“Don’t look back” may be good psychological advice for putting the past behind you, but for wildlife photographers in the field, it’s advice to be ignored. Shortly after I arrived at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm yesterday, I looked ahead and saw a photographer I didn’t recognize pointing a camera with a long, tripod-mounted lensContinue reading “The irony of wildlife photography”
Tag Archives: Wildlife
In nature photography, how much post-processing is too much?
Saturday morning arrived cool and very, very overcast gray in my part of the mid-Atlantic region. Those conditions can occasionally make for great photos, but often they leave me with dull, muddy images. The photo above of a great blue heron stalking in Colonial Lake just off Business U.S. 1 in Lawrence Township is whatContinue reading “In nature photography, how much post-processing is too much?”
Big days in May: chasing the rare prothonotary warbler
When I first started paying attention to the Spring migration a couple of years ago, I saw sporadic, excited reports of prothonotary warblers being spotted here in New Jersey. What a weird name for a bird, I thought, and I’ll be darned if I’m going to chase all over kingdom come to find one. AContinue reading “Big days in May: chasing the rare prothonotary warbler”
Bird song is returning, an early signal of spring at the Pole Farm
At the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, a few early signs that spring will get here eventually are starting to show. Over my last couple of visits, I’ve started hearing after a long layoff the raspy cries of red-winged blackbirds, and the Eastern bluebirds are calling to one another. This morning, I noticed that a fewContinue reading “Bird song is returning, an early signal of spring at the Pole Farm”
Patience pays off, in birding and nature photography
On most Saturday mornings, I start my day at the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm. I don’t have the pressure of having to get back in time to catch a bus to work, so I have more time to wander the fields. This morning, I arrived before dawn, hoping to catch sight of the short-eared owlsContinue reading “Patience pays off, in birding and nature photography”
Appreciating the quiet times of birding
It’s a relatively quiet time for birding in my part of the world, as I’m keenly aware every morning I walk the fields and woods of the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm or the nearby locations that I frequent. It would be different if I lived closer to the Jersey shore, which is teeming with wildContinue reading “Appreciating the quiet times of birding”
Birding joy: Finding the unexpected on your camera roll
It happens frequently on my outings that I point my binoculars at a distant bird and can’t figure out what it is. If I’m lucky, I have enough time to point my camera and capture a few frames, hoping that the bird’s identity will be revealed once I get the images up on screen backContinue reading “Birding joy: Finding the unexpected on your camera roll”
The bald eagles living next door
Although I generally head to the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm for most of my morning outings, I occasionally switch my destination to another nearby park. I did so today and was rewarded with an encounter with two bald eagles. I headed to Colonial Lake and Park, which is a mile and a half from myContinue reading “The bald eagles living next door”
Beyond birds: Butterflies and other flying creatures abound
If the birds are shy, I turn to butterflies. I usually can count on spotting at least bird 20 species whenever I visit the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm, but that’s usually under ideal conditions in the morning when the birds are at their most active. Whenever I get an opportunity to make an afternoon visitContinue reading “Beyond birds: Butterflies and other flying creatures abound”
No matter how you pronounce it, the bobolink is a cool bird
The bobolinks have been hanging around the Mercer Meadows Pole Farm for the last few weeks, and that’s a reason to rejoice. These long-wandering migrants are partial to grasslands, and the Pole Farm has big fields well-suited for them. The first bobolink I saw this season came in late May, a female or possibly aContinue reading “No matter how you pronounce it, the bobolink is a cool bird”
The Jersey Birder 