Break from College

Break is coming up in a few days and I am looking forward to going home.  I am hoping that over the break I will at least get a few days to get out and enjoy the wilderness.  I will probably also start looking into where the best spots will be to photograph eagles this year as every year scenery changes and old spots close and new ones open.  Depending on tree growth and other things.  I like to start early because then I know when I get there which spot is the best and know exactly where I want to set up.  I am also hoping that I can set up some feeders at my house and hopefully get some shots of some local birds and see what I can see.  Plus I will be spending time with my family which is always nice.  But these breaks for me are always just about relaxing and enjoying my time in the wilderness and not at a college with thousands of other people.  So I should be updating soon as long as I get some photographs over my break.  Also after this break I only have 3 weeks of school then I'm home for about a month for Christmas Break.  So I should be able to get some nice photographs in the coming months.  Until next time. 

Photographs From Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge

I finally got the chance this weekend to look over the photographs I took while on my trip at  the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge.  I was a little disappointed but I did get a couple shots of the Great Blue Heron but there was very harsh lighting.  So they did not turn out to great.

But while uploading some of the pictures I realized I had some photographs from my last Bashakill Wildlife Management Area Trip that I never got a chance to look at.  So I have a couple of photographs of Red Winged Black Birds that turned out okay.

 Until Next Time.

Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge

Over my college break about a week ago I finally got the chance to get outside and take some photographs.  It was long overdue in my opinion.  I feel like I am so busy with work that I can never get out and take pictures.  But I was finally able to go out and my father found a new place to check out and I was quite surprised.  I didn't even know about the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge and it was not very far from my house.  It seems like it is not advertised at all and I was lucky that my father came across it in the paper.  We walked the entire liberty loop.  Which is a good amount of walking but I think it was worth it.  There was just an abundance of all kinds of wildlife.  I saw a few Bald Eagles, Hawks, a Kestrel, Deer, six Great Egrets, a Great Blue Heron, Sandpipers, tons of ducks, and red wing black birds by the hundreds.  Plus numerous other species of birds.  Also there was a ton of huge grasshoppers.  I had never seen anything like it.  Every step I took about 20 flew up in front of me.  But overall I was very satisfied with the trip and I am hoping that I get time this weekend to upload some of the photographs that I took.  Most of the animals were to far away but I am pretty sure that I got a picture of a Great Blue Heron and maybe some other stuff.  But I won't be sure till I get the shots on my computer.  Until next time. 

Summer

This summer did not go as I had hoped.  I did not really get many chances to go out and get wildlife photographs and spent most of my time working.  Plus a small trip to the hospital and numerous doctor's appointments.  I wish it had gone differently but I cannot change that now.  I am back at college and classes start tomorrow. This semester  I plan on taking hikes with my camera and hopefully find something to photograph.  I am sorry that I have not posted in a long time, but I really didn't get any worth while pictures.  I may also try photographing some other things besides wildlife.  So hopefully in the next few weeks I will have a decent number of pictures that I can upload.  Until next time.

Bashakill Trip From Last Week

 

Over the past week I have processed the photographs from my trips from last week.  Those trips were great.  Hopefully I will be able to get out to the Bashakill again soon.  But the last few days have been a rain out.  Some of the pictures came out better than others, but I was very happy with my first photograph of a cedar waxwing which I have only seen a few times.

 

 

Also I was pleased with the snapping turtle photographs and was content with the red tailed hawk photographs.  The hawk photographs would have been better if the lighting was not so harsh. 

 

 

 

Overall I was very pleased with them and I’m looking forward to getting some more photographs soon.  Until next time.

Back Home and Enjoying The Wildlife

It has been a long time since I have uploaded anything but this semester at college was the busiest I have ever had.  I have been out of school for about a week now and I can finally get working on my blog again.  I spent the last two days going to the Bashakill Wetlands and trying to find anything to photograph.  I was quite surprised by all the wildlife I have seen.  I even got some photographs of Cedar Waxwings, which I haven’t seen in years.  I also saw snapping turtles laying eggs.  But that’s just the beginning I also saw a Bald Eagle, an Osprey, a Red Tailed Hawk, Great Blue Herons, Warblers, Oriels, Tree and Barn Swallows, Geese,  and many other species of birds and turtles.  Plus a lot of Dragonflies and Tiger Swallowtail butterflies.  I’m hoping that I can get out a couple days every week and get some great photographs this summer.  Over the next few days I will be processing the images I have taken and I will upload them soon.  

Eagle Season Coming to an End

In a week I have another break from College, and I am looking forward for the oppertunity to do some photography. Its too bad that there wont be as many eagles. They will have already started to head back north, except for the eagles that breed in the area. But March is the time of year when waterfowl are plentiful. So I am probably going to head over to the Bashakill Wetlands and try my luck.

Last break was a bit of a letdown. I really only saw eagles a couple times. The first day was amazing they were litterly everywhere, but the rest of the week was not the same. It was very hard even to find them within photographing range.

I did see plenty of other animals though, including a downy woodpecker, and several different duck species. Hopefully this upcoming break will be better and I am looking forward to getting some nice photographs of several duck species, and depending on temperatures maybe some other animals.

 

College Break Coming Up

I can't wait until I get to go on break in a week. It is right in the middle of Eagle Season and I finally get the chance to go home and have the opportunity to get a few more good photographs. I just love spending the day out at the lake, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to photograph one of the most magnificent birds. It is just an amazing sight to see them fishing and fighting. Hopefully within the first few days I'll get some nice photographs, but you never know what you’re going to see. I'm just hoping I get a week of good weather and just have a lot of fun being out in the wilderness on my break.

Back at College

I'm sorry that I was unable to update my blog for a while. I really wanted to but I have not been able to get my mac laptop on the school's network. So I finally decided to download some software on my other laptop so I could work on my photographs. These photographs were all from the last week I had at home before I went back to college.

I had a lot of fun on my break photographing Bald Eagles.  It is always my favorite time of year when the eagles are around.  I do have another break in a few weeks and I have heard that there are even more eagles there than when I was home.  So I am really looking forward to it.

I hope you enjoy the photographs and I will try and update again soon. 

Immature Bald Eagles

The last few days have been excellent for bald eagle sightings.  Today was not the best day but I did see a few eagles.  I have also been seeing plenty of sea gulls, black ducks, and common mergansers.  I also keep seeing a kingfisher in the same spot everyday, but so far he has not been close enough to photograph.  

I’m hoping tomorrow will be a better day.  I only have one week till I go back to college.  So hopefully I will be able to get a few good shots before I head back.  Then I have a break about 4 weeks later.  Which should be prime eagle season where I live. 

I will try and post a couple more photographs within the next few days.  I hope everyone enjoys the photographs.  Feel free to comment on the photographs or leave questions.

Lots of Bald Eagles Over the Past Couple Days

It has been a great week for Bald Eagle photographs.  I spend a couple hours every morning out at the lake and the Bald Eagles are everywhere.  I've seen over a dozen Eagles everyday.  Two days ago was a the best day I have had in a long time. The Eagles were feeding and continually hitting the water.  I got a few good shots of them fishing, which are the first flying shots I have gotten in a while.

It is especially challenging for me to get these shots because I'm using a Manual Focus Lens.  On most of the flying photographs I was using my lens at 600mm to make it easier to focus.  Also I didn't need much more focal length than that, because the Eagles were so close.

 I hope you enjoy the Eagle Photographs.  I will be posting more soon.