New Jersey Photo Day

I must say, I am very disappointed with myself on this trip.  I could easily be upset with the birds for not being very cooperative when it comes to the photos I attempted to take of them, but really, I can't be, as I should be thankful that they even come close enough to see with binoculars or the naked eye in the first place.  That was the case with the Connecticut Warbler.  It had hundreds of trees, stretching back into the woods, that it could have sat in and would have been completely invisible.  Yet it chose to come out and let the birders at field 3 at Higbee take even a brief look at it.  So, when those of us who are into photography can't get the picture, we just have to be happy we saw it at all and there were other birders there to see it with.

The moral of this story is, if you have been a birder for many long years and think it's a good time to get into photography, remember the birds don't play by the rules and you could be in for a letdown if you think you're always going to get the picture.

Here now are the photos I did get:

Ring-necked Pheasants:

Flipper and Friends:

Saltmarsh Sparrow:

Amarican Avocets:

Black Skimmers, Calm Before the Storm:

Fleeing the Approaching Storm:

This was the sky before the big storm.  We should have high-tailed it back to the car right then and there.  It was this storm that caused the cancellation of the overnight pelagic.

 The view from Sandy Hook.  The new Freedom Tower highlights the New York skyline:

Not the Elegant Terns we were seeking, but these commoners on Sandy Hook were cute: