Harbingers of Spring

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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Snowy Egrets

Tags

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

Some up close shots of egrets that were just posing several days ago at the refuge, without any fear of humans.

Snow Egret.

A younger version of the above Snowy Egret.

Juvenile Snowy Egret.

Juvenile Snowy Egret pursuing parent: “Where’s my food?”

Finally a shot of a water lily flower taken on the way out of the refuge.

Water Lily.

Bird Flights

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.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, photography, postday, snowy egret

Snowy Egret.

New and Old Birds

Tags

common grackel, common yellowthroat, house sparrow, mallard, photography, postaday, snowy egret

Recently I encountered a new bird, for me anyway, the Common Yellowthroat, a small warbler with a Lone Ranger black mask, a white head top, and a very yellow throat.

Male Common Yellowthroat.

Male Common Yellowthroat singing.

This House Sparrow was preening itself one morning, and looked down curiously at a photographer.

House Sparrow.

Meanwhile, a female Mallard took off from Colonial Lake.

Female Mallard.

Snowy Egret stabbing water after a fish.

A Common Grackle laughed at the scene.

Common Grackle: “You missed!”

Have a great weekend!

Saturday Birds

Tags

eastern phoebe, house wren, noirthern cardinal, photography, postaday, snowy egret

Spring is a frenetic time for birds as it is their breeding season and they are very busy courting, building up their nests and their bodies for the rigor of incubating, and in general preparing for the arrival of the next generation. Last Saturday I took the following shots of a variety of birds carrying out those spring activities.

Flying tissue: a female Northern Cardinal ferrying a piece of tissue toward her nest.

Eastern Phoebe between trilling to attract mate. Updated after Eliza’s comment below.

House Wren taking over Bluebird birdhouse.

Snowy Egret caught first fish.

Snowy Egret caught second fish.

Snowy Egret caught third fish.  

Windy and Cold

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.

Monday Monochrome

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.

Sunrise Sunset

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.

Fall Egrets

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.

Bird Diversity

Tags

black skimmer, peacock, photography, postaday, red-winged blackbird, snow goose, snowy egret

Going through some unpublished photos I took over the last few months, I am struck by the many different kinds of birds that live in our small part of New Jersey. Here’s how diversity looks among birds.

Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird.

Black Skimmer.

Snow Geese. They are not all white.

Peacock.

Snowy Egret.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

cormorant, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, hellebore, photography, postaday, ring-billed gull, snowy egret

Insect on Hellebore petal.

Ring-billed Gull.

Cormorants.

Snowy Egret.

Snowy Egret.

Peregrine Falcon, Snowy Egret, Cormorants

Tags

cormorant, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, peregrine falcon, photography, postaday, snowy egret

First a brown shape dove straight down from the sky, at a blazing speed. It was gone almost instantly. Then I saw a Snowy Egret floundering among a group of Cormorants swimming at the spot where the dive bombing occurred.

Snowy Egret floundering among Cormorants.

Snowy Egret trying to lift off.

Snowy Egret trying to fly.

Snowy Egret after falling back into water.

Then the Cormorants began fleeing the scene.

Cormorants.

Eventually the Snowy Egret managed to fly away and went hiding among the tall grasses of the marshes. Meanwhile, a Peregrine Falcon was perched on top of a nearby pole, watching. I wonder if it was the same one who had dive bombed and scared every bird away. Peregrine Falcons are super fast and capable of reaching 200 mph (320 km/h) on a dive. They are also known to attack mid-sized birds and ducks.

Peregrine Falcon.

Peregrine Falcon. Note band on right foot.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

american robin, chipping sparrow, downy woodpecker, photography, postaday, snowy egret, wordless wednesday

Downy Woodpecker.

American Robin.

Chipping Sparrow.

Snowy Egret.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

great egret, photography, postaday, snowy egret, wordless wednesday

Great Egret and Snowy Egret.

Frilly Snowy Egret

Tags

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

In a band of about several dozens of Snowy Egrets mixed with Great Egrets, some were showing beautiful frilly feathers under the morning sun. At first I thought perhaps the wind was messing up their feathers, but if so, many if not all of them would have displayed those frilly plumes. Or was it breeding hormones acting up on some and not on others? Or were they trying to attract potential mates? I will let you decide.

Snowy Egrets, with the one in the middle especially frilly.

Snowy Egret parading on a natural fashion runway?

Snowy Egret.

Wordless Wednesday: Flight

Tags

Bomaby Hook National Wildlife Refuge, canada geese, common tern, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, great egret, photography, postaday, snowy egret

Northern Shovelers at Edwin B Sorsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Canada Geese at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge.

Common Tern at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Snowy Egrets at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Great Egret at Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Egrets Fishing

Tags

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

Snowy Egrets are probably among the best egrets at catching fish. Here’s a series of photos I took at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge last week when there were many of them, together with Great Egrets, flying around and fishing.

Snowy Egret landing.

Snowy Egret jabbing at water.

Caught one!

Great Egret landing.

The Great Egrets were not so successful at finding fish. At least I did not see any of them catching anything while the Snowy Egrets were plucking fish now and then out of the same pond.

Catching a Meal

Tags

edwin b forstythe national wildlife refuge, photography, postaday, snowy egret

The Snowy Egret is one of the most beautiful birds to watch, even when it is trying to catch a fish, as shown in the following photos taken yesterday at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Splash: a Snowy Egret diving after a fish.

Snowy Egret looking for a fish.

Snowy Egret: Sigh, that one got away… I have to do better than that.

Two minutes later: Caught one!

Fish, you are not getting away, no way!

Ah, that tastes so good!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Motion

Tags

photography, postaday, snowy egret, weekly photo challenge

This is my submission for this challenge: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/motion/

Snowy Egret in motion

Monochrome Photos Challenge

Tags

Monochrome Photos Challenge, pansy, photography, postaday, snowy egret

John Etheridge who blogs marvelously at Book of Bokeh has invited me to participate in the Monochrome Photos Challenge. As you know, I mostly publish color photos and only dabble in monochrome twice in 371 posts. This will be the third time.

The following shot of a Snowy Egret at the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge could be a black and white photo in its original form. The egret was white except for a black bill and black feet, and some yellow around its eyes. The morning sun made the water appear pale blue, almost white. I converted the image to monochrome and it may look better than its color version.

Snowy Egret

To give some color to our drab front yard, I planted pansies in an island right in the middle of it. Unfortunately, the deer found the pansies irresistible and promptly chomped on them and pulled several out. I had to spray deer repellent to keep them away, but the pansy leaves now look blotchy. The following photo is of a flower that is almost intact. Its bright colors are yellow and deep brown, almost black. In monochrome, it is vividly black and white, and I hope you will like it this way.

Pansy: note the small puddle of rain water inside the flower.

Egrets

Tags

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

In a pond at EBF National Wildlife Refuge, a Snowy Egret looking for food passed by a preening Great Egret. I don’t often see Snowy Egrets preening like their bigger colleagues do.

Snowy Egret and Great Egret.