This morning I took a trip to Dune Road and was quite surprised at how high the tide was. The marshes were all completely flooded out with the waves lapping against the roadway in many areas. Because of these super high tides - I knew birds would be scarce (since there's virtually no where to forage). I got lucky in seeing some Red-breasted Mergansers that were close to shore (or the road rather) as well as a Great Blue Heron that was hanging around.
The real highlight though was a Northern Harrier that was cruising along the road, east of Ponquogue which allowed excellent views and a couple decent shots. The ocean was quite calm and held nothing of note. I ran into some volunteers from the Riverhead Foundation who unfortunately were retrieving a (long) dead Loggerhead Sea Turtle that was likely the victim of cold-stunning in the fall.
I took all of these photos with my Nikon D300s - but will be upgrading shortly to the new Nikon D7100! Pre-order yours @ amazon today:
Great shots! I love the expression on the Heron--- they always have this austere look while thy stalk around for fish (which they somehow manage to do with the grace of a ballet dancer.) I miss our Herons--- they tend to come back to the pond when it gets warmer. Have you seen many Juncos this winter?
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