American Oystercatchers

The Oystercatchers are funny-looking birds. I like their beaks - they are long and neon red and very photogenic:



But although they look squared away, they are pretty damn sharp if you view them head on:



As their name implies, the Oystercatchers use them to grab mollusks and crabs from the surf:







But sometimes the surf gets the best of them:


The Oystercatcher chicks' beaks start black and become more red as they mature:


When they fly in formation, they synchronize their wing swings (well, they try - the one on the bottom is not with the program, apparently):

Photo Gallery opened!

I finally got around to compiling the best of my pictures in a separate gallery - check it out: Osprey Photo Gallery. I also opened a Facebook page for it - if you "Like" it, you'll get updates whenever I post new pictures there.

Why "Osprey"? Osprey was the first bird that I specifically went somewhere to find. It wasn't far - to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens - but it still gave me a rush when I did see it for the first time (what can I say - ospreys are cool!). And I've been chasing the dragon ever since.

Ansel Adams once said that having twelve good photographs in any one year "is a good crop". I have more than that posted, but since it's got both old and recent pictures, I might still be within his 12 photos/year KPI. I'll keep updating it with the most interesting of any new pictures I take as well.
Enjoy!

Oleg

Ospreys

Osprey was the first bird that I traveled to see on purpose. Admittedly, it wasn't very far, just to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in New York. But it was such a rush of excitement when I did see it! It was my first "life bird", and it's what really started my obsession with bird photography. I've been chasing the dragon ever since.

That was just last year. This year, I've seen ospreys on almost every visit to any coastal site. Here are some great osprey pictures from Brigantine, Reeds Beach, and Jamaica Bay:

An osprey and his dinner at Brigantine Wildlife Refuge:


Do you think they are betting birds? A family of ospreys in front of the Borgata casino in Atlantic City:




An osprey buzzed right over our heads at Reeds Beach:






An osprey does a fly-by of the JFK airport:


Osprey family - one of the parents is bringing a fish to the chicks, who are actually almost fully fledged here:


Same osprey family looking over some interlopers:


Close-up of one of the parents:


The picture that started it all (the actual credit belongs to Luke Cabading):

Summer portraits and close-ups

Some great bird portraits and close-ups:

Great Egret:


Forster's Tern:






Osprey:


Laughing Gull:

Office Photography Contest Winners

My time to brag about something :)

To my surprise, several of the pictures I've submitted for an office photography contest have won in their categories, and one was actually the overall contest winner! They are now gracing the walls of the 25th floor of my company's office building (along with several dozen other great pictures by my co-workers). Here are the winning pictures:
 
The "Best in Contest" winner:



Category 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place winners:

London Monument



Foster's Tern (credit for the steady hand that resulted in this picture goes to Luke Cabading)



Grand Tetons National Park



Longwood Gardens



Mammoth Springs, Yellowstone National Park



Longwood Gardens



Robert Moses State Park, Fire Island




Longwood Gardens



New York



Water Lily, Chenango Lake

Bald Eagle mugged by a crow

At least I think it was a crow. It might have been a hawk, but it's difficult to tell from this distance:

Horseshoe crab mating season

Horseshoe crab is probably the most perfect organism that ever existed on Earth. It first appeared about 400 million years ago, and has not changed much since then. It stopped evolving because it didn't need to anymore! One part of their behavior cycle is the mating ritual that happens during full and new moons in late May. The horseshoe crabs (actually more related to spiders than other crabs) come out from the water onto beaches, mate, and leave their eggs (which the birds then eat!). I took these pictures in Jamaica Bay, shortly after the high tide has receded.

Ready to come out of the water:


The two in the back are starting their courtship:


The male is smaller than the female, because it doesn't have to develop or carry the eggs.


Still mating, even after the tide has gone down:


They can survive out of the water for a few hours, provided their gills remain moist. (We turned this one back on his legs after we took the picture.)


You can guess the age of the crab by how large the barnacles and muscles are on its shell. They shed their shell once in a while, but much more frequently when they are young. For the muscles to grow to the size they are on this female crab, they had to be growing for a few years. Which means she hasn't molted in 2-3 years, and that means she is probably 25-30 years old.


The horseshoe crab sea:


The crabs have light-detecting patches on their shells, in addition to the two eyes. Those allow them to detect where the water is once they are out on the beach, and then crawl to it:

What the whole kefuffle is about: horseshoe crab eggs:


Which the birds then promptly eat. (Only 2 eggs of about 60,000 on average become adult crabs.)