A small patch of Bee Balm at the entrance to the Audubon Swamp Garden at Magnolia Plantation attracted this pair of Swallowtails.
They performed an intricate dance that included some rapid vertical maneuvers as well as these side to side moves.
One finally paused for a few moments before zooming away with the partner right behind.
We have moved to South Carolina just in time to see the end of the nesting season at the Magnolia Plantation rookeries. Little Blue Herons feed their young, which are nearly as big as the adults, in an awkward, wing flapping, spectacle.
These Great Egrets were resting quietly in the heat of the day. Their nest doesn’t look like it will hold them in as the alligators patrol in the swamp below.
I heard some jaw snapping but didn’t see this gator get a meal. They are moving much faster than when we visited this area over the winter.
A juvenile Heron watched warily from his perch.
Elegant flyers, gulls winged up into the blue sky with a clams and other treasures pulled from the surf at Long Beach in Stratford.
Let go.
Then chase it to the ground hoping to be the one to retrieve the released lunch.
Three or four pairs of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were nesting in this tree. It was hard to tell if the showy display was for the benefit of a mate or to scare off the circling crows. Maybe both.
This fellow paraded back and forth on this limb first showing off.
Then standing sentinel.
Caught this hawk watching over our backyard bird feeders. The small birds were aware and safely hidden.
Very few birds around North Cove in Essex today even though the water was calm.
A weeping willow is showing a hint of spring across the cove.
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It was not the “fire in the sky” sunrise I was hoping for, but just a warm glow for a few minutes before the sky turned dull.
The tide was in, which was good for the Double-crested Cormorants to swim and dive in the flooded marsh at the edge of the creek, but there were few wading birds around.
This Tricolored Heron made a few passes around the quiet sailboats.
The Pineapple Fountain at the Charleston, SC, Waterfront Park.
Decommissioned in 1970, the USS Yorktown started service in World War II and is now the centerpiece of the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Mount Pleasant, SC.
Way down in the ship an amazing array of dials that monitored and controlled a complex and massive engine system.
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The Yorktown from the Mount Pleasant Pier. Learn more about the Yorktown.
The sun was going down and the tide going out. This Great Blue Heron was looking for a spot to settle.
Looking out Shem Creek, Mount Pleasant, SC.
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