Wood Turtle with three legs
Morris County, NJ
Despite having only a nub and scar tissue for its front left leg this Wood Turtle seemed to be getting around well.
Wood Turtle is an NJ state threatened species. Report your threatened and endangered wildlife sightings here – https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/tandespp.htm
Swamp SparrowRockaway Township, New Jersey
September 2020
This lurking denizen of the wetlands popped up briefly amidst the goldenrod providing just enough time for me to grab a few frames.
More info on the Swamp Sparrow – https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Swamp_Sparrow/overview
Ayers Brook in Late Summer
Evans Family Preserve, Chester Twp NJ
Visit Evans Family Preserve – https://chestertownship.org/township-committees/parks/township-parks/evans-preserve-hiking-trails/
Video Tour of The Evans Family Preserve – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp0_H2A-yXU
Exploring Evans Family Preserve in Chester Township NJ
The Evans Family Preserve Park encompasses approximately 110 acres of open space and is a great Morris County visit for a quiet walk in the woods.
Learn more about the Evans Family Preserve Park in Chester NJ – https://chestertownship.org/township-committees/parks/township-parks/evans-preserve-hiking-trails/
Hiking Primrose Farm in Harding NJ
Located only minutes south of downtown #Morristown, Primrose Farm hosts a well maintained trail network and accounts for over 100 acres of preserved open space in #HardingNJ #MorrisCounty
Join me as I explore the woods and meadows at Primrose Farm.
Learn more about Primrose Farm and plan your visit – https://hardinglandtrust.org/property/primrose-farm/
#morristown #morriscounty #njhiking #newjersey
Five-lined Skink
Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area, Rockaway Twp, NJ
More info on the Five-lined Skink – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plestiodon_fasciatus
Least Skipper on Milkweed
Troy Meadows, Parsippany NJ
Learn more about Least Skippers – https://www.naba.org/chapters/nabanj/butterflies/least_skipper.html
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bee Meadow Park, Hanover Township NJ.
Taken in 2009 this was the first and seemingly the last time I invested effort in trying to image a swallow in flight. I am sure I took over 200 trial shots with a professional photography setup to snag a single usable frame!
A few tips on shooting birds in flight:
“Prefocus” your telephoto lens by obtaining focus on an object such as a ripple in the water, a tree, or a cloud where you expect the bird may pass.
Set your camera dial to “M” for manual and base your exposure on aforementioned ripple of water, tree, or cloud. Do not expect or hope that you camera has the wits to know what brightness a bird should be against a bright or dark sky.
Always use the largest picture size and shoot in your camera raw format (why wouldn’t you?) Set the camera focus type to “Servo” and shoot at the highest burst speed your camera allows.
Do not expect your first, twelth, or hundredth frame to be in focus or well-composed. Shoot shoot shoot. There is plenty of luck involved with tracking an erratic subject.
Spotted Apatelodes Moth
Jonathan’s Woods, Morris County NJ
More info on the Spotted Apatelodes – https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Apatelodes-torrefactae
Join me for a trek into the Rockaway River Wildlife Management Area in #JeffersonNJ
This lesser-traveled NJ parkland offers wildlife viewing opportunities, river fishing, and fairly challenging #njhikes
To learn more about Rockaway River WMA visit – https://www.nynjtc.org/park/rockaway-river-wildlife-management-area
For parking you can try this lot – https://goo.gl/maps/XeXtQt8biEcdqZWeA
Dave Blinder Nature Photography 