Friday, June 3, 2011

Avalon, NJ by Kayak 2011.05.30

I was able to grab a kayak from my friends at Bay House on a Budget and hit the marshlands surrounding Avalon, NJ.  My favorite birds to shoot are wading birds, which forage only at low tide because they need to stand upright in the water while they hunt.  Low tide, unfortunately, was timed to be close to the harsh noon sun directly overhead so photography conditions were not optimal in terms of lighting location and the high power level.

Hungry birds, however, were plentiful.  At one point, I witnessed two snowy egrets, several species of gulls and a yellow-crowned night heron in the same exact area.  One of the egrets still had his breeding lores and was especially ornery toward his companion. When the non-breeding egret stumbled upon a blue claw crab leg in the shallow water, the more aggressive egret pounced in an attempt to steal it.  Though he was unsuccessful, he was able to ensure his competition for food wandered aways off. 

2011.05.30  Snowy Egrets Fight over Crab Leg
Since I used a relatively closed aperture to account for the whites under the harsh noon sun, I was able to capture the faces of both egrets clearly even though the head of the egret with breeding lores is obscured by the departing egret's legs.       

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