Winter Morning at Lake Carnegie Dam
There’s something stubborn about photographing wildlife in winter. The cold bites at my fingers whilst I adjust settings. My breath fogs the viewfinder. Every part of me wants to stay inside, yet something pulls me out the door anyway. That morning, I nearly didn’t go.
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) · Sunday 11 January 2026
FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 200 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 600 mm · f/8.0
The forecast wasn’t promising—just above freezing, overcast with occasional sunshine. But I’d been putting it off for days, and at some point I had to stop making excuses. So I grabbed the X-T3 and attached the XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR, loaded a fresh battery, and headed to Lake Carnegie Dam. The usual spot. The reliable spot.
Except it wasn’t there anymore.
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) and Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) · Sunday 11 January 2026
FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 1250 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 600 mm · f/8.0
The recent storms had flooded everything. The shallow areas where waterfowl normally gather—the little islands and mudflats below the dam—had all disappeared under brown water. I stood there scanning the empty scene, feeling a bit foolish for having made the trip. Then I heard mallards calling from somewhere across the river.
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) · Sunday 11 January 2026
FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 400 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 600 mm · f/8.0
They were on the western bank of the Millstone River, too far even for even the 600mm1 end of the lens. But that got me thinking. A few weeks earlier, I’d been browsing Google Maps, idly exploring that side of the Millstone River and Lake Carnegie, wondering if there was access to the dam. I’d never actually checked. Now seemed like a good time.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula) · Sunday 11 January 2026
FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 1250 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 255.5 mm · f/6.4
The western bank of Lake Carnegie turned out to be full of life. Ring-billed Gulls clustered near the boat launch. A Great Blue Heron stalked the shallows. As I walked north on what looked like an unofficial trail, I kept finding more: Common Mergansers, Double-crested Cormorants, Belted Kingfishers that announced themselves before I could spot them. The thickets held White-throated Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Blue Jays—all the small birds you might see in suburban New Jersey wood, but concentrated here in unexpected numbers.
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) · Sunday 11 January 2026
FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 2500 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 539 mm · f/8.0
It struck me that this wasn’t just a coincidence. These were the birds I normally found on the eastern side. They hadn’t disappeared. They’d simply moved.
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) · Sunday 11 January 2026
FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 640 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 600 mm · f/8.0
I talk about wildlife as though it’s static—as though certain species belong in certain places and that’s that. But creatures adapt constantly. Water rises, they relocate. Food sources shift, they follow. The birds don’t know they’re supposed to be on the “official” side of the dam. They just go where conditions suit them.
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) · Sunday 11 January 2026
FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 500 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 600 mm · f/8.0
I wonder if I forget this because I’m so attached to my patterns. I’d been going to the same spot for years, expecting the same experience. When it wasn’t there, my first instinct was disappointment, not curiosity. The birds had already sorted out the problem whilst I was still standing around feeling let down.
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) · Sunday 11 January 2026
FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 160 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 467.6 mm · f/9.0
By the time I reached the “Private Property” sign near the dam, my blood sugar was dropping and it was nearly noon. Time to head back. But I’d got what I came for—just not in the way I’d expected. The images were different. The angle was different. Even the quality of light felt different from this side of the river.
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) · Sunday 11 January 2026
FujiFilm X-T3 · ISO 500 · 1/500 sec
XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR · 484.5 mm · f/7.1
There’s probably a lesson in here about flexibility, about letting go of expectations, about how constraints force creativity. But honestly, I’m more interested in the simpler fact: the world doesn’t wait for me to catch up. The birds had moved days ago. They were getting on with it whilst I was still checking the forecast and hesitating at the door.
Next time the usual spot doesn’t work out, I’ll remember to look around a bit more. The thing I’m after might not be gone. It might just be somewhere else, waiting for me to figure that out.
* * *
1. The X-T3 has an APS-C sensor with a crop-factor of 1.53. ↩
### Like this:
Like Loading...
#birds #winterbirding #lakecarnegie
https://islandinthenet.com/lake-carnegie-dam/
1
0
0
0
