photoartflightGreat Blue Heron Across Gull Pond
Posted on February 16, 2017
There was not too many birds to photograph, but I liked this lonely Great Blue Heron in one of the trees across Gull Pond. It looked a little lonely but I saw another about to land but banked and flew over the trees.
Birdscape – Roosting Great Blue Heron
Mute Swans
Posted on February 12, 2017
Most of the Wildlife Drive was closed for repairs so access was limited to the refuge. Some of my favorite areas to photograph birds were not accessible. But I did find a few Mute Swans that cooperated and did a slow swim by for a few photos.
Mute Swan FlyBy
Posted on February 7, 2017
These were taken at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge a while ago. It was a foggy day and we were hoping it would burn off as the sun was getting higher. We saw this group of 4 swans coming towards us out of the heavy fog. They were close together and one behind was an Immature Mute Swan. They came very close and in a tight formation. I shot quite a few as they flew by, thinking they would not be great because of the fog and grayish look. But in Photoshop I brought up enough detail to be interesting.
Great Blue Heron In The Fog
Posted on January 22, 2017
Early in the morning we arrived at Blackwater NWR and the fog was quite heavy. We thought it was going to burn off in an hour or so, according to the weather reports. I found this Great Blue Heron at the beginning of the Wildlife Drive and thought it was interesting. I increased the contrast and saturation in Adobe Camera Raw so you could at least see the Heron, but still have the feel of it being in fog. In “real life” the fog was so heavy you could hardly see the Heron. It was a “flat” gray with hardly any color, just gray. I also continued along the Wildlife Drive shooting different landscapes and “still life” detail images which I still have to get to.
Snow Geese
Posted on December 31, 2016
I was going through some external hard disks and found some images I had not worked on. For this post I am using Snow Geese images taken at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge taken in November a few years ago. There used to be flocks of thousands of Snow Geese in the Winter months at Blackwater NWR but in recent years they have moved to different locations. The noise of thousands of Snow Geese squawking as they take off or land in huge flocks is amazing. These photos are of a lone pair coming in for a landing.
A different group of birds flew by as I was shooting the above Snow Geese – 3 Marine FA-18s.
Wild Turkey
Posted on December 26, 2016
We saw this Wild Turkey walking along a path at the end of the Wildlife Drive at the Brigantine Division of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, NJ. I was hoping it would turn slightly so I could get a better photo, but it just kept walking away from us. This was the best view of the series. I had heard them and saw them far away, but this was the first one I saw somewhat close by.
Snowy Egret Fishing
Posted on December 16, 2016
Snowy Egrets wade in shallow water to spear fish and other small aquatic animals. While they may employ a sit-and-wait technique to capture their food, sometimes they are much more animated, running back and forth through the water with their wings spread, chasing their prey. This one was quite animated, moving quickly. This shot was when it paused between the action. Also some of the other birds moved out of the way.
Eagles at Sunrise
Posted on December 14, 2016
When we go to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge Maryland, we try to arrive right before sunrise. It takes us about 4 hours, so with traffic, many times we arrive a little late. On this trip we got there right on time. Driving down the entrance road and stopping to sign in, we spotted these 2 Eagles in a tree right along the entrance road. I liked the warm light as the sun was rising behind the tree with the Eagles, giving me an abstract silhouette of the Eagles. I got a few shots, but we wanted to get a little further down the road for some Landscapes with the rising sun.
Mute Swans From The Edwin B. Forsythe NWR
Posted on December 13, 2016
Going through my files and found these images of Mute Swans taken at the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, Brigantine Division in Oceanville, NJ. This is one of my favorite locations to photograph birds. From shore birds, to wadding birds, to raptors it has a diverse amount of photo subjects for you to look for. Plus there are great subjects in every season.
Great Egret Preening
Posted on December 11, 2016
A series of images of a preening Great Egret. I liked the feather detail and lighting on this Great Egret. He posed for quite a while giving me ample time to photograph the Egret in a variety of poses.This is the same group of trees that the Black-crowned Night-heron from the previous post was in.
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