photoartflightGreat Egret FlyBy
Posted on March 9, 2022
This is an image taken years ago at the Brigantine Division of the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR in Oceanville NJ. I was photographing other birds in the distance when this Great Egret flew close by me. I was able to get one image in focus as it passed by me before it changed course and flew away. It was so close I had to clip the one wingtip. I was using a Canon 20D with a 400mm DO lens.
Up In The Trees
Posted on July 8, 2017
We have been to the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge a few times, but on this visit it seemed a lot of the Egrets and Herons were in some of the tall trees around the water. Not too many were in the water. Seemed strange too see so many Egrets on top of these, but seemed like they had good balance!
An Osprey seemed to join in but not in a tree
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.
Start Of The Day
Posted on April 20, 2015
When the Sun starts to rise, you see flocks of birds flying out into the sunrise to start the day, feeding and moving around the refuge. Some days you see Egrets fly out 1 by 1, or if you are lucky you might see large flocks of Egrets or Cormorants going out in waves. Even with a high ISO, you still get a slight movement blur because of the lack of light. But it adds to the sense of the darkness of early morning and the movement of the birds.
Cormorants crossing over before sunrise.
Cormorant Flock flying out across the horizon.
Early Morning Fly-out, before the sun came up.
Lone Egret heading out across the refuge before the sun came up.
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