Birds and humans and dogs made it through the storm. As you can see from the pictures, bird life outside went on as usual. Inside birds just napped and squawked at the rats trying to take shelter under the house.
Pre Hurricane Irene birds on Saturday. They don’t look too worried about the hurricane.
Just as the hurricane passed over, the birds returned to the feeders. It is actually raining in this picture.
Enjoy the video Hurricane Irene is For the Birds
I went on a peregrine pilgrimage to this fabulous area today. My friend, Mike, comes here often and can’t praise the bird photography opportunities enough. I made my way around the marsh for over three hours and was rewarded with some wonderful shots. My bird ID skills are not the greatest, but I think you will find great egrets, sandpipers, lesser yellow legs, tern and a monarch butterfly. I like the two egrets the best.
Kissing Cousins?
The terns fishing were the hit of the day.
The egrets fishing were not so bad, either.
This one kept his eye on me.
This little baby was following its mother everywhere.
What’s for Lunch?
The day would not have been complete without a flying egret shot.
If I can’t find an eagle, I can find something else. A great blue heron chose to fly right at me and land right next to me at the dock at the park. The ever present osprey made its appearance.
It is like the heron is saying, “Hey, you took my spot!”
Osprey Diving for a Fish
I managed to make it up to Annsville Circle to check out the eagles. The bird flying over the eastern estuary was definitely an osprey. I got very excited when I thought an immie eagle was overhead at the Paddlesport Park. It was just another one of those numerous osprey sitings. This time the bird was playing talon tag with a seagull. I included a few pictures of an osprey from a couple of weeks ago. These are probably all the same bird. The really overexposed picture was printed on water color paper and looked like a painting. The glossy print and internet versions do not do the photography justice.
Osprey at Annsville Circle, 2011
Osprey at Shattemuc Yacht Club, 2011
Osprey at Croton Point Park, 2011
The weather is fabulous today. There is sunshine, low humidity and temps in the 80s. The Hudson River sparkled. Just missed a flock of swans swooping overhead as they checked out a new landing spot. The little birds stole the show. The eagles were in hiding.
Swans at Croton Boat Landing Train Trestle, 2011
Seagull on a Foggy Morning, Croton Boat Landing, 2011
(Hudson River School of Photography)
Young Killdeer? Croton Boat Landing, 2011
Cedar Waxwing Fledglings, Croton Point Park, 2011
Robin Fledgling in my Backyard, 2011
The rain has finally stopped after two and a half days. Low tide on the Hudson River will be in the mornings for a couple of more days. I am hoping to catch a glimpse of our resident eagles and/or their fledglings.
While waiting for the rain to stop, I finally decided to photograph my own birds. It is much harder than getting pictures of the wild birds. Practice makes perfect. Well, perfect practice makes perfect. The following pictures represent practice to prepare for that perfect parrot picture.
Mutton Chops and Verde Birdie
Chicklet, Green Cheeked Conure
Skittles, Scarlet Macaw
