Once in a while, I'm happy with a rainy weekend because I can (slightly) catch up on the backlog of unedited photographs.

A little teaser of today's edit, photo of a Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) photographed in Palisades Interstate Park, Alpine, New Jersey:  

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon 1Dx camera and 600mm f/4 lens II 

Make sure to visit my Falcons gallery to see more: www.greggard.com/falcons

Immature Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) coming in for a landing. 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon 7D camera and 500mm f/4 lens + 1.4x extender II

Same as last week's "Florida Friday" photograph, this one was also taken at J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel, Florida.

Taking advantage of a rainy weather, I just edited this new photo of a Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca). I took this photo on my latest visit at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Smyrna, Delaware. There were hundreds of shorebirds in the Raymond Pool but as it usually happens, all too far to photograph. Once in the while more adventurous bird would come closer allowing for a nice close-ups:

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon 1Dx camera and 600mm f/4 lens II + 1.4x extender III

"Cool fact:

- Although the Greater Yellowlegs is common and widespread, its low densities and tendency to breed in inhospitable, mosquito-ridden muskegs make it one of the least-studied shorebirds on the continent" - Cornell Lab

Here is a wading bird that I don't see to often in New Jersey, Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea):

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon 7D camera and 500mm f/4 lens + 1.4x extender II

This photograph was taken at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel, Florida. 

Contrary to most people complaining about the slow spring migration in the Northeast so far, I really enjoy photographing spring arrivals in the slower pace, not thinking what I'm missing out on by not being somewhere else "chasing" the migrants...

Beautiful weather really makes it very enjoyable experience! But as others, I can't wait for the "main event" to finally begin!

Yesterday, I spent about 5 hours photographing Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (Polioptila caerulea). What a beautiful bird!

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon 1Dx camera and 600mm f/4 lens II + 1.4x extender III

If you ever tried to photograph these birds, you probably know how fast they move and never stay still!

They are very similar to Ruby-crowned Kinglets: 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon7D camera and 400mm f/5.6 lens 

and Golden-crowned Kinglets in their quick movements:

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon7D camera and 300mm f/2.8 lens

This week's "Florida Friday" photograph is once again photograph taken at the Venice Rookery, Venice, Florida. Place internationally known to birders and bird photographers for its nesting activity of Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Anhingas, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Glossy Ibises, Green Herons, Tricolored Herons and Black-crowned Night-Herons. Definitely place worth a visit!

Once again it is a common bird in New Jersey but rarely seen in its early age, Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias):

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon 7D camera and 500mm f/4 lens + 1.4x extender II

"Cool Facts:

- Thanks to specially shaped neck vertebrae, Great Blue Herons can curl their neck into an S shape for a more aerodynamic flight profile and to quickly strike prey at a distance.

- Great Blue Herons have specialized feathers on their chest that continually grow and fray. The herons comb this “powder down” with a fringed claw on their middle toes, using the down like a washcloth to remove fish slime and other oils from their feathers as they preen. Applying the powder to their underparts protects their feathers against the slime and oils of swamps.

- Despite their impressive size, Great Blue Herons weigh only 5 to 6 pounds thanks in part to their hollow bones—a feature all birds share.

- Great Blue Herons can hunt day and night thanks to a high percentage of rod-type photoreceptors in their eyes that improve their night vision." - Cornell Lab

Another teaser photo. This time a Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) photographed at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware.

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon 1Dx camera and 600mm f/4 lens II + 1.4x extender III

I hope to catch up with editing more photographs from this trip soon, where despite low number of warblers for the spring migration, I had a very cooperative Common Yellowthroats and shorebirds. More to come!

One of my goals when visiting Florida, was to see common birds that spend summer/fall in New Jersey but are rarely seen in their breeding plumage. Excellent example is a Great Egret (Ardea alba), displaying:

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon 7D camera and 500mm f/4 lens + 1.4 II teleconverter

"Cool facts:

- The Great Egret is the symbol of the National Audubon Society, one of the oldest environmental organizations in North America. Audubon was founded to protect birds from being killed for their feathers.

- Not all young that hatch survive the nestling period. Aggression among nestlings is common and large chicks frequently kill their smaller siblings.

- The pristinely white Great Egret gets even more dressed up for the breeding season. A patch of skin on its face turns neon green, and long plumes grow from its back. Called aigrettes, those plumes were the bane of egrets in the late nineteenth century, when such adornments were prized for ladies’ hats." - Cornell Lab

A teaser photo of an adult Common Loon coming into the breeding plumage: 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - Photograph taken with a Canon 5D mark III camera and 600mm f/4 II lens + 1.4x extender III

Freshly caught crab was an added bonus :) 

If you want to see a Common Loon in breeding plumage in New Jersey, better hurry. They will soon fly North with a search for breeding grounds. This photograph was taken in Point Pleasant but I'm sure Barnegat Light and other coastal hot spots host these beautiful diving birds. 

