The lonely heron....A lone heron looks out over Cattus Island County Park and Barnegat Bay, where there were few other birds in residence this morning.

   After voting this morning, I went to Cattus Island County Park in Toms River with the thought of getting a few good bird shots.  My visit to Florida and my brother gave me the idea to try more bird photography up here--there is certainly lots of waterways and marshland here at the Jersey Shore.  The park is a true county gem--many people don't realize it exists--but it is big (hundreds of acres) and not crowded in the least, with a variety of excellent trails.  It is on upper Barnegat Bay and its museum and administrative buildings were badly damaged by Sandy and still in disrepair.  I went early hoping to catch a few egrets or other wading birds before they flew south, plus it was an extraordinary day--with temperatures in the high 60s.

    But there was, except for the rather lonely heron pictured above, NOTHING....no egrets, no swans, no gulls, no ducks, not even any squirrels!!  Was there a wildlife convention that no one told me about?  I was very disappointed, to say the least.  I know it is a bit late in the season, but still I figured there would be a few birds around.....I had my Nikon telephoto zoom with teleconverter all ready to shoot away...but almost nothing was there to be seen......

     Next week is Veteran's Day.  I will have that day off from work also and I am thinking of returning to Cattus Island or traveling over to Island Beach State Park, which in my opinion has the best beach in the State.  If I do, I hope to have better luck and not be left asking--Where are the birds?