A lousy day for pictures
Not interested in losing my mortgage payment on the tables at Atlantic City, we cruised instead to Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge recently, so close to AC we could almost hear the quarters in the slot machines.
The fine folks at the visitors center there warned me that it was a lousy day for birding. "It's cold, windy and rainy," he said, repeating what I already knew. It was, indeed, a miserable day. The wind was so strong on the dikes I couldn't hold the camera steady; rain was 'falling' horizontally, and fortunately I had a pair of gloves with me to keep the fingers warm.
Why spend a full day in those conditions?
Well, as well-intentioned as the refuge official was, it was a terrific day to see our feathered creatures up close. Because of the awful conditions, the pictures were nothing to get too happy about (the lenses we had with us were too slow and therefore shutter speeds were just barely adequate, colors were more black and white) BUT the birds stayed behind the dikes and away from the wind.
We had eight miles of road to search for birds who had hunkered down just a few yards away. Using the van as a blind and wind break, it suffered through the torrents. A layer of sand was caked on the sliding door (that we kept open when it was opposite the wind) and marsh vegetation pasted itself on the van's wind side. But we had a good day.
Even in the worst weather, keep a camera around.
We'll have more about Forsythe in the YDR later, but this is a picture that didn't make the final cut.
For more about Forsythe NWR, click here.
