The large cap of this dark mushroom caught my eye as I crossed a large lawn under a stand of pine trees.
The cluster of smaller, overlapping mushrooms behind it was pretty interesting, too.
Taken from above, the cluster looked like buttons, although these don’t look like the button mushrooms sold at the grocery store.
I passed by a number of creatures moving about in the greenery on a recent walk. First a Carolina Anole balancing on a frond.
Then a grasshopper checking out a dried cattail reed.
And a Tree Frog, just hanging on.
A bee disappeared into the center of this wild Morning Glory and I waited at the ready for him to come out.
And waited.
Finally, I was starting to think that maybe I’d missed him and he awkwardly backed out.
And slowly took off casting a shadow on the bloom.
Pond vegetation and reflections.
This pine tree serves as a frequent perch for Bald Eagles as they survey the pond below, looking for a meal. The tree dwarfs the raptor and depending on which branch they choose not easy to spot until they fly.
Some individual birds seem to prefer a quieter location and not being part of the big flock. The front pond had hundreds of wading birds and White Pelicans the day I took these.
Out in a back pond a pair of White Pelicans was joined by a handful of wading birds, all quietly going about their day.
Hurricane Dorian blew by Charleston at the beginning of September leaving some destruction in its wake.
Some old trees at Magnolia Cemetery could not stand up to the wind this time.
Some that weren’t so old took a fall, too.
September 26, 2019, Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC
Spotting wildlife is often about subtle contrasts and shapes. The subject’s movement sometimes helps. This Sapsucker flew onto the tree then froze in place.
Looking for the unexpected can help.
Some creatures hardly move, like the Tree Frog, and others, like this warbler, are in perpetual motion so it’s helpful to anticipate their next direction.
There was a lot of activity to be seen on a late afternoon boat ride into the Harbor River from Russ Point on Hunting Island, SC even as the day came to an end.
From the beach near the dock a fisherman was casting into the river.
A Bald Eagle watched over the river and surrounding marsh from a dead tree.
A pod of Dolphins was all around us as we set out, probably fishing for the last meal of the day.
Off in the distance it was raining.
The Harbor River is at the southern end of the Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto (ACE) Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The Reserve’s 99,308 acres of pine and hardwood upland, oyster reef, forested wetland, barrier islands, cypress swamp, and tidal marsh combine to make this one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast and home to many endangered species.
A few days after seeing a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker investigate a tree cavity I saw a Chickadee do it.
It wasn’t as nice a day with a grey sky for a background, but the bird’s behavior was interesting.
The Chickadee went back and forth between this tree, which is dead, and an overhanging branch across the path. I’m not sure if he was looking for food or a potential nest site.
After the Chickadee flew off I went around the tree to see the cavity. I’ll be watching this spot when I pass by as spring progresses.
