I was thinking of making this a Silent Sunday post, but anyone who ever spent time around Peacocks knows that just doesn’t fit. These birds can be a nuisance, but there’s no getting around their flashy color scheme.

It took me awhile to spot this Red-bellied Woodpecker after listening to the rat-a-tat for several minutes.
He was working very high up in a dead pine tree on what I presume will be a nesting cavity.
All in, the pecking continued.
He took a few pauses and you can see there are several other holes.
I tried for a different angle, and this isn’t a great image of the bird but it shows off more of the well-used tree.
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 11, 2023
There were several species of woodpeckers all around me, one of the few birds I can readily identify by sound. But spotting one was another matter.
Finally, a peek-a-boo look. Surely he will climb around to my side of this tree.
No, a speedy exit, lower right.
I heard him coming…Sandhill Cranes are really loud.
From Cornell’s All About Birds:
“a loud rolling, trumpeting sound whose unique tone is a product of anatomy: Sandhill Cranes have long tracheas (windpipes) that coil into the sternum and help the sound develop a lower pitch and harmonics that add richness.”
And he flew right on by.
I could hardly make a post of this last, far off photo, but I was pretty amazed to see a Crested Caracara fly by just a few minutes before the Crane.
Orlando Wetlands, Christmas, FL
January 18, 2023
There are almost always a Belted Kingfisher or two swooping around the ponds at Donnelley WMA. This morning I thought I was going to get a real close up of one on a rice field trunk. Ha!
Before I could even get my camera to eye level she was gone.
I did track her across the pond.
Where she landed on the Spoonie Tree…way to far for a good shot, but she did stop moving!
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
December 29, 2022
I photographed a few passes of this Belted Kingfisher including this set as he swooped along a marsh inlet.
She had sounded the characteristic Kingfisher chatter just before taking flight or I probably would have missed her.
She is identifiable as a female by the brown stripe on her chest that males lack.
Botany Bay Wildlife Area, Edisto, SC
December 3, 2022
A Little Blue Heron stood one-legged on a stump, at the end of an early December day.
The road we drove on was only a few feet from the bird and I expected him to fly any moment, but he seemed content.
The pond behind him was glowing from the low sun.
Botany Bay Wildlife Area, Edisto, SC
December 3, 2022