I need to follow my own advice more often because my patience was wearing thin this morning. I was at Brick Pond for a morning sit. I got there at 4:45, got set up and was able to watch a beautiful waxing Gibbous moon sink over the horizon. It was just me and the bullfrogs.
By 6:15 all I had seen was a GBH, and he was way too far away. I was seriously thinking about cutting my trip short and leaving at 6:30. But part of being a wildlife photographer is perseverance, especially when things aren’t going your way. So you learn to stick it out just a little while longer, which is good because it paid off for me. A doe appeared out of the woods on the opposite side of the pond, which is not unusual for the area. I didn’t think much of it at the time. What the heck, I could just watch her to pass the time. Five minutes after she appeared her little fawn came out to join her. Do you think I could get a shot of the little one? No way, she was always behind a bush or behind Mom just enough to ruin any shot I had. But then the the two of them turned in unison and stared at the woods behind them. I thought there was a person walking on the trail behind them but then this little ball of energy came flying out of the woods and ran straight at Mom. What a cutie!!!! Click to enlarge.

This little one didn’t stop until he was reunited with his family! And when he got there Mom gave him a stare down to let him know he should stay closer to her from now on!

Next time you come when I call you, hear?????

While that was happening a couple ducks had snuck into my view but they were behind some brush so I could only make out the movement. Probably a couple of Wood ducks, I thought. So imagine my surprise when I finally got the camera focused on them as they swam out of the brush and into the open!!!

“Hey, you got a green thing on your beak”…

These are Common Gallinules, another species I had never seen at Brick Pond! They are relatively common but I had never seen them here. I think the change in the water level at BP will be a good thing, because these birds need shallow water to feed.

“Do these feathers make my ass look fat???”

But I have saved the best for last. After the Gallinules had moved on I picked up and called it a day. I was a bit hungry so I stopped at Mickey D’s and grabbed a coffee and a McMuffin. You know how I like health food! I took my breakfast to what I call the confluence. This is a spot in Owego where Owego Creek meets the Susquehanna. There are often GBH’s there and I thought it would be a great place to eat and watch the river go by. My arrival managed to scare a juvenile Bald Eagle off his roost on a tree a hundred yards away. I spent a few minutes watching this bird soar over the river in larger and larger circles. But then I saw something I have never seen before. I saw something swimming across the river about 300 yards away. Too far to tell exactly what it was so I grabbed my binoculars to take a look. This is what I saw:

This is the largest brood of young Mergansers I have ever seen! I counted roughly 40 birds, with Mom leading the way. And the closer I look I think a couple of the birds may not be Mergansers. Unfortunately they were way too far away for a good image, which is a shame. You should have seen them fishing as a group!
So remember, your luck can turn in a split second. You just have to wait for it!!!