One beakful at a time the Great Blue Heron males fetch enough materials to build a nest.
12/22/2017
Click on image for larger view.
Bringing Home the Nest
Tag Archives: Nature Photography
Sharing Space
The turtles are the most likely to be seen sharing space with other creatures around the swamp and ponds. They crave the sun just like the alligators on this reptile ramp and don’t show any fear in the presence of an alligator that could easily eat them.
Wading birds like this Great Egret like a sunny spot, too, and easily find a spot in between the turtles on a nearby ramp.
I don’t know what this “foot in the air” display from the turtle just to the right of the egret is all about, but a little further along in another small pond I saw it again, with both hind feet straight out.
Dolphins
I have frequently seen Dolphins in the ocean, rivers and creeks while out photographing in the greater Charleston area. Except for one frenzied experience in May I had only seen glimpses and teases of the promise of getting a Dolphin photo that included more than a fin.
Yesterday that changed when we watched six or eight Dolphins interacting in the mouth of a river. This group rose and dove around each other, with the juvenile often nudging up against one of the adults.
Following their swimming pattern helps to be looking in the right place for their next appearance but they are quick to change direction. Occasionally did something totally different!
Several of the adults stayed in the periphery of the group and also took some time for feeding along the river edge, which will be another post.
After about a half hour the group moved further from us then disappeared around a corner.
Did You See A Hawk?
I heard several Hawks calling around Magnolia Cemetery but didn’t see any. Sometimes they perch on head stones or in the trees around the pond. Oh well, nothing wrong with getting photos of an Ibis displaying his tree landing talents. I’m guessing he didn’t see the Hawk, either, as he executed a perfect touch down.
He blended right in so I lightened him a little. You can find him in the photo above by following the Ibis’s beak in a straight line left. Below, the Ibis has passed the Hawk.
You can see from the other photos that the Hawk moved only his head, neither intimidated by the Ibis nor thinking he’d make a good meal.
I did spot the Hawk after a few minutes and got a now deleted photo of one wing disappearing over a Magnolia tree.
Smithsonian Gardens: Green Wall / Brown Wall
I first became aware of Green Walls when Liz of the New Zealand based blog Exploring Colour posted about an installation in Balclutha, NZ. It is an impressive sight that uses mostly native plants and made an otherwise utilitarian looking space inviting.
Read Liz’s post with photos of the entire wall at Green Wall in Rural Town Centre and close ups of the plants at Green Wall (Part 2).
Just a couple weeks later at the Smithsonian’s Mary Livingston Ripley Garden in Washington DC I was surprised to find a short Green Wall. Much smaller than the Balclutha version with smaller plants, the colors and textures were a visual treat.
Although not called a Brown Wall, that is what I would call this next construction, or perhaps an Insect Condo as a sign indicated was its purpose. I didn’t get close enough to see if it had occupents but it did look inviting.
Maybe this sign would slow down a stinking thief. I wondered if the gap in the Green Wall was due to theft or plant failure.
I found this sign more to my liking. #SmithsonianGardens
Swallow Pandemonium
It had been pretty quiet on the marsh ponds: we arrived just before sunrise and hadn’t seen much activity even an hour later. The Swallows started to come in small groups, flying over our heads from the tidal side of the trail into the grass on the far side of this pond.
As if on a signal they started stirring up the water, flapping and swooping. It was too far to tell if they were bathing or trying to catch insects, or maybe both.
This went on for at least a half hour with more birds joining in and others leaving.
I didn’t see where they went, but when it was over the pond became still again, with a couple of Great Egrets dropping in to check the far shore.
Click any photo for larger view.
Feeding Wood Stork Trio
Swish, swish, turn…repeat…back and forth the Wood Storks go when they find a good feeding spot.
They stir up the food with their beaks and sometimes use their wings to create shadows in the water so they can see what is moving.
This trio stuck together for quite awhile and whenever one was the odd man out he quickly rejoined the other two.
White Pelicans in Flight
I’ve tried to stop taking bird in flight shots unless they are really close as I just end up disappointed and deleting them.
However, when this flock was coming, I took the shot. Lots of them actually.
We had seen a large number of these Pelicans as the sun was coming up. This was about an hour later and hundreds more passed over us in a few waves over several minutes.
In the next photo you can pick out a couple of Cormorants in the mix. I’m not sure if they were flying with the Pelicans or if the Pelicans passed them.
We were hoping the flock might land in a nearby pond, but they kept on moving at a pretty brisk pace.
Click on any photo for a larger view.Â
Yellowleg Battle
I don’t know what these two Yellowlegs were sparring about, but they were pretty serious. They repeated this dance in several spots at the edge of the pond. It might be a mating dance but in October in South Carolina that seems out of sync.
The contrast between the birds and the grassy background isn’t what I had hoped for but the action and their flight skills were fascinating. Click on any photo for a larger view.
I don’t usually include this many images in a post but wanted to show the whole sequence. If you have Javascript you can jump to the bottom of this post and view the images as a slideshow.
If you have Javascript click on one of the photos below to view the photos as a slide show. If you don’t have Javascript you’ll see the photos repeated.
Yellowlegs Sparring
Yellowlegs Sparring
Yellowlegs Setting up for
Yellowlegs Sparring
Yellowlegs Sparring
Yellowlegs Sparring
Yellowlegs Sparring
Yellowlegs Yellowlegs in an elegant dance
The Nest Tree
You’ve seen this tree before, its a nesting spot for Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets. I’ve photographed nest building, chicks growing up and territorial spats here.
Late yesterday afternoon a King Fisher used the center trunk between dives.
When the King Fisher was gone an Ibis and juvenile Little Blue Heron used it for a resting spot, mutually ignoring each other.
The top nest area was surprisingly intact after our recent storms. The lower area where the Great Egrets nested suffered some damage, but come spring they may fix it up.
