Morning backyard walkabout. Sighted a male and female Northern Cardinal, two European Starlings in a bush eating berries, a Robin in a tree and in a bush eating berries, and a White-throated Sparrow sunning in the morning sun.
Female Northern Cardinal perched on a branch. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Male Northern Cardinal perched on a branch. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)European Starlings eating berries. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 640, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Robin sunning in a Sycamore tree. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec). (David J Mathre)Robin eating berries. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 640, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)White-throated Sparrow. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)
A Dark-eyed Junco at the feeder, and several Turkey Vultures soaring during the day.
Dark-eyed Junco at the bird feeder. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 3200, 600 mm, f/4, 1/160 sec).Turkey Vulture Soaring. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 200 mm f/2 telephoto lens + 1.4x teleconverter (ISO 320, 280 mm, f/22, 1/500 sec).Turkey Vulture Soaring. Image taken with a Nikon D5 camera and 600 mm f/4 VR lens (ISO 100, 600 mm, f/4, 1/1600 sec).Turkey Vulture Soaring. Image taken with a Fuji X-T3 camera and 200 mm f/2 telephoto lens + 1.4x teleconverter (ISO 320, 280 mm, f/6.4, 1/500 sec).
Wintertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.
Early morning walkabout at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. A tree near the pond was filled with a flock of European Starlings. In the pond was a lone Canada Goose.
Flock of European Starlings in a tree at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 102 mm, f/5.6, 1/1600 sec). (David J Mathre)European Starlings in a tree at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec). (David J Mathre)Canada Goose in the pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 102 mm, f/5.6, 1/1600 sec). (David J Mathre)
Wintertime Nature at the Sourland Mountain Preserve.
Morning walkabout at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. The pond was filled with Mallard Ducks. I also saw a Great Blue Heron on the other side of the pond. I stayed until the ducks flew away.
Great Blue Heron at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 360, 400 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Mallard Ducks at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Mallard Ducks at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 400, 400 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Mallard Ducks at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 320, 400 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Mallard Ducks at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 500, 400 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Mallard Ducks at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 280, 400 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Mallard Ducks taking off out of the pond at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 560, 400 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Mallard Ducks in flight at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 360, 400 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Mallard Ducks in flight at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 560, 400 mm, f/8, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)Mallard Ducks in flight at the Sourland Mountain Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec). (David J Mathre)
After returning from the Sourland Mountain Preserve, I did a quick walkabout in my backyard. I saw a number of different birds. Female Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, White-breasted Nuthatch, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Turkey Vulture. Later in the afternoon I looked out my back door and saw a Red-tailed Hawk perched in a tree.
Female Northern Cardinal feeding on the ground. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)Blue Jay perched on a branch. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)White-breasted Nuthatch perched on a branch. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)White-breasted Nuthatch perched on a branch. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)Downy Woodpecker perched on a branch. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/320 sec). (David J Mathre)Red-bellied Woodpecker. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)Red-bellied Woodpecker. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/400 sec). (David J Mathre)Turkey Vulture soaring. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec). (David J Mathre)Red-tailed Hawk perched on a branch. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec). (David J Mathre)Red-tailed Hawk perched on a branch. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec). (David J Mathre)Red-tailed Hawk perched on a branch. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec). (David J Mathre)