Winter Weather

I didn't have many chances to get out this week, due to job interviews and the weather.  However I did go through some of my older pictures and found two that I liked.  So I will post them.  One was a black capped chickadee in my backyard.  The other was a black duck from last week.  

I am looking forward to getting out again soon.  Hopefully the weather is better this week, because Winter Storm Thor seemed to last forever here and ruined the start of the week.  This week’s weather looks more promising so hopefully nothing changes.  Enjoy the images.  Until Next Time.

Eagle Season Nearing The End

I awoke this morning to a snow storm, so I decided to go through some photographs from the week.  One of the photographs I liked was a Black Capped Chickadee photo, the only problem was it was snowing and a snow flake made a large blur by the Chickadee.  The other photograph I believe is an American Black Duck.  I liked the duck photograph because it was different because it was pruning itself and it kept closing its eyelid.  

This week was a slow week for bald eagles.  The count was down and they were uncooperative.  However there were a lot more ducks around.  So it appears that migratory duck season has started in this area.  I am looking forward to taking a trip out to the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge this duck season.  I have not been home this time of year in four years due to college, and I have never been there during the duck migration periods.  I would also love to photograph some owls this year, and the fields on the Liberty Loop Trail at the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge might be the place to see some.  I have never photographed owls before and I would love the opportunity too.  They really are interesting birds and they have always eluded me.  Hopefully I will get out more soon.  Until Next Time.

Nyquist Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary Trip

Last week I took a trip to Nyquist Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary and was very pleased with the experience.  It was the first time I had ever been there.  The trails are very well kept and I was surprised by the abundance of wildlife.

Crossing over the first bridge I saw some ducks on one side including wood ducks and black ducks I believe and on the other side there was some Mute Swans with babies.  The shots I got of the Mute Swans didn't come out well so I am not going to post them.  I was rather disappointed with the shots of them.

I did get a couple shots of the ducks and there babies as well as a fly catcher.  I also saw tanagers which I don't see that often.  It was a shame I did not get a good shot at them either.  I also saw some Herons but they were not cooperating.  They kept hiding in the marsh.  I also saw a downy woodpecker but he only stayed for a second.  But I was very happy with the trip and did manage a few good shots.  The only thing I didn't like about the fly catcher shots was the shadows from the harsh sun, but other than that I was very pleased.  Hope you like them.

One more week!

I can't wait to go home.  I talked to my brother yesterday and he told me that there is an abundance of wildlife present at the Bashakill Wetlands which is only about a 20 minute drive from my house.  He believes that due to the abnormally warm weather that there are a lot of birds in the area that would normally not be there yet.  He told me that there are a lot of different duck species, tons of small birds, and even Great Blue Herons already.  So hopefully in my nine days at home I will be able to really spend some significant time out there and hopefully it will result in some amazing shots. 

Abundance of Wildlife

Yesterday was full of excitement, from the time I got to the lake to the time I left.  When I first arrived I spotted a couple of eagles.  Plus there were many types of waterfowl including common mergansers, American black ducks, and Red-breasted mergansers.  The lake was also teeming with seagulls.  After about a half an hour more eagles started to show up.  I could not even count how many I saw during the day.  They were very active fishing, but I did not capture a good shot of any while fishing.  I did get a good shot of an eagle while it was taking off.  Out of all the photographs I took it seemed like the only good one.  I not only got to see eagles chasing ducks and one eagle attack a seagull that had caught a fish, but I also saw eagles locking claws and fighting each other.  It was absolutely incredible.  I hope when the snow stops, that I can get another chance at the lake this afternoon. 

Great Day

Today was a really good day.  About a week ago I was wishing for bright sunlight but today I finally got it.  The only problem was that the light was so bright it was washing out the whites in the Bald Eagles heads.  I wish there was a little bit of clouds today so the light would have been filtered but it was not.  I was so happy to see many Eagles, and was delighted that there was a good amount of action but I was disappointing when I saw the images when I got back home.  Today wildlife was plentiful.  I saw many American Black Ducks, seven Bald Eagles, four of which were full mature.  Also I saw some sparrows, and I just missed my chance to get a photograph of a kingfisher on a stump.  I was so close but it flew away.  Overall the day was very good, but it could have been a little better.  I just need to work on my skills and capture even better images.  Don't forget you can click on the images to enlarge them.