A pair of Black-necked Stilts swooped on by me as I stood on a dike at Orlando Wetlands.
Often described as “stately” due to their color scheme and long legs, they are also elegant flyers.
And fly they did, right on to the other side of this impoundment.
April 10, 2022
A pair of American Oystercatchers were standing on a dike between two brackish ponds, with no oysters in sight for their breakfast.
They didn’t stay long, and is sometimes the case when photographing birds in flight, they were too close to cut one out of the picture, and too far apart to make a really pleasing composition. But it is birds in flight and you can see their eyes so I went with it.
One of the birds was banded, a project of The American Oystercatcher Working Group (http://amoywg.org/).
Bulls Island is an uninhabited 5000 acre barrier island off the coast of South Carolina with multiple ecosystems including maritime forest, fresh and brackish water impoundments and salt marsh.
April 2, 2022
I spotted this Ring-billed Gull just before he hit the water.
There wasn’t much of a splash and the gull’s wings never went under the surface.
One powerful beat of his wings and he was up.
A small splash and he was away.
Wasting no time, he sped off before one of the other circling gulls or terns noticed his catch.
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
December 25, 2021
A little dance after bath time.
And a bow.
SanderlingFolly Beach, SC
October 14, 2021
With places to go this Sanderling passed me by on the run.
Hardly touching the ground he zipped along.
Full steam ahead!
Folly Beach, SC
October 14, 2021
Sanderlings poke and prod the sand as they work up and down the beach, eating little creepy-crawlies they feel with their beaks.
This one was intrigued by a dead crab. Could it be a treasure?
Not so sure, he tried the other side. He gave the crab a couple of pokes and moved on. This treasure was trash for this bird.
A Black Skimmer entertained me early one morning with his graceful water-level hunting on an old rice field pond.
All I saw him catch on that pass was a strand of grass.
July 4, 2021
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC
Birds flying in tight flocks fascinate me, leaving me wondering how they communicate that synchronized take off, flight and landing. And of course I have to try to photograph them at it.
I saw this flock take off from a mud flat then make a quick u-turn.
They looped around the pond a few times then landed pretty much where they started.
