I took these two images on different days, but not far from each other in June of 2019.
Both dragonflies lined up with the leaf to land, but the second one seems more at rest, with his whole body settled.
Eastern Pondhawk on Diagonal
Monthly Archives: July 2020
Great Egret Ripley Water
Wading along, this Great Egret passed through some different looks to the water. A little breeze was making it ripple and in the first image the light was reflecting off the water onto the bird.
As he moved further along, there was less reflection from the reeds on the opposite bank of the pond and the sky made the water seem bluer. Around water a lot can change in just a few feet.
Great Blue Heron in Flight
I’m revisiting some images I took last fall using Topaz Sharpen AI. I might have overdone it just a bit, especially around the Great Blue Heron’s head.
I like the second image a little better with the shadow of the right wing falling on the left wing.
Water Lily and Greenery
There was a nice reflection of the water lily and the surrounding foliage, if a bit far out into the pond.
Fourth of July
July 4th – the anniversary of the publication of the declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776
A Small Drama, Alligator
I had been watching this Alligator as he floated in the water with his full back sticking up. Usually just see the head is out of the water unless they are actively using their tail to swim. He was staying in place.
I suspected he might be profiling, basically showing off, to either impress a female or warn off other males. And wham, he smacked the water with his head.
Expecting more, I waited, but that was it. There are dozens of large Alligators in this immediate area and evidently they were not impressed.
Gliding Brown Pelican
These images combine a few of my favorite photography opportunities: Brown Pelicans, Reflections, and Birds in Flight.
The colored reflections in the water come from piers and docked boats on the other side of the creek.
March 28, 2020
Shem Creek, Mount Pleasant, SC
Juvenile Snowy Egret
This juvenile Snowy Egret had ventured away from his nest, learning how to get his own meals.
He had the stretch moves down, showing off his feet which aren’t quite the bright yellow of an adult.
But he was not successful while I was watching him. He got startled and flew back towards his nest.
Juvenile Common Yellowthroat
I saw movement but it took my eyes a few minutes to spot this little songbird staring back at me.
The Merlin Bird ID app tells me this is a Common Yellowthroat, to my eye looking a whole lot like many other young or female warblers.
He was on the hunt, jumping from branch to branch, checking behind these waxy leaves for bugs or worms.
I got a quick full body peek while he contemplated his next move, which was to zoom into the heights of this tree.
Gulf Fritillary on Statice
This was the first Gulf Fritillary I’ve seen this summer, one of just a few total butterflies I’ve noticed.
The wild purple statice, a non-native that grows along roadsides, in disturbed areas and old fields, seems to be thriving everywhere.
This stand of statice was along the side of a pond and the butterfly worked the tops, the road and pond side, and down into the depths of the plant which in some places was over my head.
June 26, 2020
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC