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.
Brilliant Blue
Category Archives: Birds
Red-bellied Woodpecker Working Hard
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
Red-bellied Woodpecker
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.
Belted Kingfisher on Water Control Trunk
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
February 19, 2023
Sandhill Crane Flyby, And a Caracara
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
Checking Out Some Real Estate
It’s a little early for a Red-headed Woodpecker to be scouting out nesting sites, but given the competition it doesn’t hurt to look around.
Audubon Center & Sanctuary at Francis Beidler Forest, SC
January 8, 2023
Kingfisher On the Spoonie Tree
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
Belted Kingfisher Flying By
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
Little Blue Heron
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
Belted Kingfisher, Palm Tree Reflection
Botany Bay Wildlife Area, Edisto, SC
December 3, 2022