Neighborhood Merlin

A few weeks ago I was out the door a few minutes early on a Friday morning in order to get to a Natural History conference - as I got to a stop sign a block away I saw a small bird on a neighbors snag and turned down that road to get a closer look.  Sure enough - a Merlin, and it had prey.  I called my wife and asked if she could get my camera bag and bring it to the door to save me from having to go get it... a couple minutes later I was photographing the bird as it consumed what I later determined to be a House Sparrow (non-native/invasive species, so as prey items go this was a great choice!).

On my way home from the conference it was snowing and I hoped the Merlin would be there - but I wasn't in luck.  My wife returned home a few minutes later to report she saw an Osprey nearby so I headed out to try and get a shot of that bird in the snow which certainly would make for an unusual shot.  By the time I got to the location the Osprey was gone, but as I returned back home, who was there waiting for me?  The Merlin.

The next morning as I left to go look for birds - I lucked out a 3rd time.  There was the Merlin on the same tree and this time the sun was actually shining!  What a treat.

Haven't seen the bird since (it has likely migrated north as they don't breed this far south) but this morning while running near the Swan River I saw two falcons - I'm quite confident they were Peregrines but have only seen them around here once and it's possible they were Merlin.  Either way, anytime you get to see a falcon this close (to me AND to my home) it's a real treat.

Signs of Spring

Just a quick update here - signs of spring are all around us and I've been lucky to photograph a few things that I don't get a lot of opportunities to see.  Last weekend I happily re-located a great-horned owlet sitting in the nest which has historically been occupied by Osprey.  I'm hoping that next time I visit the bird will be in the "branching" phase and will be found on some of the tree snags that are near the nest.

I also went to check out a fox den that I photographed last year at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge.  I found the den but the kits weren't outside - one of the adults (almost certainly the male) was out in the field hunting though.  Eventually it decided it was time for a nap and it curled up to go to sleep which I viewed from my car via my binoculars.  I took the chance to sneak up and around the bend behind a brush pile where I was able to get a shot or two of the fox before retreating.

While I had been waiting for the fox in the car - this Bluebird landed on a tree branch next to my car which made for an easy photo.  Hopefully this weekend will give me some good weather and let me find a few more treats.

Early arrivals are fueling up

Nikon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC, f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 400, -.33 EC

The early spring arrivals were busy today eating all the fish they could catch.  The Great Egret of course going for much smaller sized meals than the big osprey - but with talons like those it makes catching fish much easier!

NIkon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC, f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 400, -.33 EC

There were about 5 Great Egrets along Dune Rd. stalking the marshes and I look forward to seeing more wading birds, including Snowy Egrets and Yellow-Crowned Night Herons in the months to come.

If you want to learn more about these birds or where to find them on Long Island, order a copy of John Turner's Exploring the Other Island: A seasonal guide to nature on Long Island

Juvenile Bald Eagle

A Bald Eagle shows off it's massive wings in flight

This morning as I turned onto Rt. 104 at the intersection of Pleasure Drive (just North of Sunrise Highway) in Flanders I saw a large raptor perched upon a telephone pole.  I turned north onto Rt. 104 and pulled over to get a better look and take my camera out - unfortunately the bird flushed after I had sat there for a minute or so but was rather lazily flying and I was able to photograph it.  In the image directly below you can see a fish in its talons that it had been eating.  This is only the second Bald Eagle I've seen on Long Island in the past 3 years (both juveniles) so it was a nice start to my morning.  While I was almost positive it was  Bald Eagle - I never see them and wanted to be sure I wasn't mistaking it for something else.  Fortunately I just received my copy of Jerry Liguori's Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors which provided me visual evidence I needed to be positive that's what I had seen and photographed.  This book is a great resource and different than any other raptor ID book - plus it's a ridiculous value.

If you look close you can see the fish in the talons

I was pleasantly surprised to find a Wood Duck pair on a small pond in East Quogue on the North side of Montauk Hwy.  But, wood ducks being wood ducks, they didn't want to get too close even though I remained in my car.

Always a nice sight to see

Dune Rd. was very slow despite having a low tide.  Two Killdeer were seen feeding and on my return trip West I also found 2 Great Egrets.

I usually find these birds in fields - not along the water

This bird is ready to breed with those long plumes and green facial patch

EPCAL was full of Kestrels but not much else - I'm looking forward to when the Bluebirds and Swallows are breeding so there is a little more activity up there since you can't get anywhere near Kestrels most of the time.

