Pine Hill Road Marsh
A site worth visiting for possible shorebirds as well as spring migrants is Black Meadow Creek (aka Pine Hill Marsh to local birders) in Chester, NY. A parking area just southeast of the junction of Glenmere Rd and Pine Hill Road allows for open viewing of the wetlands in all seasons. I make a quick stop today in the hopes of catching some shore birds, turtles, and migrants.
The area is thick with cattails, making it ideal habitat for Red-winged blackbirds. Many of the rich stands of these tall perennial aquatic plants have been overtaken by an invasive know as Phragmites. Cattails are an important element of marsh ecosystems providing food and shelter for local wildlife such as muckrats, Red-winged blackbirds, Marsh wrens, ducks, and Chickadees.
in many areas, the invasion of phragmites, another aquatic plant which thrives in marshy wetlands, has greatly altered the ecosystems of these wetlands. While there are certain species such as swallows and sparrows which do nest in and feed upon the phragmites, the plant is so aggressive that it has severely degraded many habitats by virtually wiping out the cattail population. In some areas, it has become so expansive that it is the primary aquatic vegetation and limits the variety of birds that normally exist there. Fortunately, there are still plenty of cattails in this area, however, and this marsh is more than suitable for a wide variety of resident and migratory species.
One of the most prevalent species of Pine Hill Marsh is the Great blue heron such as this individual that flew in while I scanned the area. In the past, I have found other shorebirds such as Least sandpipers, Dunlin, and Yellowlegs. But today, the Great blue was the only aquatic species to be found. Image was shot on a Nikon Z9 with Z 180-600mm zoom coupled with the Nikon Z 2.0X teleconverter for an effective focal length of 1200mm
In the vegetation between the marsh and Pine Hill Road, there was a good amount of bird chatter to be heard, but the most prominent was that of the Yellow warbler. Flashes of yellow continually appeared moving among the branches until occasionally an individual would emerge and perch in the open. It seems that these are the most dominant species of warbler to be found this spring in southeastern New York. Is it because there are more of them than any of the other warbler species? Or are they simply that much more loquacious and are drowning out all the other bird song? For whatever reason, these birds seem to be everywhere I go. Fortunately, they are a beautiful bird to photograph and I never grow tired of seizing the opportunity to capture an image or two of these handsomely plumaged wonders of nature.
Another LBJ (little brown job) found here today was the Red-eyed vireo. Like the Yellow warbler, he is pretty much ubiquitous during these spring months. He does not want you to miss hearing his song and he continues to sing his song “here I am, where are you? here I am, where are you?” almost endlessly with little or now break between the phrases. Easily heard, he is sometimes not so easy to see, so it is always a stroke of good fortune to be able to grab a picture when afforded the opportunity.
Tech Tip- In the past, the use of teleconverters has met with mixed reviews. A teleconverter is an optical accessory that is used to increase the focal length of a lens, effectively magnifying the subject and allowing photographers to capture distant subjects with greater detail. These converters are typically placed between the camera body and the lens and come in various magnifications, such as 1.4x, 2x, and even higher. While they enhance reach, it's important to note that using a teleconverter can also result in a loss of light, which may affect the overall exposure settings and depth of field. Additionally, image quality may vary depending on the quality of the teleconverter and the lens being used, making it essential for photographers to choose wisely based on their specific needs and type of photography. Fortunately, the new mirrorless cameras have much better results when using teleconverters than in the past with the older DSLR bodies. The image of the Great blue heron, for example, was shot with a 180-600mm Nikon Z series Zoom attached to a Nikon Z 2.0 X teleconverter. This doubles the focal length to 1200mm In terms of magnification, it would be like going from a 12X pair of binoculars to a 24X spotting scope! The image quality is still quite good and the cost of the teleconverter is about $600 vs a new 1200mm prime lens which is (ready for this???? ) …..well, Nikon doesn’t even make a 1200mm lens, but the longest prime lens they make is 800mm and it costs $12,000! Guess which one I have…..
