photoartflightGreat 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.
Great Egret Landing
Posted on December 8, 2016
I was going through images from earlier in the year and found some that I forgot I had. Great Egrets are fun to photograph, especially on landing. You can get some interesting wing and leg positions as they flare for a landing. You just have to be careful in exposing for the whites, especially in bright sunlight.
Another Great Egret Panorama
Posted on July 8, 2016
This Great Egret was stalking the shoreline looking for a meal. I wanted to include the Egret’s reflection since it added to the overall look I wanted, so I shot 2 shots quickly to minimize the Egret’s movement. Aligned, blended and composed in Photoshop.
Great Egret Panorama
Posted on June 27, 2016
I found this Great Egret in the grasses along the Wildlife Drive at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge . It was too close to fit the whole bird and background scene in so I shot two handheld shots quickly to combine later. In Photoshop I combined the 2 shots, added more details in the white Egret and opened up the shadows somewhat.
Great Egrets in Breeding Plumage
Posted on June 25, 2016
I found these Great Egrets feeding in a group. You can see they still have some Breeding Plumage and the colorful greenish lore by the eyes. They stayed together for quite a while working an area for food.
Single Egret from group showing breeding plumage better.
Great Egret Breeding Plumage
Posted on March 8, 2016
It is getting to the time of year when birds will be in breeding plumage. Which is a great time to photograph birds! Especially large wading birds. The wispy feathers and colorful lores add to the images. Looking forward to seeing what we can find. These are some from previous years.
Brigantine Birdscape Panorama
Posted on September 3, 2015
Sometimes I like to shoot what I call a “Birdscape”. Basically a photo to show the birds in their environment and how they act together or with other birds. With some birds it is fun to see how they act in groups or with other types. It can also give you some interesting images. Here I am just showing stander behaviors. Sometimes it adds interest or helps show where you might look for them. Especially the Night Herons. The Featured Image is a 4 shot panorama, shot handheld, aligned and assembled in Photoshop. The rest are single shots showing a Great Egret working the shoreline for a meal, then giving up. But they show the bird in their surroundings.
Great Egret Landing In Morning Sun
Posted on September 2, 2015
It was a slow morning at the Celery Farm Natural Area and then, with the early morning sun coming up, a Great Egret Flew in. I liked the reflections in the dark water, adding some interest to the usual Great Egret shots. Although the sun was coming from behind I exposed for the bright white wings and then opened up the shadows a little in Adobe Camera Raw. I like shooting Egrets with strong backlighting coming through the wings and interesting reflections in the water. These are from a series of about 30 to 40 images.
After Flying In the Great Egret was Successful and Caught a Small Fish. Maybe it was an appetizer.
Egret & Heron Trees
Posted on August 23, 2015
One of my favorite spots at the Brigantine Division of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville NJ is this group of two trees near the end of the wildlife drive. It does not look like much at a quick glance, but if you look at what is in the trees it is full of photo opportunities. It is like a bird condo. The tree on the right has 64+ birds that you can see, not counting the ones on the other side and down below on the ground and in the water. The types I found on this pass were Great Egret, Little Egret, Snowy Egret, Immature Little Blue Heron, Immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron, in various amounts. Glossy Ibises were foraging in the water beneath and to the side, with Great Blue Herons and Cormorants. Plus there was constant coming and going. I have also seen Hawks, Bald Eagles, Black-crowned Night Herons and Cattle Egrets here. It is a constant coming and going and depending on the water it can be extremely buggy. Sometimes you really have to scan the trees with a long lens and then you say did I see something. This time I saw something that I thought might be a Black-crowned Night-heron and waited for it to maybe move more and show itself. I was surprised to see 2 immature Yellow-Crowned Night-herons, which then flew off. There is also a number of small birds flying in and out. So depending how patient you are and how the bugs are behaving it is a fun place to observe and photograph.
Immature Yellow-crowned Night-herons flying out.
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