I wasn’t sure what this bird was at first, but his postion in a dead tree made an interesting image.
Mourning Dove in Dead Tree
Mourning Doves are fast when they take off, and I don’t think I ever got an image of one in flight before.
Mourning Dove in Dead Tree
He had flight skills to show off, too.
Mourning Dove in Dead Tree
Did I say fast? And also they are prone to changing their flight plan as they go, so tracking him didn’t pan out so well. But he was looking right at me as he went by.
It was a little too windy for this Brown Pelican to just glide over the water…
Brown Pelican Flying Low Over Water
…he was working it the whole way I watched him across the harbor.
Brown Pelican Flying Low Over Water
Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.
Brown Pelican nests don’t amount to much and if this is all you can deliver at one time it is a good thing.
Brown Pelican Flying In With Nesting Material
I try to avoid “the hand of man” in my nature images, but the closeness of this sign and the blurred boat above show how intimately entwined these birds are with humans.
Brown Pelican Bring Mate Nesting Material
Hmm, which one is MY mate?
Brown Pelican Bring Mate Nesting Material
A very delicate pass-off maneuver with those big beaks.
Success!
Brown Pelican Bring Mate Nesting Material
The bird on the nest didn’t get up so I suspect there might already be eggs or new chicks under her. From a bobbing boat you don’t always get to see the full story.
Brown Pelican Bring Mate Nesting Material
Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.
In one of the passes we made on the boat tour past Castle Pinkney I noticed this pair of adult Brown Pelicans resting in a Palm Tree. There didn’t seem room for a third, but he made it work.
Brown Pelican Landing in Palm TreeBrown Pelican Landing in Palm TreeBrown Pelican Landing in Palm Tree, Laughing Gull Cruising ByBrown Pelican Landing in Palm TreeBrown Pelican Landing in Palm TreeBrown Pelican Landing in Palm Tree
Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.
I had been wondering if we would see Black-bellied Whistling Ducks in South Carolina this year; they only starting migrating here from Florida in the last few years.
Last year it was May and June when I got pictures of them last year, although not at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens.
On Saturday, in the fog, there they were! Five of them just standing around in a tree in one of Magnolia’s recently cleared swamp areas.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
This morning not far from the above picture these two were soaking up the sun on an Alligator Ramp.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks on Alligator Ramp
A mother Wood Duck and her brood paddled on by.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks on Alligator Ramp
Whistling Ducks are cavity nesters like the Wood Ducks, and may use some of the man-made nest boxes or the tree cavities recently used by the Wood Ducks.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks on Alligator Ramp
I continued on my path and got a little closer view before these two flew off.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks on Alligator Ramp
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
April 15, 2023 & April 20, 2023