I’m revisiting some images I took last fall using Topaz Sharpen AI. I might have overdone it just a bit, especially around the Great Blue Heron’s head.
I like the second image a little better with the shadow of the right wing falling on the left wing.
These images combine a few of my favorite photography opportunities: Brown Pelicans, Reflections, and Birds in Flight.
The colored reflections in the water come from piers and docked boats on the other side of the creek.
March 28, 2020
Shem Creek, Mount Pleasant, SC
Further along in my walk after photographing The Amazing Hover, 1 I spotted another hunting Least Tern.
It was interesting to see the bird from a head-on angle, and how his wings worked.
He moved very little, hovering in place. I had no trouble staying focused on his position.
And I got the start of a dive. Unfortunately my view of the surface was obstructed and I missed the splash and couldn’t tell if he caught a fish.
In an amazing display of flight skill I watched this Least Tern hover in place for at least 30 seconds.
He was about 25-30 feet (8-9 Meters) above a pond and I was hoping to capture the dive.
But it never happened; after all this work he flew further down the pond to try again.
A storm was approaching and it was getting dark late in the afternoon. I was graced with a fly by just as I was heading for the car.
This Great Egret had places to go.
There was very little reflection on the shadowy side of the pond, it seemed like the egret was flying into a cave.
A number of Snowy Egrets are nesting on a nearby island, along with some Little Blue Herons, Great Egrets and Anhinga. This fellow couldn’t seem to find a satisfactory spot to land and took a swoop out over the pond.
He put his landing gear down, but the water is a little too deep right here for them and those few sticks in the water wouldn’t have held him up.
Ah, a precarious perch, but all mine.
He assessed the situation back on the island…
and gave it another try.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens re-opened on Friday for visitors to walk the property. We went for the first time today and this was the first bird I photographed.
A Black-crowned Night Heron was peering down into a tangle of an evergreen tree.
Some flapping in the tree’s interior ensued and I could just see another heron laying on a nest. It also looks like there is another laying in the upper right of this image.
After some more flapping and moving about that I couldn’t see, one of the herons left.
He didn’t go far at first, perching in a nearby tree before he flew off–probably to find a meal.
A Great Egret was going back and forth the length of the pond gathering sticks for his nest.
He flew close to the water on quite a few trips, creating some reflection opportunities.
Along with some duck weed there was a variety of other vegetative flotsam floating across the pond.
April 2019
A Tricolored Heron was plodding along a muddy bank, pausing for a moment to contemplate his options.
Turn and lift…
and he was gone.
February 11, 2020
Something overhead startled this flock of ducks into the air.
Camera at the ready, I waited for them to fly closer to me, but they headed towards the back of the pond.
They circled around a few times, settled back into the water, then did it all over again.
With at least one Eagle in the area these ducks weren’t interested in being lunch.
February 10, 2020
Donnelley Wildlife Management Area
