After his bath the Snowy Egret sunk down into the water again and just sat there.
He made some ripples when he stood up, which created a disconnected head reflection.
I moved on, glancing back for one more look. The Egret was looking pretty spiffy.
I rarely see Wood Storks in the area of the heron and egret rookery at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens; if they are around they are more likely to be at the boat pond when the water is low and the feeding easier.
I was surprised to see this one standing at the edge of the pond, rather settled in.
For no apparent reason he took off. I did see a couple others much higher in the sky, perhaps he thought to join them.
One of them decided to circle back and attempt a tree-top landing at the other end of the pond.
He wobbled around a bit then flew off, towards the river.
I first spotted this Snowy Egret sitting low in the water.
As I expected, he dunked.
Then gave a big shake.
A couple minutes later he did it again.
It was a treat to see this Tricolored Heron fly by me rather slowly and in a straight line.
I more often see them in something of a panic mode, flapping and squawking.
The squawking can be fun to photograph but is often accompanied by erratic flying, which is not so easy to catch.
These were taken in early January when the marsh reeds and grass were just brown.
January 3, 2021
The Great Blue Heron I was photographing with the Azalea color also entertained me with a fish nab.
Waved it around a bit…
left and right…
…followed by a quick toss.
One big swallow, the fish was gone.
A Great Blue Heron was stalking in chest high, to him, Iris fronds, at one of the small ponds at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. A few blooming Azaleas can be seen in the background.
I moved right, the GBH moved left, and briefly got him lined up with the color.
The Great Blue kept on moving down into the water giving me a different perspective of the pink reflections.
March 23, 2021
The low water in this section of a rice field pond had attracted a small flock of wading birds to feed in a channel.
As usual, one Snowy Egret was zipping around instead of feeding like the others.
He flew past a group of three…
kept on going…
Then dropped into a group of two.
It was a grey day with the Snowy Egrets’ feet and eye patches providing the only bit of color.
Tricolored Herons have an enthusiastic way of hunting, throwing their whole body into the effort.
This was a classic display, stretching out over the water, then pulling back to change the view.
Then nab!
As I’ve often seen, his catch was tiny, so you know he’ll need to keep at it.
I saw this Great Egret land and expected him to get run off by the occupant of the nest about 8 feet (2 M) above him.
He poked around a bit, and was surprisingly ignored by the Great Egret in the nest.
Suddenly he swooped down to the water…
… and came up with a stick!
After circling around the tree he made a nice landing at the top, delivering the stick to his mate. Turns out he didn’t go far from home for this delivery of nesting material.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 17, 2021
Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Tricolored Herons… not a great photo opportunity but a wonderful thing to see.
The small specs are Swallows; even smaller was the generous supply of mosquitoes and gnats.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, ACE Basin, SC
March 11, 2021
