Bird Hunting

 

Although I have been doing some riding my rides have been solo, short and slow and nothing to really write about. I have been doing a little more hiking as the weather has gotten colder. I have been choosing places to try and get some picture of the winter birds in our area. These include mostly seagulls, ducks, and geese but I'm hoping to get some other birds as I hike around the area.

The photo at the top is at the Manasquan inlet on a sunny morning. I was lucky that I got that many seagulls lined up on the railing in the morning light. It took me a few shots to get it aligned and in focus properly. Seagulls are fun to photograph as they are easy to find but I haven't gotten a perfect picture of one yet. 

The Saturday before Christmas I went in search of geese and ended up at Mill Pond Park in Plainsboro where there were a few flocks of geese. It was an overcast day so the light wasn't good but I managed to get a couple of good shots of the geese. I like the one below because of clear reflections off the water.

I wanted to try to get a few of them in flight but wasn't able to catch them because of the trees over head. Mill Pond Park is actually bigger than I thought. I did most of the 2.4 mile path and when I got home and looked at the map realized I could make this a 4 or 5 mile hike if I wanted to. 

Closer to home there is a lake that is only a couple of miles away that has a 4+ mile path and always seem to have large flocks of seagulls, geese and ducks. I found a pair of ducks when I went there on a sunny afternoon and manage to get some of my best bird shots yet. 

With my telephoto lens I was able to get a couple of up close shots with water dripping off the duck beak.

If you click on the individual picture you will see more detail. I'm happy with the way these photos turned out. They are sharp and have good color. I can probably make them even better with some more post processing. 

While I was at the park I worked on tracking birds in flight and got a seagull with a nut in it's mouth.

The shot came out really good as the bird is in perfect focus with a blurred background which makes the bird stand out. It takes a lot of practice and some luck to get these shots. I have had learned a lot hiking around getting some bird shots. It is something fun to do in the colder weather when I can't bike as much. It's definitely something I will do continue in the new year.