Tag Archives: Birds in Flight

Great Blue Heron Precarious Landing

Or, Tree-top Dancer

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

The big birds sometimes show lapses in judgement…

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

I’m sure this scrawny tree top hold me up…

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

Tip-toe a little…

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

Flap a bit…

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

He kept trying longer than I expected…

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

…but in the end, exited stage right.

Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing
Great Blue Heron Treetop Landing

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 14, 2023

Great Blue Heron Flying With Nesting Material

Back and forth from the nest, the Great Blue Herons continue to work on the nest even after the eggs are laid and hatch.

Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying For Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying With Nesting Material
Great Blue Heron Flying With Nesting Material

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 5, 2023

Great Blue Heron: Close Fly Bys

Sometimes the nesting birds fly closer than I expect. I cut his wing off but still liked the image.

Great Blue Heron Flying By
Great Blue Heron Flying By

This paved path runs the length of Ravenswood Pond, home of the Skinny Tree, that I was watching when this GBH flew in. There is a lot of loose tree debris that is easy pickings and it’s just a few wing flaps back to the nest.

Great Blue Heron Flying By
Great Blue Heron Flying By

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston, SC
March 5, 2023

Roseate Spoonbill Taking Flight

I was delighted to see so many Roseate Spoonbills on our January trip to Florida.

Roseate Spoonbills in Tree
Roseate Spoonbills in Tree

These are such fascinating birds, both in their look and behaviors.

Roseate Spoonbill Taking Off
Roseate Spoonbill Taking Off

And I can’t resist taking pictures of them in flight…

Roseate Spoonbill in Flight
Roseate Spoonbill in Flight
Roseate Spoonbill in Flight
Roseate Spoonbill in Flight
Roseate Spoonbill in Flight
Roseate Spoonbill in Flight

St. Augustine Alligator Farm, St. Augustine, FL
January 20, 2023

Kingfisher On the Spoonie Tree

There are almost always a Belted Kingfisher or two swooping around the ponds at Donnelley WMA. This morning I thought I was going to get a real close up of one on a rice field trunk. Ha!

Belted Kingfisher Flying By
Belted Kingfisher Flying By

Before I could even get my camera to eye level she was gone.

Belted Kingfisher Flying By
Belted Kingfisher Flying By

I did track her across the pond.

Belted Kingfisher Flying By
Belted Kingfisher Flying By

Where she landed on the Spoonie Tree…way to far for a good shot, but she did stop moving!

Belted Kingfisher at top of Spoonie Tree
Belted Kingfisher at top of Spoonie Tree

Donnelley Wildlife Management Area, SC
December 29, 2022

Belted Kingfisher Flying By

I photographed a few passes of this Belted Kingfisher including this set as he swooped along a marsh inlet.

Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher

She had sounded the characteristic Kingfisher chatter just before taking flight or I probably would have missed her.

Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher

She is identifiable as a female by the brown stripe on her chest that males lack.

Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher

Botany Bay Wildlife Area, Edisto, SC
December 3, 2022

American White Pelicans in Flight, Closer Pair

Continued from American White Pelicans in Flight

Some of the American White Pelicans flew closer to me as the others circled around.

American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight

Both Sexes (From All About Birds)
Length: 50.0-65.0 in (127-165 cm)
Weight: 158.7-317.5 oz (4500-9000 g) — that’s 10 to 15 pounds!!
Wingspan: 96.1-114.2 in (244-290 cm)

Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, SC
Visitation is by guided tour only, managed by SC Department of Natural Resources
November 22, 2022

American White Pelicans in Flight

A large number of American White Pelicans were feeding in the old rice field ponds at the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center on Tuesday. They took off in small groups, circled around and resettled a bit further away from us.

American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight
American White Pelicans in Flight

Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, SC
Visitation is by guided tour only, managed by SC Department of Natural Resources
November 22, 2022