I’ve only seen Glossy Ibis a few times in South Carolina and was surprised to come upon this one feeding in an old rice field pond at the end of February.
Ibis will eat about anything they find while probing mud or wetlands.
When they turn in the light the Glossy Ibis’ colors are spectacular.
A slow and methodical hunt was in progress.
A Green Heron was wading in water up to his chest, bent over in the stalking position, stretching out his neck.
Bam!
The snack he captured was so tiny, I wonder if it was worth all that time and effort.
Slowly and deliberately, a lone Great Egret stalked the pond as the fog lifted enough to make out the far shore.
Then a burst of speed and head plunge that churned up the water.
The water churning often helps the wading birds locate prey. He tried again with a big head splash. He didn’t get any meal on either of these efforts.
3/3/2019.
Great Blue Heron chicks have started to hatch around the rookery and Tuesday I spotted one in a high nest sticking his head up.
The first few days the adults will tear food apart and give it to their chicks. As the chicks grow, which happens pretty quickly, the adult dangles food in front of the chicks encouraging them to grab their own meal.
Either this chick couldn’t figure out how to get a bite of frog or wasn’t hungry, but after a minute or so the chick lost his chance.
It took a minute or so of concentrated effort, but the adult ate the frog in one bite.
I never get tired of watching this scene unfold:
The catch
The flip
Down the hatch
It’s gone
This was a tiny meal for an Anhinga and I have no idea how they locate such a fish while swimming under water. See my post Anhinga Feeding from two years ago to see how big a fish they are capable of swallowing.
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are named for their behavior of drilling small holes in trees then drinking the sap that runs into the wells. They get most of their food that way but also feed on insects they find under tree bark.
I’ve seen them peck at bark, mostly on the rough-barked trees and was surprised to see this one bobbing into a tree cavity. He was just about disappearing from my view as he reached in.
I didn’t see what, if anything, the Sapsucker was finding, but he kept at it for longer than I watched.
This Eastern Grey Squirrel was enjoying a colorful snack on one of the inner pathways at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.
I saw this Red-shouldered Hawk standing on the ground at the side of a pond and approached slowly. Other times I’ve seen them do this the bird was squeezing his next meal, but I didn’t see any food here.
Afterwards, when I zoomed in on what I thought was a tree root or Cypress knee, it turned out to be a turtle standing on its end.
Who knew a Red-shouldered Hawk could lift so much?He didn’t struggle at all and disappeared into the woods with his catch
I don’t know what made the hawk take off; I was standing still and the only human in view.
These were taken with the Sony Alpha 6500 which uses an electronic viewfinder, not the best arrangement for images of birds in flight due to the lag time.
Sony Alpha 6500, Sony 55-210 mm, at 210 mm.
I’ve watched several Forster’s Terns the last few times I’ve been to the rice field impoundment. They are incredibly acrobatic in flight, twisting and turning, then swooping down to the water to go after small fish.
They are quite striking birds, even in non-breeding plumage. When they’ve make the turn and loop back for another run at the pond is the best opportunity to photograph them.
And did I mention they are fast? This is the best I got this day for a dive.
If they pick up a small fish with their feet they quickly pass it to their mouth and down the hatch it goes.
Groups of White Pelicans tend to stick together when they feed, paddling along slowly and scooping up fish.
No crazy diving antics like the Brown Pelicans for the White Pelicans, but they look just as goofy.
This group followed the edge of the marsh reeds, which doesn’t make an attractive image now that the vegetation has died back, but probably the fish like to be around the stems.
These two kept going making a nice ripple in the water while the rest of the group turned back.
