NEW YORK: Birds of Long Island Photography

Length of Tour

3-day/2-night

Brief Itinerary

Day 1 – Arrive in Lido Beach Nature Area by noon, formal instruction, photograph birds at Nickerson beach PM

Day 2 – Photograph birds at Nickerson Beach

Day 3 – AM photograph birds at Nickerson Beach, head for home

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 – Arrive at the Lido Beach Nature Area, 12pm for a meet & greet.  Lisa and Tom will go over camera settings and what to expect once we arrive at Nickerson beach.  Lido Beach Nature Area is well known for osprey and many other bird species.  In addition, we will go over places to eat and times to eat before Nickerson. We will eat a early dinner, between 2pm – 3pm together. After dinner we travel to Nickerson Beach for 5:30pm.  Once at Nickerson Beach, we will walk on sand to where the nesting terns are located.  It is a short walk, but flat. Throughout the weekend, we will concentrate on the terns or oyster catchers if we see them first.  Show how to look for good light, head angle, etc.  Even though the birds are used to humans they do not tolerate getting close.  We will show how to approach the birds without ‘pressing’ them to leave and fly away.

Days 2 – Arrive at Nickerson Beach before first light, 4:45am. Walk out to nesting terns. Along the way we may  see a spectacular sunrise. The early morning light is a great time to photograph oyster catchers and terns! As the sun rises and sky gets brighter it will be time to turn our attention to the skimmers as they skim over the calm water and / or terns fly up and down the beach diving and catching food. At any time of day, it’s a always great to get tons of flight shots. We will end the morning at 9am and return to our cars.

We will return 5:30pm to Nickerson for more bird images. We will continue to photograph birds in flight, portraits and capture preening, mating behaviors, etc. If the sky allows and the sun sets in a crimson glow back lit birds are awesome to capture! This might be a good time for intentional blurs.

Day 3 – More practice and behaviors. Arrive at Nickerson Beach before first light, 4:45am. Walk out to nesting terns. Along the way we may  see a spectacular sunrise. The early morning light is a great time to photograph oyster catchers and terns! As the sun rises and sky gets brighter it will be time to turn our attention to the skimmers as they skim over the calm water and / or terns fly up and down the beach diving and catching food. At any time of day, it’s a always great to get tons of flight shots. We will end the morning at 9am and return to our cars.

Workshop is over at 9am.  Return home.

Cost

Cost is $1,649 per person, based upon double occupancy, from New York City (Airport code JFK.
This trip ends in same as arrival city (Airport code ).

Cost is per person, and includes 2 nights single occupant lodging (see details for photographers sharing a bed) Nearest international airport New York City (JFK) but plenty of local airports.

Single Supplement

If a single hotel room is preferred, or we are unable to find a suitable roommate for you, a single supplement fee of $0 will be assessed.

If the lighting and conditions are such that we are inspired to arrive early, the participant would need to purchase $37 parking pass.  This is plan A.  As we tend to be at Nickerson during non-parking fee hours.

If you are flying in on Friday please let us know so we can add on (at your expense) a hotel for Friday evening.

*This workshop hotel has 1 bed per room, if you are sharing a bed, you will receive a credit of $225.

**Meals not included.

Single Supplement

If a single hotel room is preferred, or we are unable to find a suitable roommate for you, a single supplement fee of $0 will be assessed.

NOTE: For boat-based tours, see pricing options for single cabins. Single cabin cost includes the single hotel cost above.

Minimum Number

If fewer than the minimum number of required participants are registered, we may still be able to run the trip by adding a small-group supplement fee, per person, determined by the number of participants registered.

Deposit Requirements

A $750 deposit per person is required to hold each space on this tour. Deposit may be made online by clicking the "Book Your Trip Now" button and using any credit card. If you prefer, you may call us at 888-875-9453 to pay by phone. You may also mail us a check, however, remember that all space is held on a first come-first served basis as deposits are received.

How to Book

In order to hold your space, click the "Book Your Trip Now" button above and complete the deposit process, including payment of the deposit through our Paypal portal using ANY CREDIT CARD. Upon completion of deposit, please visit our secure, online CLIENT INFORMATION FORM to complete your registration.

Final Payment

For all land-based tours: full payment by check is due 120 days prior to the departure date.

For all boat-based adventure cruises of 7-days or longer: full payment by check is required 180 days prior to departure.

NOTE: If you prefer to use credit card for final payment, a 3% fee may be added to cover the credit card merchant fees we incur.

This workshop uses standard hotel accommodations. Single one bed hotel rooms. People sharing a bed should email for a credit. People needing Friday night should email to extend the hotel (additional cost)

Activity Level Rating: 2 (Note: 1 is easy and 5 is difficult)

Walking to and from beach on sand. Optional kneeling and/or lying down on the belly on sand.

• Longest telephoto lens you own. 600mm, 500mm, 300mm with converter
• Camera body
  • Second camera body and wide angle lens optional
• Plenty of camera batteries
• Lot of memory cards (SD, Compact flash cards, etc)
• Depending upon the weight of your lens you might want to bring a sturdy tripod with a Gimbal
• If you own one, bring a skimmer or a frisbee for getting down low for eye level shots
• Laptop to review images
• Hat, long sleeve shirt, light and airy, long pants and sturdy shoes
• Suntan lotion
• Water
• Knee pads, garden pad, elbow pads
• Rain gear for you and camera gear.
  • If you are an Olympus/OM SYSTEM owner there no need for rain gear!

The closest airports in the area are the John F Kennedy International airport (JFK) located about 14 miles west in New York, New York, the La Guardia airport (LGA) located approximately 23 miles northwest in New York, New York and finally the Newark Liberty International airport (EWR) located about 35 miles west in Newark, New Jersey.

Also the Long Island Mac Arthur airport (ISP) located roughly 25 miles northeast in Islip, New York, the Teterboro airport (TEB) located around 34 miles northwest of Jones Beach in Teterboro, New Jersey.

Purchasing Flights

Do not purchase your flights until the trip has been confirmed to go.

Detailed Trip Information

Upon notification that final payment is due (120 days prior to departure for land based tours / 180 days for boat based tours), you will receive a trip package of detailed information for your tour.

Any additional information about the trip, including lodgings, contacts, participants, meeting locations, etc., will sent about 2 weeks prior to the trip departure, or after final payment is received for late registrants.

Travel Insurance

As with all tours, we recommend purchasing Travel Insurance to help cover your investment, for covered reasons. Please see our section on Travel Insurance.

Passport & Visa

US Citizens may require a visa to enter certain foreign countries. See above for any required visa information.

Participants arriving to the USA from a foreign country may need to get a travel visa to enter the United States. Be sure to check the requirements for your country of origin.

Itinerary Changes

The trip itinerary is developed many months ahead of time. Occasionally, despite our best planning, changes may occur during the trip, or we may be forced to alter our plans. Changes may occur because of weather, road conditions, safety concerns or other circumstances. In these situations, it is the leader(s) responsibility to carefully consider and implement appropriate alternatives. Any additional costs incurred because of changes will be the responsibility of each individual participant. Refunds will not be issued as a result of itinerary changes.