I didn’t see what this Great Blue Heron was chasing off, if anything. He swooped in from the pond to the left and made some menacing moves to the right.
It is not a nesting area and right now the water is high on both sides of this dike so no feeding was going on either.
He sure meant business!
Job done, he headed back the way he came.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 7, 2025
A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks caught my ear as I was about to head back to my car at the end of the afternoon. Then I spotted them, swooping, then landing at the top of this tree. It looks like there could be some nest material there, although it would be early for them.
I moved along as the tree was never going to allow a good angle and at a half hour before sundown I didn’t expect any more movement.
I was wrong. The pair came together in a nearby tree with a better vantage point for me.
Then they rearranged themselves.
Then rearranged themselves again, with one of them flying in a big circle before picking its spot.
That was the end of the photo shoot; even with no leaves on the tree there wasn’t going to be a nice side-by-side portrait.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 7, 2025
Last week, before we got 4 inches of snow that stayed on the ground for four days, I spotted a single daffodil in full bloom.
I suspect this was a stray leftover from a previous planting in this garden bed as no other stalks were present.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 19, 2025
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is dotted with statues, most of them some version of painted white which over time can get grimy looking. The area around Boy with Duck was recently cleared and the statue was turned to face the path rather than the pond.
I have seen some of the statues get cleaned of the clinging moss, lichen and who knows what debris. I would like to see him stay with this patina; I think it gives him a bit more character.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 19, 2025
Click to see how the statue looked in June of 2020 when it was facing the pond.
There have been a few small groups of Hooded Mergansers around the various ponds at Magnolia Plantation over the last month. Two or three birds, hardly enough to call a flock, and always on the far side of whichever pond I saw them. Until last week.
Two days I caught a fast exit when the group got startled in almost the same spot. The second time I captured them lower to the ground, with a nicer background.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 17 and 19, 2025
A spot of color from last week, before the ice, snow and cold descended on the lowcountry of South Carolina.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 19, 2025
I don’t know how they know, but this bird sure was aware something was about to happen.
Oh, my mate, you are back!
Double checking to make sure I know you…
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 17, 2025 — before the snow and big freeze
I took a slew of photos of these White Ibis feeding last Friday. They kept going back and forth through sun lit patches, in and out of the vegetation, and were very entertaining.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 17, 2025
While I was watching the White Ibis feed a Great Blue Heron flew from his nest in the big island to grab some building material. He was wading around in the swampy area to the left, selecting and discarding a number of choices. Finally he emerged with this teeny stick.
Ravenswood Pond, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 17, 2025
The late afternoon sun lit up this swampy area as a flock of White Ibis passed through, feeding as they went.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
January 17, 2025
