The children’s ditty used as a countdown to starting a race or competition came to my mind as I watched this Barred Owl take off.
One for the money
Two for the show
Three to make ready and
Four to go
Or, by Elvis Presley in Blue Suede Shoes:
It’s one for the money two for the show
Three to get ready now go, cat, go
The tide was out and the mud was up to his knees. Extra effort must have been needed to take off.
However, that didn’t stop him from landing in another quagmire.
I wasn’t sure this was a Barred Owl at first as the color was so dark. Looking at the images closer up it was clear it was and that he was soaking wet.
A few crows were harassing him, and he Swooped to another tree.
He didn’t go far, picking another spot in the morning sun to help dry off.
Ted and I took a stupendous boat tour at Okefenokee Swamp a few days ago.
This Red-shouldered Hawk was the first bird of the day, shortly after sun rise.
He looks a little tattered, but he had no trouble with his flight skills.
The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre, peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee Wilderness.
Birds flying in tight flocks fascinate me, leaving me wondering how they communicate that synchronized take off, flight and landing. And of course I have to try to photograph them at it.
I saw this flock take off from a mud flat then make a quick u-turn.
They looped around the pond a few times then landed pretty much where they started.
I rarely see Wood Storks in the area of the heron and egret rookery at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens; if they are around they are more likely to be at the boat pond when the water is low and the feeding easier.
I was surprised to see this one standing at the edge of the pond, rather settled in.
For no apparent reason he took off. I did see a couple others much higher in the sky, perhaps he thought to join them.
One of them decided to circle back and attempt a tree-top landing at the other end of the pond.
He wobbled around a bit then flew off, towards the river.
It was a treat to see this Tricolored Heron fly by me rather slowly and in a straight line.
I more often see them in something of a panic mode, flapping and squawking.
The squawking can be fun to photograph but is often accompanied by erratic flying, which is not so easy to catch.
These were taken in early January when the marsh reeds and grass were just brown.
January 3, 2021
I realized the American Avocet Pair was moving further and further from me, so focused instead on trying to capture a Tree Swallow. It was a grey, sunless day, so the iridescence of their wings was also dull.
A small flock of them were feeding over a pond, zipping in unpredictable patterns over the water.
I’m sure they were capturing insects, but that action was undetectable.
They often swooped near each other, but never crash.
Last second change of flight plan was pretty common, showing off flight skills.
The low water in this section of a rice field pond had attracted a small flock of wading birds to feed in a channel.
As usual, one Snowy Egret was zipping around instead of feeding like the others.
He flew past a group of three…
kept on going…
Then dropped into a group of two.
It was a grey day with the Snowy Egrets’ feet and eye patches providing the only bit of color.
Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Tricolored Herons… not a great photo opportunity but a wonderful thing to see.
The small specs are Swallows; even smaller was the generous supply of mosquitoes and gnats.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area, ACE Basin, SC
March 11, 2021
