White-tailed Deer are one of the mammals on Saint Phillips Island, and this one was not at all disturbed by a passing pickup truck and trailer with 20 humans watching him.
It was hot that day and I hadn’t even seen a squirrel, so was rather surprised to see this buck.
He finally did stand up, but showed no alarm.
A family of Raccoons wandered along the edge of the marsh under a pier where I was standing. I got a few shots as they disappeared into the taller grass. It was one of those interesting things to see but a missed photographic opportunity. Or so I thought.
About ten minutes later the masked bandits made a return trip, this time coming towards me.
What could be so interesting up on this dead branch?
They was not be a group shot as they continued weaving in and out of the taller grass and shrubs.
They were cautious, but continued towards the pier.
This one appeared to be the ring leader, maybe a parent although they were all the same size. He stood watch while the others went back into the tall grass before he followed.
I thought the Dolphin from yesterday’s post, Dolphin Splash, would move on when the first big splash was done. I stood still, watching and was surprise he circled again in the same spot.
This time even more water went into the air…
… making a cool fountain shape.
I got a couple glimpses of the Dolphin’s fin, but again did not see if he got anything to eat.
Then he really did move on and this was the last I saw of him.
The volume of water a Dolphin can move when they are hunting always amazes me. This one was after fish in a tidal creek that started off with a small splash…
…that built up …
… to a swoosh of water.
I was not close enough to see if the Dolphin caught any fish.
The water rained back down about 10 seconds after the first image.
The far bank is an oyster bed, covered with sharp shells, so the Dolphin cannot Strand Feed here. Instead, they swim rapidly in a circle to herd and confuse the fish.
I wasn’t that surprised to spot this juvenile Armadillo as Ted had just seen an adult in the nearby woods. I was surprised that he didn’t run or jump. He didn’t even seem to know or care that I was there. Not that I was making that much noise but wild things tend to know we are there way before we know they are.
I watched him as he industriously rooted around in the soft ground hoping to get a full body view. The pine cone in the next image was of standard size, maybe six or seven inches (15 – 20 cm), giving a sense of his size.
Armadillos have poor eyesight and this little one never lifted his head to have a look around, just kept on digging and rooting for lunch.
This Raccoon didn’t run when he saw me, but didn’t waste any time reversing direction either. I only got the one image before he disappeared.
This Eastern Grey Squirrel was enjoying a colorful snack on one of the inner pathways at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens.
This trio of Dolphins charged the beach head on instead of from the side as I’ve usually seen.
The Dolphin on the left was hanging on tight to his catch.
As they continued to chase the fish herded to the water’s edge the Dolphin in the middle got a fish.
I didn’t notice it at the time, but a juvenile Dolphin was watching from a safe distance. I wonder if the Dolphin on the left was holding this catch to feed the youngster or if he/she was just too busy getting back in the water.
Later that morning I did see the mother and juvenile working the shore in what looked like teaching of the water swirling methods.
11/06/2018
The fish were easy to see as they flew through the air, tossed about by the powerful water surges created by the Dolphins.
Most of the fish manage to flop back into the water but this one was about to be lunch.
The fish appears to be dead or knocked out.
But a moment later he leapt into the air…
and ended up in a Dolphin’s mouth.
The images in a slideshow, if you prefer; click an image to get started:
After the fishless stranding of my last post, I was fortunate to witness another strand feeding with the fish jumping wildly.
Three Dolphins had driven the fish to shore and the fish did their best not to become lunch.
The next photo is heavily cropped, but I wanted to show a closeup of the Dolphin – fish encounter. I’m not certain the Dolphin got this one, but it seems likely.
The frenzy only lasts a few seconds, then the Dolphins roll/flop back into the water, continuing to splash with their tails.
