Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge Day 3

Sandpipers freak out over the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Before I head home, I always like to take one more spin around Wildlife Drive, just in case a flock of snowy owls had flown in overnight.  They hadn't.  However, the rain and warmer weather had melted some of the ice close to the drive, so there were more birds within 300mm shooting distance.  It was mostly mallards and Canada geese, though.  Not to poo poo those types of birds, but they're not exactly exotic, where I live in North Jersey. 

There was, however, a flock of sandpipers?  A gaggle of sandpipers?  A murder of sandpipers?  A bunch of sandpipers?  Yes, a bunch of sandpipers, who had found something delicious on which to snack on the ice's surface had gathered close to the drive.  That, in its self, did not make for a particularly fascinating photograph.  However, they have this wonderful habit of being suddenly startled for no apparent reason and doing their best impression of a starling murmeration.

Enjoy!

Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge Day 2

Day 2 at the refuge was a bit more eventful.  It was rainy all day and a bit warmer, and I knew what that meant.  Melted ice!  Stop scratching your heads.  Melted ice means more open water closer to shore, which means more birds within camera range. There weren't a lot, but there were enough to keep me interested.

Have a look.

Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge Day 1

This past weekend I had to head to the Noyes Museum of Art in Galloway to pick up some photographs I had hanging in their "Aftermath" exhibit.  It's really a wonderful place, and I highly recommend it.  One of my favorite things about the museum is that it is about a quarter of a mile from the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.  

The Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite places in New Jersey.  I sometimes wish I lived close to it..  However, when I think about it, I realize that's not such a great idea, because I might never leave.  The problem I have when I go there is that I am so smitten with the wildlife I usually forget to enjoy the beautiful landscape. 

I was determined to not do that on this visit.  It's helpful that in the winter there isn't as high a concentration of birds.  Also, because most of the water close to Wildlife Drive was frozen on this visit, a lot of the birds, like that tease of a snowy owl, were beyond the useful range of my 300mm even with a teleconverter.

That said, patience and determination do eventually pay off, but you'll have to wait for day two and three for that.

Here is some of what I saw on Sunday.

Sunlight glistens off the bay between the refuge and Atlantic City.

The colors and textures of the grasses are magnificent.

Mallards

McDade Trail

I, finally, got my camera out to McDade trail, which winds along the Delaware River in Pennsylvania.

 

This is an unharvested field of soybeans

 

This is an unharvested field of soybeans

Egrets Behaving Badly

I spent a couple of days at the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, and this happened.