RTY Photography Blog

A compilation of several days at a Great Horned Owl’s nest in northern New Jersey. At the time of the last photo, two owlets had already fledged and one was left in the nest. It was so much fun to watch them get bigger each visit. The two adults were always near by. One afternoon a red tailed hawk came close to grabbing an owlet, until the “mom” came out of nowhere to chase the hawk on it’s way. I have since been to a third great horned owl nest, those photos will follow.

Adults would bring food to the nest.

This guy was almost grabbed by a red-tailed hawk.

Adult male keeping an eye on the nest.

This was the last one to leave the nest.

This mute swan was constantly chasing the Canada Goose away.

This was my first time photographing wood ducks. My good friend and wildlife photographer, Harry Collins, knew this small park in Pennsylvania where they arrive at the tail end of winter. Normally wood ducks can be very shy and quite elusive, but here they seem more tolerant of people. We set up in waders in the water with our cameras and lenses inches from the water. After a couple of hours, the wood ducks became more comfortable with our presence. Some were floating by a few feet away. What a wonderful sight to see these spectacular colors. Most ducks were already paired up when they arrived. Wood ducks are one of the few duck species with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches. They nest high up in tree cavities. The ducklings can jump from heights above fifty feet without injury. This was definitely a most enjoyable day. We plan to return, hopefully to catch some babies.

I live in Toms River and never knew of Marshall’s Pond right in town. Took a short ride because I heard there were some wood ducks there. No wood ducks that day, but I found some Ring-necked Ducks which was a first for me. There were so many other types of water fowl including the mallards and tons of Canada Geese. The Canada Goose gets no respect in the photography world (lol), but they are so active this time of year. I have since found and photographed many Wood Ducks, those photos will follow soon. I’m trying to get caught up on my posts, about a month behind.

Ring-necked Duck

Mallard Disagreement

Always nice to see a Cardinal