Hopefully, I will post more photographs next week...

Change of plans.

With the amount of unedited photographs from my 2012 trip to Florida, I've decided to give them a special place on my blog. Each Friday, I will share a newly edited photo (not a Wednesday as previously planned).

This week's highlight of that trip is a photograph of a Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) taken at the Venice Rookery, Venice, Florida. This bird, as a skillful fashion model, chose a perfect perch in a beautiful warm light of the setting sun. There was nothing left to do other than pressing the shutter button :)

Photograph taken with a Canon 7D camera and 500mm f/4 lens  - for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

For this week's Wings on Wednesday two recent photographs of the local Peregrine Falcon flying over the Hudson River.

Photograph taken with a Canon 5D mark III camera and 600mm f/4 lens  - for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

Photograph taken with a Canon 5D mark III camera and 600mm f/4 lens - for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

Even though Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) is a year-long resident of New Jersey, I've never seen one before. On my way back home from Cape May, I decided to visit Dorothy, town were three Red-headed Woodpeckers were recently seen. Within 10 minutes I located one and took these photographs:

Photograph taken with a Canon 5D mark III camera and 600mm f/4 lens + 1.4x teleconverter 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

Photograph taken with a Canon 5D mark III camera and 600mm f/4 lens + 1.4x teleconverter 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

Photograph taken with a Canon 5D mark III camera and 600mm f/4 lens + 1.4x teleconverter

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

"Cool facts about Red-headed Woodpecker:

- it is one of only four North American woodpeckers known to store food, and it is the only one known to cover the stored food with wood or bark. It hides insects and seeds in cracks in wood, under bark, in fenceposts, and under roof shingles. Grasshoppers are regularly stored alive, but wedged into crevices so tightly that they cannot escape

- it has many nicknames, including half-a-shirt, shirt-tail bird, jellycoat, flag bird, and the flying checker-board

Red-headed woodpeckers don’t act quite like most other woodpeckers: they’re adept at catching insects in the air, and they eat lots of acorns and beech nuts, often hiding away extra food in tree crevices for later." - Cornell Lab

This time for the "Wings on Wednesday" theme, I'm posting photographs of a Great Gray Owl. This series was taken by my wife(!) on our short trip to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. We had a great time there photographing these beautiful birds. Great Gray Owl was on our wish list, of birds to see, for long time. Now we are left with the hunt for another rare bird that will be as beautiful and cooperative as these owls :D

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

Please pick your favorite by leaving a comment below.

Thank you!

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Each week, as a Wayback Wednesday feature, I will continue to post more photographs from my 2012 trip to Florida.

Today's highlight from that trip is a Great Horned Owlet found at Fort De Soto Park, Tierra Verde. 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

If you are looking for reliable host of your photography online, Zenfolio provides an excellent service than I'm happy with for over 7 years. To save 10% of your first year, please use my referral (discount code) YRF-6XN-3BX for your new Zenfolio account. Feel free to try their 14-day Free Trial!

I just edited some more photographs from the first day of photographing Red-necked Grebe at West Hudson Park in Harrison / Kearny, New Jersey. Since this grebe was very cooperative I have a lot of photographs to share :)

Here are my favorites from that day:

This is how this grebe spends most of the time:

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

The must "head-on" pose:  

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

and the "Scream" pose:

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

Close-up shot: 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

Yet another Florida photo but this time an American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) in flight, photographed in J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel, Florida. My wife and i had a one week long trip in 2012. During that time our goal was to visit some of the best known birding spots. Ding Darling NWR is one of our favorite places we've visited so far and definitely we will be back there next time when visiting Florida.

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

Quick edit of an another rare bird in New Jersey. This time it is a Red-necked Grebe found yesterday in West Hudson Park, Kearny, NJ. To my surprise this grebe was very cooperative. Mallards seemed more skittish at that pond :)

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

- for larger view and EXIF data, please click on the image - 

Research before you go!

Surprise, surprise! With today's reports we have 4 Pacific Loons in NJ!

I got a chance to photograph one of them in Morris Plains, New Jersey this morning. My plan for today was set on Lake Parsipanny but thanks to a Jonathan Klizas' post on mocosoco Birds I found out that there is a another Pacific Loon reported close by. It turned out that Lake Parsipanny's loon was very distant where the Morris Plains' bird was located on much smaller water body and much easier to get a decent photo.

- click on the image to view it larger -

As a bonus, I met there Kevin Bolton! He is one of the best bird photographers using less conventional, but rapidly growing, digicoping method. You can checkout his work by clicking this link: JerseyDigiscoping

Tricolored Heron preening - Egretta tricolor -  J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel, Florida

- for larger view and for EXIF data please click on the image -