Treasures of the Rahway River Park by Jessica Kirste, New Jersey

Thanks to photographer Jessica Kirste for sharing her photos and memories of the Rahway River Park in New Jersey:

The Clark, New Jersey section of the Rahway River Park is a short walk from my house. There I have discovered many creatures and birds to photograph. Everyday is a new day filled with new photos and new sightings. I’ve always walked by or around the river, even when I was young. When I got into digital photography in 2007 and started to practice using my camera by the river, that’s when my eyes were really opened up to all that lives right in my own backyard. I’ve seen things I have never seen before & been fortunate to have gotten close up with all sorts of wildlife which I would like to share with you here & hope you feel just as close as I have been through my photos.

 

My favorite is a wood duck that lived in Rahway River Park and hung out with the mallards instead of other wood ducks. I named him “Woody” and would watch him almost everyday. Wood ducks are normally a very skittish duck, but Woody acted more like a mallard and followed a female around.

The closest I have been to Woody would probably be about 5 feet away, and he is beautiful! In a way Woody had helped me because at the time I discovered this colorful little gem, my leg was in a brace and I was awaiting my surgery as my knee needed a ACL reconstruction, but I was motivated

to walk to the park to see Woody and photograph him as much as I could, he got me out there a lot!

My favorite time of year to take pictures has to be spring when the flowers are blooming and the babies are being born. Its a time to celebrate new life in the natural world! So far this year I have come across a mallard, and her eight babies, Canada goose family with six babies in which I have been photographing their progress every weekend, American robins feeding their young and bunnies out to play in the backyard. Its important to note that I don’t disrupt wildlife families when photographing them, I don’t go too close and give them the choice if they want to come closer & many times they do!

The geese seem to accept me and came over with their babies & laid down right along side me.

Last year while photographing Canada geese that only had one gosling, they took the baby too close to the waterfalls and due to the storms we had the day before the gosling got swept over the waterfalls, but survived. The parents flew to him but he was swept down stream. My sister & I searched for him & it wasn’t till the next day that I found him in the park where the river runs through, with a slightly broken beak and bleeding, he survived the cold night alone in the park and I named him Miracle. Miracle’s parents could not be found, so he went to Raptors Trust in Millington, NJ and was rehabilitated and released back into the wild. He recieved a second chance at life!

Photography has helped me to see nature better then ever before. Its also a fun hobby and a great way to connect with nature, hope you all enjoyed my photos and I encourage you to go out with the camera and take photos as well. The camera taught me to see better and I’m sure it will for you too!

Jessica Kirste

 

 

Comments

[Delphyne]

Nice article, Jessica! All that wildlife right in your backyard!