Category Archives: South Carolina

Reflective Landscape

January 14, 2017 Ellen Jennings 8 Comments

In less than an hour the sky went from mostly cloudy, to dotted clouds, to full sun on a recent morning. The wind that was moving the clouds was only aloft, with only a slight breeze at ground level.

The big pond at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area reflected it all. Bare trees and the Spanish Moss give a silvery sheen in the early morning light.

A few Great Blue Herons were prowling around the perimeter and some ducks splashed in the distance, too far for a photo.

In the silent gaps between airplanes and dogs barking in the distance the noises of the ducks carried through the stillness. It was almost solitude.

Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, 1/12/2017.

Click any photo for a larger view.

South Carolina, Wading Birds

Great Blue Heron Touching Down

January 10, 2017 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

Reeds around the edge of the canal prevented me from getting the approach.

The rest all happened in less than two seconds.

The Great Blue Heron is a very graceful flyer, despite his size.

No points this time due to an uneven landing.

Is that an Alligator or a log?

It could be either but the Heron prudently took a quick hop over it before settling down.

Click on any photo for larger view.

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Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, November 25, 2016

Birds, Raptor, South Carolina

Red-shouldered Hawk

January 9, 2017 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

We spotted three or four Red-shouldered Hawks today at the edge of the swamp today, mostly sitting in the sun and occasionally calling in their high-pitched whistle.

This one spotted a snack, dropped down to the ground and came back with what appears to be a frog.

He held the frog in his beak for over a minute and the photos don’t show any sign it was alive.

He landed on stick that made for nice photos in the afternoon sun.

I didn’t see the hawk actually eat the frog–he may have dropped it.

If so, he didn’t seem concerned.

Click on any photo for a larger view.

Birds, Duck, South Carolina

Blue-winged Teal

January 8, 2017 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

Blue-winged Teals are dabbling ducks and often have bits of grass or duckweed hanging from their beaks or heads. The ones at Magnolia Plantation are wary of people and I mostly get photographs of them swimming away.

They do a lot of swimming in circles, creating rings of waves. If you stand still they sometimes come circling back near the shore.

When they are away from the duckweed and the light is right their reflections can be quite pretty.

Click on any photo for larger view.

Birds, Duck, South Carolina, Wading Birds

Green-winged Teal

January 7, 2017 Ellen Jennings 5 Comments

Shaking his foot, this Green-winged Teal seemed to be bothered by something under the duckweed but he didn’t move on.

He stood with his foot in the air for several minutes, then slowly lowered it, maximizing the stretch.

Finally he settled in with a flash of color showing.

Click any photo for larger view.

Birds, South Carolina, Wading Birds

Great Blue Herons Keeping House

January 6, 2017 Ellen Jennings 12 Comments

The Great Blue Herons have arrived at the Audubon Swamp Rookery and wasted no time fixing up their nests and getting ready for their next brood.

They did take some breaks for displays of affection.

The males gather most of the nest material and the females spend quite a bit of time arranging it. This pair was relatively quiet, but others in the rookery did a lot of squawking as they worked on their nests.

Birds, South Carolina

Tree Swallow Acrobatics

January 5, 2017 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

I’ve watched the Tree Swallows zooming over the old rice field at Magnolia Plantation several times over the last month, resisting the urge to photograph them knowing focusing to be futile. They are fast and fly in erratic paths as they pursue insects.

Yesterday I spotted a behavior that centered around this metal pole sticking out of the marsh that gave an opportunity for some shots. Yes, bird pole dancing with a lot of in place fluttering.

When a bird landed on the pole it made it possible to focus and when the birds stayed in or flew through the same plane I got some in-focus shots.

Of course this was clearly a case of needing a bigger lens. The distance, adjusting for the high ISO (1600 – 2400) and cropping to get a closer view of the birds resulted in non-sharp, but interesting, photos.

I didn’t see any other tree or man-made device that the Swallows were attracted to in this area.

In between swooping around the pole the rest of the flock continued bug gathering over the reedy areas of the swamp.

I could not get any closer due to the swamp and alligators but the dike does curve about where this action was taking place allowing for a couple of angles.

Click on any image for a larger view.

Birds, South Carolina

Belted Kingfisher

December 30, 2016 Ellen Jennings 10 Comments

Normally very skittish, the Belted Kingfisher that hangs out on the old Pitt Street Bridge at Pickett Park has acclimated to people. This female was content to pose as she waited for the tide to come in and bring some fishing opportunities.

The beams that stick out from the current pier are left from when there was a bridge crossing to Sullivan’s Island. Once the only non-boat transportation from Mount Pleasant to the beaches, the trolley that used the bridge ceased operation in 1927. The bridge was closed in 1945, when a replacement just to the north opened.

Pickett Park, Mount Pleasant, SC

Birds, Raptor, South Carolina

Stick Season

December 26, 2016 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

This Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Red-shouldered Hawk went about their business at opposite ends of a new swamp area being created at Magnolia’s Audubon Swamp.

The trees are bare and the birds exposed, part of the routine for both.

When the trees bud out we’ll miss a lot of these photo opportunities and have to turn our attention elsewhere.

Birds, South Carolina

American White Pelicans, Again

December 23, 2016 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

Last week I posted photos of four White Pelicans performing synchronized swimming among the alligators along with a wish to see them fly. Yesterday I photographed a larger group flying over the same place and wished that they would land.

Ten birds that weigh an average of twenty pounds each coming in for a landing would be a great shot. Of course they did land, but way at the back of the pond.

Their flight is as skillful as their swimming: close together and smooth.

To get an idea of the size, Cornell Lab of Ornithology says the American White Pelican is “considerably larger than a Bald Eagle; smaller than a California Condor.”

Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, South Carolina.