The Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron was part of the wading bird mix in the receding waters of this pond last week. Despite their name we do see them out during the day hunting while the hunting is good.
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron
His shorter legs did not slow him down as he worked the water along with the other birds looking for food.
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron
The mud, however, is more of an impediment when most of your legs and feet are in it.
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron
Here is view of a cleaner bird after he flew into a tree for a safer vantage point of the pond activity.
I could hear the Red-bellied Woodpecker around the swamp from the distinctive shrill call. Sound bouncing off the water can make the exact direction hard to pinpoint. Eventually the flash of red gave away his position.
Red-bellied Woodpecker
This tree branch has a number of holes the woodpecker was exploring while a juvenile Little Blue Heron looked on.
Red-bellied Woodpecker and Juvenile Little Blue Heron
Satisfied, the heron returned to sentry duty.
Red-bellied Woodpecker and Juvenile Little Blue Heron
Growing up I was terrified of these creatures that we called darning needles. Stories were passed from kid to kid about your lips getting sewn shut. Swearing might have been required to invoke the sewing activity but I never saw any kid so inflicted.
Dragonfly on stump – click photo for larger view
Now I know that the dragonflies eat bugs so I’m happy to have them around. The ones we see in South Carolina are much prettier than the ones I remember in Maine, but that may be a trick of time.
Dragonfly on stick- click photo for larger view
Sometimes they land right on the duck weed but more often take advantage of the other pond plants.
Dragonfly perched over duck weed – click photo for larger view
We’ve had a run of dull days, no sun and lots of rain. There was a gap in the storms this morning and we took the opportunity to get out even though conditions weren’t optimal. This Swallowtail Butterfly posed for some low light shots.
Swallowtail Butterfly – click photo for larger view
He very nicely turned around the flower exposing his underside to the camera.
Swallowtail Butterfly – click photo for larger view
And kept on turning for a nice side view of his proboscis at work.
Swallowtail Butterfly – click photo for larger view
The rain started again shortly after bringing an end to this meal.
A big splash got our attention as we were leaving the USS Yorktown at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum this afternoon. I thought it might be an Alligator, then saw a high splash of water.
Dolphin Making Big Splash – click photo for larger view
The dolphin made his way up and down the stretch of water that sits between the museum boats and the shore, splashing as he went. Fortunately for me there is a dock that runs parallel to the shore and away I went to follow the unfolding drama.
Dolphin Feeding – click photo for larger view
A large fish started jumping out of the water trying to stay ahead of the dolphin.
Fish Trying to Out Jump Dolphin Feeding – click photo for larger view
He got caught!
Dolphin Caught the Fish- click photo for larger view
Then got away!
Dolphin Feeding – the One That Got Away- click photo for larger view
Undeterred, the dolphin tried again while a Snowy Egret decided to relocate further from the action.
Dolphin Splashing Water Over Snowy Egret- click photo for larger view
The volume of water and waves the dolphin splashed up was incredible to watch.
Dolphin Making Big Splash – click photo for larger view
Iris in all sorts of colors are thriving around the swamp where I photograph the wading birds. This is some distance from the cultivated gardens and I’ve wondered if they were planted intentionally or just happened via a happy accident. Regardless, its a nice surprise to happen upon them.
Purple irisWhite iris with yellow accentDeep purple iris with yellow accentIris with cob web strands
The swirling of the clouds reminded me of the beginning of the movie Wizard of Oz when Dorothy was still in Kansas. It was more than a little eerie and cause to review our storm plan.
Swirling Storm Clouds – click for larger view.
A flock of Canada Geese made their way to safety, honking and trying in vain to get into a tidy V.
Canada Geese Flying in Storm – click for larger view.
It was oddly calm on the ground and we were fortunate that the system passed with no damage.
