Camellia season is waning in the SC lowcountry but a few spectacular blooms can still be found.
There are numerous shades of pink.
And seemingly endless flower shapes.
The two-tone varieties are some of my favorites:
Google has shared with me: “There are over 250 known species of camellias, with more than 30,000 cultivars registered or published.”
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
March 27, 2026
I hadn’t photographed the festive cherubs in a few years and wanted to see how they looked amongst the azaleas.
The cherubs’ view:
A sprinkling of azaleas were in bloom behind and off to the sides of the statue.
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
March 27, 2026
Years ago Ted called this statue “Freaky Babies” so of course that is what I think every time I pass it. He a nice B&W version from a visit in February 2021 which in a post he aptly named Freaky Babies.Â
One year and one day after I took the images from last year’s post, it was another glorious Azalea day at Middleton Place. And, once again “Sandal Binder” was a photo opp. The images are not much different, but it was lovely to be out there.
This marble statue of woman putting on a sandal survived the Civil War and now watches over a pond surrounded by azaleas and Spanish Moss.
The marble statue is circa 1810, by Rudolph Schadow, and is also known as “Sandal Binder” for the German “Die Sandalenbinderin.”
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
March 27, 2026
Just below the immature White Ibis of my previous post an adult was actively feeding in the pond.
His coloration was not as bright as the White Ibis In Florida but he was still pretty striking. The streaks on his wings might be juvenile remnants, or mud.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 26, 2026
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
March 27, 2026
An immature White Ibis perched on the boardwalk railing, just looking around.
He’ll gradually lose that splotchy brown look this year as he molts into adult plumage and his legs and bill will turn from orange-pink to reddish pink.
He does have the bright blue eyes
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 26, 2026
Black-crowned Night-herons have arrived at Magnolia: I saw at least twenty fly in, some singly and some in groups of three or four, and disperse into the trees. Previous years they have nested here and I’m hoping we’ll see that again.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 26, 2026
I’ve never seen a Pied-billed Grebe display like this, and have never been aware of any nesting in the bird places we visit.
A nearby potential mate was less than impressed.
Per All About Birds, they make open bowl nests on a platform of floating vegetation and can have from two to ten chicks.
And those chicks will ride on a parent’s back for the first week after hatching. That would be something cool to see!
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 26, 2026
A pair of Great Egrets was having an affectionate greeting as one returned to the nest.
Then a third tried to land and was quickly run off.
I’m not sure if he was trying to take over or just landed in the wrong spot. Great Egrets can be very aggressive so either is possible.
With nests all around how do birds manage to fly back to the one that is theirs? A big mystery.
Number three circled around and landed in the same tree in a higher branch out of my view. These two went back to being happy.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 26, 2026
Taken with my recently repaired OM 100-400 lens — all seems good.
An immature Wood Stork still sporting some fuzzy feathers on his head provided me with left and right profile views while a young White Ibis looked on.
Titusville Road, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, FL
February 25, 2026
