Category Archives: Nature

GBH Triplets In The Skinny Tree, Foggy Morning

It was a foggy morning and I had just missed the adult Great Blue Heron feeding the chicks.

Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks

The adult was showing signs of leaving…

Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks

…and away s/he went.

Great Blue Heron Leaving The Nest
Great Blue Heron Leaving The Nest

The chicks hunkered down.

Great Blue Heron Triplet Chicks
Great Blue Heron Triplet Chicks

One was a little more curious, soon they will be wing flapping.

Great Blue Heron Triplet Chicks
Great Blue Heron Triplet Chicks

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 15, 2023

GBH Triplets In The Skinny Tree

The Skinny Tree is hanging on and once again hosting a Great Blue Heron family.

Great Blue Heron Feeding Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron Feeding Three Chicks

There are three chicks, and amazingly all three appear to be thriving.

Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks

Other nests with triplets that I have observed over the years have at least one chick being much smaller and not surviving.

Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks

This year’s nest is pretty small compared to other years which will be a challenge for the family as the chicks grow.

Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks
Great Blue Heron and Three Chicks

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 12, 2023

Redwood Tree at Magnolia

I’ve been on this corner at the back of the old rice field when the Nature Train was passing and heard the tour guide point out this Redwood Tree as they pass.

Redwood Tree
Redwood Tree – February 23, 2023, Looking towards the rice field

They either didn’t say, or I’ve never paid enough attention, why this single Redwood happens to be right here.

Redwood Tree
Redwood Tree – March 11, 2023, taken with my back to the rice field

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC

Let’s Share

A roosting Black Vulture was joined by a Wood Stork.

Black Vulture and Wood Stork
Black Vulture and Wood Stork

The Vulture was pretty much unfazed, even with all that flapping going on.

Black Vulture and Wood Stork
Black Vulture and Wood Stork

Settle down, look around…we’re at the top of the world!

Black Vulture and Wood Stork
Black Vulture and Wood Stork

The angle between these birds and my position created an optical illusion that these two birds are close in height. The Wood Stork actually is longer, weighs more, and has a slightly wider wing span.

Black Vulture and Wood Stork
Black Vulture and Wood Stork

Black Vulture:

  • Length: 23.6-26.8 in (60-68 cm)
  • Weight: 56.4-77.6 oz (1600-2200 g)
  • Wingspan: 53.9-59.1 in (137-150 cm)

Wood Stork:

  • Length: 33.5-45.3 in (85-115 cm)
  • Weight: 72.3-93.1 oz (2050-2640 g)
  • Wingspan: 59.1-68.9 in (150-175 cm)

From The Cornell Lab, All About Birds

St. Augustine Alligator Farm, St. Augustine, FL
January 20, 2023

Butterflies on Honeysuckle

As the morning warmed up I could smell the honeysuckle as I walked along the dike and pretty soon several butterflies appeared.

This Gulf Fritillary was a very bold orange, and in pristine shape like he had just hatched.

Gulf Fritillary on Honeysuckle
Gulf Fritillary on Honeysuckle

Several Skippers were intent on feeding from the underside of the leaves, this one popped out for just a moment.

Long-tailed Skipper on Honeysuckle
Long-tailed Skipper on Honeysuckle

This last butterfly looks like a Sulpher Butterfly, but was much smaller, about this size of a dime (Diameter 0.750 in. ~ 19.05 mm) . Research turns up it is likely a Little Yellow.

Little Yellow butterfly on Honeysuckle
Little Yellow butterfly on Honeysuckle

Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
November 26, 2022

Great Egret Goal Posts

It was a nail-biter.

American White Pelican Landing
American White Pelican Landing Between Two Great Egrets

For me.

American White Pelican Landing
American White Pelican Landing Between Two Great Egrets

Surely the White Pelican would swoosh between the Great Egrets…

American White Pelican Landing
American White Pelican Landing Between Two Great Egrets

But no, he ran out of oomph and veered left.

American White Pelican Landing
American White Pelican Landing Between Two Great Egrets

There was to be no touch down score for this American White Pelican

American White Pelican Landing
American White Pelican Landing Between Two Great Egrets

Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
February 23, 2022

Cassia: Wow on the Yellow

I remembered this delightful bush as I wondered some lesser traveled paths at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens a few weeks ago.

Cassia
Cassia

This plant is surely the gift that keeps on giving, as it was just covered with these shapely yellow blooms.

Cassia
Cassia

Some of the singles left on a stalk were real stand-outs.

Cassia
Cassia

Most of the plant was covered with these clusters.

Cassia
Cassia

I had posted images of this plant last December not knowing what it was. Fortuitously, the most recent Magnolia Newsletter had an image and identified it as  Cassia.

Cassia
Cassia

A little plant research shows there are a number of varieties of Cassia and I’m just going to let it go at that.

December 6, 2021