A small flock of Roseate Spoonbills was flying low over the marsh headed for a drained area just in front of me.
I was hoping they would land but they kept going.
And going, passing by the spot where some shore birds had gathered and I had a good view. They landed just to my right, behind some reeds.
Click on any image for larger view.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, SC, 10/20/2018.
These are a few more images from my walk down the dike on a grey day.
First we go right…
Then we go left…
and every now and then one of the birds has something to say!
These birds appeared to be successfully feeding and occasionally another would drop in to see what was going on.
This is the first time I’ve seen more than one or two wading birds in these two trees that are at the edge of a tidal marsh. Snowy Egrets were coming and going in the first tree, with one lone White Ibis on the left. The sky wasn’t a great backdrop on this morning but I couldn’t pass up photographing this activity.
White Ibis dominated the second tree and while I’m not that happy to have fall arrive, the leafless trees did allow a good look at the birds.
About ten minutes before I took these images several hundred wading birds, mostly White Ibis, were sharing this space with these Wood Storks. I couldn’t see them, but they sure were making some noise as they fed.
These few Wood Storks ignored the “go” signal of the masses and continued their rest. I was able to get to a break in the reeds lining the dike to see what was left behind.
I could see bird activity down one of the dikes that divides the old rice field ponds where a canal widened a bit. The dike has varying heights of reeds at the edge which serves as a nice blind, but can interfere with a good shot. Hence the fuzz on the lower right of this image. The Cormorants took off just after I took this.
None of the images were great this day as the light was dull, but I saw a variety of activity. A few Wood Storks came and went, sometimes feeding and sometimes just standing around.
The light brightened a little as this Roseate Spoonbill worked his way to the far side of this canal.
For those of you who follow Ted at http://www.tpjPhoto.net, I got an image of him watching alligators for his Bad Day To Be A Fish post. He’s standing on the road that runs at the lower edge of the big pond.
A Great Blue Heron spending the afternoon on the banks of an old rice field pond made an excellent portrait subject.
This was not the weather morning we were expecting. We got to the wildlife management area shortly after sunrise to find that the air was still and dense with no sign of the promised sunshine.
However there were a few Spoonbills in the spoonie tree so you know I took some images.
I thought this one was going to land on the left branch but he kept going to one that was already occupied.
The two Spoonbills on the left took no notice of his arrival.
A Great Blue Heron perched on an alligator ramp is passed by a Tri-colored Heron photo bombing my scene. Sometimes the larger Herons will give chase if they feel their space is invaded but this time he went back to preening.
Despite their size Great Blue Herons can hide in plain sight. I’ve jumped more than once when one I didn’t see in the bushes took off with a squawk when he saw me. I did see this one as I got closer but he blended into the foliage when I was further down the path along this pond.
This dead tree stands on the other side of the dike from where I photographed the Rice Field Trunk Duo.
I’ve wondered if this is the same Great Egret hanging around his favorite fishing spot or if they take turns.
