Trip Report-New Jersey-Fox Gallery

I visited New Jersey in Oct for a day whilst i was in New York with the in laws, I went to a state park there but couldn't get in as there was a marathon on that day, I mentioned to one of the locals that i had tried to get in and they asked if i has seen any foxes which i thought strange as i had told them i had only managed to get to the gate, Any ways i went back a for a couple of mornings on my last trip in the hope to of seeing some fox and get a shot or 2, Now the only foxes i have ever shot have been wild and timid and any images have taken max effort and time-a challenge that i love to take, I spent 2 mornings shooting the robins and waxwings and didn't even get a sniff of a fox but when i mentioned to other photographers that i had been there they all said the same thing-did you see the fox, so i decided to stay there for a day, I shot the birds all morning then went for some lunch, The late afternoon light was lovely and as i entered the park i drove about 1/2 mile when i saw a photographer on the side of the road taking a shot of a fox sleeping on the other side, Another look and i was amazed to see a second fox sleeping under his tripod!!, So i pulled over and grabbed the gear and quickly set up, I had seen sleeping fox images and have always wanted one so that was my first shot, The fox soon woke and looked over, The sun was behind is so the light was near perfect, I spent the next couple of hours shooting 3 fox and chatting to locals, It seems that about 5 years ago there were 35 fox there but mange has reduced the numbers considerably is it does when the fox density is too high,You can see that the remaining fox are in great condition, I think the images are great and i am sure the agent will be happy but and its a big but i didnt get the normal high that i would get after spending weeks preparing for a shoot, There was no challenge as the fox were so used to people and i am sure in the summer will have a great time cleaning up after kids have left half eaten sandwiches on the beach, I will return there again maybe summer time and try and get some fox on the beach shots as i havent seen anything like that-anyways enjoy

 

  

  

  

 

  

 

 

  

  

  

  

Dave

Trip Report-New Jersey-Bird Gallery 2

Now all the sea birds are out of the way, I will finish the bird galleries with some birds taken in a State park close to where i was staying, I wasnt expecting any of these so they were all a bonus, Most shot from the car with the aid of a beanbag to support the D3 and 600/extender combo

Cedar Waxwings

 

 Northern Mocking bird who seemed to like the noise from the camera and not only came right up to the car to get a better view but also followed me down the road when i moved-see 2nd image

 

  

 American Robins 

 

 

 

Northern Cardinal (cropped from Landscape mode)

 

Catbird (i had never heard of one either) looks like a European Blackcap on steriods

 

 

House Finch male and female

 

 

So there you have it, The target bird was the Harlequin duck and everything else was a bonus and i must say it was a very productive trip, The very last gallery from the trip will be the fox gallery and after that i promise you some beaver shots!!

Dave

Trip Report-New Jersey-Bird Gallery

Bear with me there are only 2 galleries after this one before its back to normal, Its taken a couple of days to finally get my PC working properly again after various infections but now fingers crossed we are back up and running, So here are the last of the sea birds, Most are Full Frame with a couple cropped, All taken with the usual Nikon gear, Some of the sandpipers are shot using fill flash from the SB90 and better beamer combo

Black bellied Plover-winter plummage

Common Loon with crab

Gull feeding on barnacles

 

Red Throated Diver-winter plummage

Turnstone

Turnstones and Sandpipers in flight

Purple Sandpiper

Dunlin?

Dave

Trip Report-New Jersey Red Breasted Merganser Gallery

When i lived in Switzerland i used to photograph the Common Merganser or Goosander as we called it in the winter, On one occasion i was in Geneva and there was a Red Breasted Merganser with the Goosanders, It was the one time that i didn't have my cameras with me and i always regretted it and have always wanted and good clean shot of one for my files, When i was in New Jersey there were lots of RBM's flying around but always down the centre of the channel which was about 1/2 mile away, I had been there a couple of days and had kept an eye on the birds when i noticed that when the sun was going down the RBM's would leave the channel flying up the centre towards the open sea then taking a hard right and would fly past the end of the jetty, So one evening i positioned myself near the jetty end and low and behold i had a couple of fly bys that i managed to convert into nicely lit sharp images, I seem to remember punching the air when checking the screen and histogram, One day also saw one of the RBM's fishing out in the channel, They can stay under water for a considerable time and it popped up in front of me in good light, It stayed for a few minutes before it was gone so i ended the week with both static and flight shots of a bird that was high on my wanted list, you cant ask for more than that but it does go to show that if you watch your subjects  behaviour over a period of time that it can/will work in your favour
I have actually quite a few images of both males and females from the trip but as i have said before my PC is still playing up after some kind folk sent a trojan horse over the web but its nearly sorted so again these are done on my laptop and proper service should resume next week
All images are full or near full frame-all shot with D3 Nikon with 600mm VR and extenders

 

                                                                                  



Dave