One of a dozen Kestrels at EPCAL

Lots of Raptors @ EPCAL

Cropped to about 50% off the original - this Roughie is soaring high

On Wednesday the sun was shining and it was the start of a few warm and blue-sky days.  On my way home from work I visited EPCAL and was happy to see so many Kestrels.  In just 20 minutes I observed 7 including what appears to be a pair (see below).  Additionally, 2 light-morph Rough-Legged Hawks, several Northern Harriers and a Red-tailed Hawk were present.

American Kestrel "hovering".  Cropped to just 20% of the original

Perching on the ugly but useful Common Mullein:

I'm including this shot even though the quality isn't great because it was just about full frame:

For more about birds and wildlife on Long Island I highly recommend John Turner's Exploring the Other Island: A seasonal guide to nature on Long Island which features a dozen of my photos including a photo of a Snowy Owl found last year on the beach in Hampton Bays.  This is a must read for bird lovers on Long Island

Rough-legged Hawk; Light Morph

Nikon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC, f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 500

This afternoon was filled with sunshine but also wind.  A short trip to EPCAL quickly yielded a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk as well as 2 male Northern Harriers (grey ghosts), 2 juvenile Northern Harriers and 2 Eastern Meadowlarks which are the first of the season that I've seen at the EPCAL property - a sign of spring for sure.  Enjoy.

Nikon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC, f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 500

And here is the grey ghost which unfortunately was backlit:

Nikon D300s 300 f4 + 1.7X TC, f/8, 1/1600s, ISO 500

Learn more about Raptors by picking up Jerry Liguori's latest title Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors

Merlin Manicure

In search of Owls I found this Merlin along Dune Rd. near the Ponquogue Bridge.  At first I thought it was a Peregrine because they are more prevalent along Dune Rd. then Merlin's (especially during winter) but when the bird moved into better lighting I realized it was a Merlin which proceeded to preen itself before taking off likely in pursuit of food.

Here is a video of the bird hanging out:

Back to the photos:

Cleaning the Talons:

Spreading those feathers:

If you have trouble identifying raptors or simply want a little more info on them, check out the excellent book by Jerry Liguori entitled: Hawks from Every Angle: How to Identify Raptors In Flight.  This book covers all the Raptors that migrate through the US and has information and details you simply can't get from standard bird books.

Montauk Morning

This morning I was up at 5:20 to make it to Montauk for sunrise.  It's not an easy thing to do (especially since I'm incapable of going to bed before midnight) but it's worth it because you get lighting that you just can't get during the day... or even an hour after sunrise as evidenced by the photo above.  The sun was just a few minutes over the horizon and not yet over the southern cliffs of Montauk which created a beautiful glow.  The out-of-focus pink in the background is comprised of marshland grasses and the dune.  Any other time during the day this would be rendered as a very dull brown.  The other advantage to sunrise (especially when compared to sunset) is that you get the best lighting for the first hour or so, and can continue shooting with decent light.  The same of course isn't true for sunset... once it gets too dark, you have to pack it in for the day, thus the morning gives you more opportunities especially if you come across a patient subject (which this Cooper's Hawk was not!) While walking the trail headed toward the seal haulout site (it was too rough for seals to be lounging on the rocks unfortunately) I turned a corner and came basically face to face with this juvenile hawk and I think we were both a little surprised...

A few moments before my run-in with the hawk, this ring-necked pheasant crossed my path.  Would have liked more light so I didn't have to boost my ISO to 2000 (which would be nothing on a D3s, but is pushing it on a D300s) but I'll take it.  I rarely see these birds out in the open like this, so it was a nice opportunity.

The beautiful morning light continued to pay off with the way it lit up the breast of this ring-billed gull:

There are a few gulls in this image (if you look hard!) so I'm going to include it in this blog.... I couldn't resist a shot of the lighthouse with such an intense glow.

I like this shot of an American Robin in flight because small birds are so hard to get flying... aside from being diminutive, they are just so quick and like to tuck their wings in which makes for a weird picture of a torpedo shaped bird... so at least this bird gave me a nice little extension.

While the seas were rough, a few Common Eiders were hanging out.  I don't care much for the composition of this photo, but the colors on the sea foam are enticing

The last bird of interest I found at Montauk (it was quite slow) was this black-capped chickadee that was a little cooperative, but it wouldn't go onto a cleaner looking branch for me.  I guess it's a good representation of their habitat....

After I left 'The End' I headed to Water Mill to a spot that is always reliable for good winter waterfowl.  It's a private road, so I'm not exactly "allowed" to be there, but there is only one year-round resident who doesn't mind my presence... the year-rounder also feeds the ducks/geese which helps bring in some of the waterfowl.  Being that it's early in the season, the only bird of interest in attendance were Ruddy Ducks but I also took a head-shot of this female mallard.

And the Ruddy...