Carolina Wild Photo (the blog)

My absolute favorite birds to photograph have to be ducks. They tend to be the most skittish subjects in the bird world, generally making the task of getting good photos of them fairly difficult. Thankfully there are a few places one can go to get reasonably close to a few species, where they will tolerate the presence of humans in their proximity, within limits of their choosing of course. And with the right equipment and quiet patience, it’s possible to get some excellent photos of these fascinating birds with relative ease, compared to hours or days in the “wilderness” trying to find them, and attempting to get close enough for photography.

An opportunity came along to meet up with some fellow wildlife photographers and take advantage of a two-day window of unusually mild February weather at Barnegat Light in New Jersey (north of Atlantic City) where sea duck species often gather along a huge rock jetty. Otherwise, one would generally only find these ducks by boat out on the open ocean, making them difficult to photograph (or to find for that matter). To make this trip viable, I combined it with a return route taking me to two other spots I wanted to visit, hoping the mild weather would hold long enough.

I left at 1:30 AM on Saturday (hey, that’s the middle of the night) and drove 9 hours to arrive at Barnegat Light on the New Jersey “shore” a bit after 10:30 AM. My friends arrived within a few minutes, and we grabbed our gear and trekked the 1/2 mile out to the jetty. I spent the rest of the day excitedly photographing species I’d never even seen before. Seven hours later, having skipped lunch completely, I finally gave it up when the sun dropped so low the jetty was shadowing the ducks, making photography of them fruitless.

While my friends made their 2-1/2 hour drive home to Pennsylvania, I drove 2-1/2 hours to Dover, Delaware, and settled into a motel room for the next day’s outing. Having already missed lunch, there was nothing open for a decent supper either, but I was too exhausted to care. After a poor night of restless sleep, I had a good Sunday morning breakfast ( I was starved ) and headed out to nearby Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, hoping for some good photos.

I’ve never had much luck at Bombay Hook, and this trip was no different. It seems I never hit this place at the right times. After a couple of hours I gave it up and returned to the motel to check the noon weather forecasts, which promised overcast skies the rest of the day. I made the decision to head south, hoping to escape the cloudy skies and find sunshine. Once again I skipped lunch, unwilling to waste the time eating. Snacks would have to suffice. Two hours later I was in sunny and mild Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the edge of the Choptank River at another favorite duck spot.

Luck was with me this time. With blue skies, almost no breeze, and 50+ degree weather, I found plenty of ducks and very few other photographers or birders to upset the ducks. I spent 5 hours merrily snapping images in wonderful quality light. When the sun finally dropped so low it once again threw shadows across the ducks, I packed up, filled up the gas tank and headed out for the 6 hour drive home. Not willing to stop for supper, I managed by nibbling the snacks I’d been carrying with me…. cookies, bananas, breakfast bars and water (and a Dr. Pepper for good measure). I arrived home at midnight, once again exhausted.

It had been 18 hours of driving to get 15 hours of photography time and two actual meals (Saturday and Sunday breakfast), and perhaps 6 hours of restless sleep, all crammed into a 48 hour trip. Was it worth it? Yep, this time it was. I brought home nearly 5000 photos, some 2000 of which I trashed after a cursory review, leaving 3000 decent possibilities to cull through and pick the cream of the crop for posterity. That alone would take a week of work to sort out, with a week of rest to recover.

I’ve included a few shots in this post, and more will follow in subsequent posts, so come back soon and check them out.