photoartflightOsprey Nests On Platforms @ 1200mm
Posted on July 27, 2019
A series of Osprey Platforms with nest images from the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR in Oceanville, NJ. I was using a Tamron 150-600mm lens with a 2X teleconverter to get closer to the Osprey Platforms. Then cropped in a little for a tighter composition. You can see the nests are not the neatest or cleanest when you are looking that close, but are still interesting. Also it is interesting when an Osprey sees you photographing them they really stare you down! The Canon R, even with a 2X teleconverter on a Tamron 150-600mm auto focuses quite quickly and right on focus. The Canon R will autofocus even with stacked 2x & 1.4X (or 1.7x) teleconverters. Did not try stacking 2X Teleconverters. I have also found that when stacking teleconverters I usually stop down a little more to help with sharpness.
Panoramas of Osprey Platform – Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
Posted on June 25, 2019
We went to the Brigantine Division of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, NJ to see what we could find to photograph. We usually like the wide variety of birds, but there were not as many shore birds as usual. And many birds were way far out in the distance. Lots of Swans, Some Black Skimmers, Terns, Great Blue Herons, Egrets, etc. Mostly the usual subjects. But all of the Osprey platforms had active nests with visible chicks. We usually concentrate on the platforms further down the Wildlife Drive, mainly because they are closer to the Drive, but you also do not get the Atlantic City skyline in the background. The Ospreys were not flying much, but it was still fun to photograph the nest activity. The featured image is a 4 image panorama shot with an Olympus m43 camera @84mm. I wanted an image to portray the nest platform in the landscape. All the reat were taken with a 150-600mm Tamron lens. I was quite impressed with Tamron 150-600mm on the Canon R. I had taken it on our trip to Florida and was amazed at the fine feather detail of breeding plumage birds. It auto-focuses nicely, was quite sharp. And the details were amazing. Even pushing the limits by adding a 2X teleconverter, I was impressed. It also kept up with skimming Black Skimmers working in the channels. On this day the clouds were also amazing.
3 img pano – shot @ 1200mm, Canon R Tamron 150-600mm lens, 2X teleconverter
shot @ 1200mm, cropped a little, Canon R, Tamron 150-600mm lens, 2X teleconverter
shot @ 1200mm, Canon R, Tamron 150-600mm lens, 2X teleconverter
Overall landscape, Olympus m43 Camera, 14mm
Osprey Flying Towards Nest
Posted on May 19, 2018
From a previous visit to the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, I photographed this Osprey heading for it’s nest, coming in for a landing. There are lots of Ospreys flying around the Refuge, plus many Osprey platforms with nests that are along the Wildlife Drive. If you wait by one of the platforms along the Drive you can get good images of Ospreys flying in or flying out. Plus bringing fish to feed the young Ospreys.
Unusual Osprey Nest
Posted on May 31, 2017
This is the 2nd year in a row I noticed an Osprey nest in this old, broken and battered remains of a small tree along the Wildlife Drive. It probably is only 4 feet off the ground, the lowest ever Osprey nest I have seen. They usually seek out a high position to protect the nest. They usually are high in trees, utility poles, towers, streetlights, almost any high structure that has enough space to put a nest. In Florida I remember seeing a street with almost every street light along the street occupied with Osprey nests.
I do not know if this is the returning Osprey from the previous year or just any easy place to put a nest.
Views of the nest
A Series of Horizontal Images to Compose a Vertical View Of The Surrounding Area
Osprey Platforms Along Wildlife Drive – Full Occupancy
Posted on May 30, 2017
There are quite a few Osprey platforms for building nests along the Wildlife Drive in the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Brigantine Division in Oceanville, NJ. Usually for some reason there are one or two that do not get used each year. But this year they seem to all occupied. There are also other nests throughout the Refuge that you do not see, except for the large amounts of Ospreys flying in the Refuge. The platforms along the Drive are a good place to wait for interesting photos. Everything from the Ospreys defending their nests and young from other Ospreys, hawks & other intruders, to seeing them mating or bringing fish to feed the young Ospreys. Also early in the season you will see them bringing sticks and branches to build the nest. You can get great flight shots as they leave or return to the platforms. You need a long lens, since they are not real close to the road and it is forbidden to go off the road. (But I have seen a few do that which is not a smart thing to do) Quite often there are times of a lot of action you can get photos of right above you on the Drive. Most platforms have a post nearby where the mate waits near the nest, sometimes eating a fish. While you are waiting for action from the Ospreys, there is usually lots of other subjects flying or wading by. Egrets, Herons, Terns, Gulls, Shorebirds, Cormorants, Bald Eagles, Swans, the list is endless. Also while you are waiting the landscapes and Cloudscapes are great there. A usual day there I can easily have 5,000 shots or more to go through especially if you are tracking the flying birds, shooting bursts to get the best wing positions. Or if you come upon a bunch of shorebirds in a feeding frenzy, with hundreds of birds going at it.
Ospreys Bringing Sticks to Their Nest
Posted on June 28, 2016
Osprey often keep bringing sticks to their nests even after they are built and there are young chicks in the nest. I do not know if it is for repairs or just what they do. It is fun to see them swoop them up from the water by the shore.
