Long-tailed Duck Landing
I took a quick trip to Barnegat yesterday in hopes of photographing a couple of much needed species, one of which was the Long-tailed Duck. This year, they are pretty common at Barnegat, and when I arrived around 11AM the light was good enough to allow for some flight shots. Barnegat is one of those places where long lenses are a must and my 1D Mark II N, 300mm f/2.8 IS, and 2x converter were just not long enough to allow for full frame flight shots, so all of the photos I managed of the birds in flight are pretty big crops.
This photograph of a male Long-tailed Duck touching down on the surface of the water is one example. I like the pose, I just wish the original was closer to full frame!
In addition to Long-tailed Ducks, I also photographed Harlequin Ducks, Surf Scoters, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Mergansers, Common Loon, Brant, and even Harbor Seal! I also spotted Eider, Black Scoter, Double-crested Cormorant, and Red-throated Loon from a distance, but none were close enough for any good photo ops. The shorebirds were pretty much vacant from the jetty, although I spotted Ruddy Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper, and Black-bellied Plover, and Herring Gulls were present as well.