Category Archives: Nature

Resting American White Pelicans

March 15, 2018 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

We had seen a few White Pelicans in the air earlier in the morning so weren’t too surprised to see them resting on the ground at the edge of a pond and happily stopped to see so many. They were quite a distance off the road but there was a clear view and I would say there were at least two hundred birds.

A number of Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets were sprinkled around the periphery of the group, including this group looking like a police line up.

Most of the Pelicans were preening or resting. A few Coots were going about their business in the water around them.

One daring Great Egret landed right in the middle of small group of Pelicans. The Pelicans took no notice.

Photographed at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, 2/21/2018.

Nature

Hooded Merganser Pair

February 27, 2018 Ellen Jennings 1 Comment

The same pair of Hooded Mergansers as yesterday’s post had places to go as they were out for a swim around one of Magnolia Cemetery’s ponds. The male gradually caught up to the female as they passed this group of Mallards on the edge of a small island.

The Mergansers weren’t in such a hurry that they chose to fly, but they didn’t divert even as the Mallards went about their preening and flapping.

The Mergansers continued on their way, the female in the lead, headed out into the middle of the pond.

Birds, Nature, Reptiles

Sharing Space

December 30, 2017 Ellen Jennings 7 Comments

The turtles are the most likely to be seen sharing space with other creatures around the swamp and ponds. They crave the sun just like the alligators on this reptile ramp and don’t show any fear in the presence of an alligator that could easily eat them.

Wading birds like this Great Egret like a sunny spot, too, and easily find a spot in between the turtles on a nearby ramp.

I don’t know what this “foot in the air” display from the turtle just to the right of the egret is all about, but a little further along in another small pond I saw it again, with both hind feet straight out.

Flowers, Nature

Fall Blooming Narcissus

December 9, 2017 Ellen Jennings 1 Comment

Narcissus are touted as spring blooming plants but here we are in December and once again this year I’ve spotted some gracing the pathway to the dike around the old rice field we frequent.

This path is lined with huge trees and not much light reaches the ground in any season making it a surprise that these bulbs can rejuvenate year after year. This is not an area that is currently being tended and doesn’t look like it has for some number of years.

A bee found his way to the bloom and checked each cup carefully.

Click on either photo for larger view.

Nature, Reptiles, Wading Birds

Gathered Around

November 23, 2017 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

The Cormorants were content drying their wings on the Alligator ramp as a murky sun warmed the afternoon. A Great Blue Heron came along and disrupted their peace.

Gathering Spot — Great Blue Heron coming in, Cormorants holding their territory

The Cormorants did not surrender their ground despite some posturing from the Great Blue.

An Alligator popped up to see what was happening as I continued along my walk.

Landscape, Nature

Sunset

November 15, 2017 Ellen Jennings 6 Comments

My sunset photographs rarely do the real scene justice. Often it is because there is nothing in the foreground to make a good composition. These dead trees on a nearby beach are a little something but I didn’t get a great angle.

Knowing the right spots for the time of year is a help. So is luck. Now that we are in our second year in South Carolina I might do better with the locations. For the luck, all you can do is get out there.

This evening the sunset was spectacular. Really.

Taken 11/14/2017, Folly Beach, SC.

Nature

Smithsonian Gardens: Green Wall / Brown Wall

November 9, 2017 Ellen Jennings 8 Comments

I first became aware of Green Walls when Liz of the New Zealand based blog Exploring Colo u r posted about an installation in Balclutha, NZ. It is an impressive sight that uses mostly native plants and made an otherwise utilitarian looking space inviting.

Read Liz’s post with photos of the entire wall at Green Wall in Rural Town Centre and close ups of the plants at Green Wall (Part 2).

Just a couple weeks later at the Smithsonian’s Mary Livingston Ripley Garden in Washington DC I was surprised to find a short Green Wall. Much smaller than the Balclutha version with smaller plants, the colors and textures were a visual treat.

Although not called a Brown Wall, that is what I would call this next construction, or perhaps an Insect Condo as a sign indicated was its purpose. I didn’t get close enough to see if it had occupents but it did look inviting.

Maybe this sign would slow down a stinking thief. I wondered if the gap in the Green Wall was due to theft or plant failure.

I found this sign more to my liking. #SmithsonianGardens

Smithsonian Gardens Photography Encouraged

Nature, Wading Birds

Great Blue Heron In Flight

November 6, 2017 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

A Great Blue Heron looped around me twice, going in and out of the early morning sun across a variety of marsh backgrounds. He started to touch down then decided that wasn’t the spot.

He was on a leisurely flight, surveying the area and looking for a spot to have to himself.

Elegant in flight the heron glided across the trail I was on with little effort, finally banking sharply and landing out of sight in the next pond.

Nature

Great Egret Silhouette in Tree

November 3, 2017 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

I’ve seen all sizes of birds land in this dead tree, from swallows to eagles. Sometimes they share, but this Great Egret had it all to himself. It is protected on a small island created by canals at the edge of two old rice fields. Humans can’t get to it and it has a 360 degree view over several impoundments, useful for scoping out a bird’s next meal.

This was taken shortly after sun rise just about into the sun.

Nature

White Pelicans in Flight

October 29, 2017 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

I’ve tried to stop taking bird in flight shots unless they are really close as I just end up disappointed and deleting them.

However, when this flock was coming, I took the shot. Lots of them actually.

We had seen a large number of these Pelicans as the sun was coming up. This was about an hour later and hundreds more passed over us in a few waves over several minutes.

In the next photo you can pick out a couple of Cormorants in the mix. I’m not sure if they were flying with the Pelicans or if the Pelicans passed them.

We were hoping the flock might land in a nearby pond, but they kept on moving at a pretty brisk pace.

Click on any photo for a larger view.