesday. Our area received 13 inches (33 cm) in all, not a record but still a lot. I went out to take the following photos as everything looked so beautiful covered in white.

Our snow covered deck.

This hibiscus bush looked so colorful just five months ago.

The woods in the back of our property.

Branch from a white pine tree.

Conifers heavy with snow.

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.

Silent Sunday

Tags

common tern, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

Common Tern.

Common Tern.

Common Tern.

Common Tern.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

american flag, photography, postaday

American flag.

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Tags

bald eagle, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postaday

Following are unpublished photos of a juvenile Bald Eagle I took on October 1st, 2019. It was cruising over the marshes hunting for fish.

Juvenile Bald Eagle.

Juvenile Bald Eagle.

Juvenile Bald Eagle.

Juvenile Bald Eagle.

Happy New Year to everyone of you!

Flying Egrets

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.

Lewis Center for the Arts

Tags

Lewis Center for the Arts, photography, postaday

Princeton University Lewis Center for the Arts was completed in 2017. Since that time, I have been meaning to go there and photograph it, but because it was so close to home, guess what, it took me three years to finally do it. The following photos show what it looked like in early afternoon last Sunday.

Lewis Center for the Arts: Wallace Dance Building and Theater.

Lewis Center for the Arts: Wallace Dance Building.

Lewis Center for the Arts: Administrative Building.

Lewis Center for the Arts: Administrative Building.

Lewis Center for the Arts: inner plaza.

Lewis Center for the Arts: Administrative Building and Music Building on the right. In the Music Building you can see some individual practice rooms that are suspended and acoustically isolated from one another.

Lewis Center for the Arts: side of Theater Building.

I did not go inside any of the buildings which were built with esoteric materials including 21-million-year-old Lecce Stone from Italy. I would have liked to see how geothermal wells have been used to heat and cool the complex, but maybe another time. This new art center took $330 million dollar to build, including costs associated with relocating the Dinky train station and a WaWa convenience store pictured below.

Dinky train station and Wawa store.

Silent Sunday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, european starling, photography, postaday

Starlings standing in Osprey nest: “No evidence whatsoever that we stole this nest!”