I saw this one Monarch Butterfly flitting around wild statice.
Grassland-Woodland Trail
Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, Harleyville, SC
May 29, 2023
Monarch on Statice
Bluebird Data Collection
I went with a friend yesterday who is volunteering with Audubon SC on a project that is monitoring about a dozen Bluebird nest boxes. This was her first stop, where we saw a Carolina Wren peaking out of the box.
The process is for her to tap the side of the nest box so any adult present flies off, open the box, take a quick photo in the nest with cell phone, then close it back up and retreat. There were five eggs nestled down inside. The boxes get checked once or twice a week until just before the time the chicks are expected to hatch.
A closer look at the nest shows detail of the variety of nest material around what turned out to be five eggs.
Most of the boxes were not in use, but a couple of the others had Bluebird eggs. Bluebirds often have multiple broods so the boxes may already have been used this year and may be again.
May 29, 2023
Snake In A Tree, LR AI Denoise
This morning I finally updated Adobe Lightroom to Version 12.3Â which includes the new AI denoise functions.
I had already processed the images for my recent snake post using Topaz Denoise, then tried them with the new Adobe function.
Same image, using Lightroom Denoise first, then the same cropping and light adjustments. On this particular image I don’t see much difference in the bigger view.
Cropped from the above images:
However, when you zoom in to the snake details, there is some improvement.
I’m not sure how this is going to play out with my image processing flow. One plus to the Topaz version is the ability to batch process, which I have used a lot.
Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, Harleyville, SC
April 14, 2023
Snake In A Tree
This odd shape caught my eye as I worked my way down the boardwalk at Francis Beidler Forrest.
Possibly a Rat Snake, he was in a tidy pile and undisturbed by my presence. It wasn’t until processing these images I noticed the insect exuvia, seen in this next image if you zoom in, just to the right of the snake’s head.
I passed by a little later and the snake had stretched his neck out along the branch, and you can see the exuvia dangling above the snake about 3/4 across the image from the left edge.
His tail had flipped around to the other side, but the rest of his body stayed in the same looped configuration.
Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, Harleyville, SC
April 14, 2023
Wood Duck
A couple of male Wood Ducks were patrolling around the recently cleared Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. And without the cattail overgrowth they were easy to see.
Not that they came close and seemed determined to not give me the well lit shot I hoped for.
This male was following along his mate and eight or ten offspring.
A wider view, them all heading away from me in the mosquito fern covered pond.
The male was trying to encourage the group to turn back the other way, but the rest of them weren’t having it.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 15, 2023
Northern Cardinal, Peek-a-boo
I could hear this female Northern Cardinal singing and foraging along the trail. I guess she heard me, too.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 15, 2023
Oh What A Tangled Web
Moisture outlined a series of spider webs at the edge of the swamp on a foggy morning.
GBH Triplets In The Skinny Tree, Foggy Morning
It was a foggy morning and I had just missed the adult Great Blue Heron feeding the chicks.
The adult was showing signs of leaving…
…and away s/he went.
The chicks hunkered down.
One was a little more curious, soon they will be wing flapping.
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 15, 2023
Great Blue Heron Chick
A Great Blue Heron youngster, not quite ready to fledge but sure curious about life beyond his nest.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 20, 2023
Great Blue Heron, Close Up
Every spring there seems to be one Great Blue Heron that hangs out on the edges of Ravenswood Lake, likely a chick from last year that for whatever reason didn’t become part of a pair for this year’s breeding season.
Undeterred by humans passing by on the nature trail, this one prowls the banks.
On this morning he appeared to be just looking around, not actively hunting.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 20, 2023