Road Trips In Pictures

 One of my biggest pleasures of living in this community is the clubs, and the social life it gives you. I belong to a few of the clubs and I do have my favorites, and as you can guess I am sure the photography club is one of them.

   It started out kind of slow, and there has never been a big membership, but enough to make it interesting. Lately the membership has grown a little and changed a little. With the new members came the desire to travel outside of our community.
     I have to say it is a happy change. we have done 4 road  trips so far, all of them fun, but 2 of them were my favorites, probably because birds were involved. 

  The first of the 2 trips was a trip to the Tuckerton Maritime Museum. That was a pretty cool place and had some real interesting things to see and do. The view from the light house was stunning. I being totally not about heights didn't go up, but  most of the group did and I saw their pictures.  As I said stunning.

 After leaving the museum we went to a marina and there I got seagulls, flying, lining up, some just sitting there. We laugh in the club, because Hubby got me a new lens so I can get better shots of birds and such, and so far I have a library of sea gulls. 

  I am not real good with the lens yet, and catching the faster flying birds is not as easy as some photographers make it look. You did notice I said yet.
 The 2nd of the 2 trips was to Edwin B Forsythe refugee. I shot strictly with my new lens, and out of just shy of 300 pictures I kept maybe 30. Some of them a professional photographer would not have kept, because their quality isn't perfect, but I am pleased that I got the shots at all and I want to remember them, I also want to learn from them.
   The Osprey in the nest is the female, the one bringing her the fish is the male. This is a mating ritual that I won't get into, but the bottom line his fish is not exactly what she want so she sent him away with his fish.

Not to worry there are others in the waiting room hoping to impress her with their fish when she calls for them. I saw this guy flying into the waiting room while I was waiting for suitor # 1 to show up. 

  I always love watching the Great White Egrets fly and fish, they even stand regally. 

   I think the Snowy Egret has to be one of the funniest bird to look at especially in the wind. And the day we where there it was windy. Real windy, hard to hold your camera steady windy.

   I've never seen a vulture up close before. Their faces are kind cute in a clownish sort of way. Not really my favorite bird, but interesting to look at. 

He got tired of me photoing him and took off, the sudden movement startled me and I moved my camera and completely ruined what would have been the best shot of them all.
  I walked a good 1/4 mile with this guy. He didn't seem to care that I was there, as long as I stayed slightly behind him. I loved watching how his head and neck would bob and weave as he walked. He seemed in no hurry at all to get to where he was going.

  Next we go hunting for eagles, and I can't wait. It will be my first shot at eagles with my new lens. Something I've been dreaming of doing ever since I got the lens. 
   I hope you enjoyed the road trips as much a I enjoyed sharing them. Have a wonderful day.