Last fall the land managers let this old rice field dry out and some vegetation flourished, then died back over the winter, leaving tall stalks and weed trees. Sometime over the winter water was let back in, and now covers the field.
The wading birds are happy to poke around looking for food, including this small flock of Wood Storks.
I thought they were coming back toward me, but they quickly did another u-turn and moved to the back of the field.
The four or five Swallowtails flitting around these thistle plants flew off when I drove by. I had room to stop, walked back and waited.
After a few minutes one returned and continued probing the thistle.
These butterflies were competing with some other flying insects, the tail end of one can be seen here sticking up out of the flower.
This section of swamp is newly flooded this year. A small flock of Ibis has added it to their route, poking their way around it looking for food.
Ibis are never concerned about swamp junk getting stuck to them or how deep the water might be.
Here I come…
surely there is something to eat under this log.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens announced today that they are now closed until further notice. I will miss my peaceful walks in the woods and keeping up with the birds.
This Great Egret spent considerable time picking out this stick for his nest and finally took off.
He didn’t get far… I see something better!
Or a snack.
Snack swallowed and the stick hunting process starts again.
After picking up and discarding several options, he chose this modest stick to present to his mate.
March 18, 2020
Conditions shaped up nicely on Wednesday to head to Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island to observe Dolphins feeding. Timing was good, with low tide about 10:30am. Strand feeding, the method peculiar to this area of South Carolina’s coast where Dolphin drive fish to the shore, tends to happen two hours either side of the low tide.
For a couple of hours the light was good and I was pleased to get this sequence, which was much less vigorous than previous times I’ve witnessed this behavior. The Dolphin seemed to be lolling around in the shallow water, not zooming full speed ahead.
Other times I’ve seen this as a cooperative effort but this Dolphin was on her own.
My position and the shape of the sand bank cut off some of the action.
I got a little closer before the Dolphin flipped around and caught a fish.
Once again I was amazed the power of these animals which is evident in the splash of water and waves that rushed to shore.
It turns out that it was a good thing I went Wednesday. As of today all of the area beaches are closed due to Covid-19 concerns.
I was hoping to find Wood Ducks in this pond but instead found a Red-shouldered Hawk looking for a meal.
He snatched a snack coated with vegetation out of the water.
Then got his balance.
Then flew to this Wood Duck box with something that might have been a crawfish.
Poking and prodding anything that they can is how White Ibis feed. Most of the food is small and gets sucked in without a casual passer by seeing it.
This Ibis was moving in a meticulous pattern, back and forth around these tree trunks.
Yes, it is amazing they stay so clean looking while rooting around in the mud.
The water is higher than usual after recent rain, but it was no deterrent to an Ibis looking for lunch. They have no fear of what might be lurking in the depths.
I had to peek between the tall reeds around the pond to get a limited view but it was still fun to watch these American Avocets feed.
Most of what they eat is very small so they have to spend a lot of time at it, methodically working back and forth.
These two made a striking sight across the pond, just standing around in the grass stubble.
Blue-winged Teals often eat in circles, almost like a choreographed dance of vacuum cleaners. There was plenty of duckweed to go around on this day and the wind was keeping it concentrated in one side of the pond, keeping the ducks near the walking path.
The duck’s movements leaves trails in the duckweed, indistinguishable from a path made by an underwater Alligator.
These three female Teals stayed in a row for quite awhile, perhaps because there is safety in numbers.
When the light hits them just right the iridescence on the males’ heads is quite pretty.
Displaying the classic heron patience this Great Blue stared at the water intently.
Wham! (Sorry, no image.)
The fish flapped around a bit creating shadows across the GBH’s neck.
Down the hatch!
A delicate mouth rinse in the pond before resuming the hunt.
