One by one and without a sound or a ripple of the water these three Alligators swam out from a side canal into the main one that circles the old rice field.
And then there were four.
A sepia treatment makes the scene a little more creepy. Not sure of their intended direction we moved back down the dike towards the road so we wouldn’t get cut off if they came ashore.
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We often walk around a path where a pair of Barred Owls has been seen regularly since the spring. This was the first time I saw them both. The Owl below was quietly watching us while we photographed his mate in a tree on the other side of the path.
I had stepped aside to let another photographer get a view of the first Owl and was surprised to see and get better shots of Owl number two. There were lots of branches preventing a wider shot but he was closer and the light was a little better. He didn’t stay long and after this over-the-shoulder glance he swooped further out into the trees.
On a recent trip to Maine a  family of Hairy Woodpeckers entertained me as they investigated this tree. The tree wasn’t too healthy looking but the lack of full boughs and the lichen made for good woodpecker props.
I couldn’t resist photographing them even though the tree was very tall, the birds were in the higher reaches and I had left my long lens at home.
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This summer we have been entertained in our back yard by a small group of hummingbirds zipping around. We regularly see four of them and they spend more time chasing each other defending their territories than feeding. There are at least six other feeders in our immediate neighbors’ yards so there is plenty of spots to go around but they aren’t into sharing.
Occasionally one or two will rest in the Crepe Myrtle or high in one of the Pines.
We have seen very few butterflies this summer compared to last year. All insects are sensitive to changes in the weather and climate and in addition to global climate changes, locally the weather has been wetter and stormier than last year. It is hard to know how or if these factors affect what we observe with a two year comparison.
I watched the Swallowtail flit up and down the berm around an old rice field, always just out of reach of a shot. Then he landed in the road and took a stroll, with short and dainty steps. A photo of him on a flower or in flight would have been nice, but the plain background does set him off.
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An adult Green Heron looks out over the marsh from an open vantage point.
Around this marsh it has been my experience to see the Green Herons only after they have taken off from within a clump of trees. AKA “bird butt” photographs.
The greenery around the edges of the old rice field ponds is at its peak. In places it is so high and dense you can’t get a view of the water from the berm so long distance shots will have to do.
This Snowy Egret is likely a regular around this small pond. He was content for me to walk by as he surveyed they area from this cement embankment near the road.
Then I took one step too close and he lifted up onto a dead branch and proceeded to twist around for some personal grooming.
The branch hung out over the pond and I was able to move around the corner and get a couple different backgrounds as he posed one legged.
I wanted to get the nice green palm fronds or the flowering Crepe Myrtle that edged the pond but as it turns out I would have had to have my feet with the alligators to get those shots.
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You have to love the pink. Actually, what’s not to love about a Spoonbill?
The profile of a mature Roseate Spoonbill in flight shows off that fabulous pink and the bill well adapted for feeding in shallow water.
The Spoonbills in this group are younger with less color, but still something to look at.
Their flight seems effortless and like most of the large wading birds they are masters of the glide.
I’ve watched a Red-bellied Woodpecker on this tree on several visits to this area. It is a neck-craning experience due to surrounding trees, but I can’t resist following the sound of the tap-tap-tapping.
The tree he is working on is dead and if you put your hand on the trunk you can feel the vibration as the woodpecker does his thing. I think nesting season is over and doesn’t appear to be finding food, but there must be something attracting him.
Not a great shot, but standing way back and peaking through the leaves there is a view of the large hole being worked on. He puts his entire top half in the hole to tap-tap-tap.
