Tag Archives: Photography

Hey…follow me…

February 9, 2017 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

I know the way…

In late afternoon at Middleton Place’s barnyard most of the animals are rounded up and secured for the night. This is for their safety and for some, to keep them from causing mischief. I think this sheep had mischief on his mind as he pointed the way further from his pen.

While the sheep and some Guinea Hens were being corralled these Mallards were zooming back and forth through the horse enclosure. They stayed in a straight line, flashing their orange feet and iridescent heads, anxious not to miss any feeding opportunities.

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Middleton Place, Charleston, SC, 2/6/2017

Birds, Wading Birds

End of the Day: Great Blue Herons

February 8, 2017 Ellen Jennings 3 Comments

We visited the rookery just before the sun went down not knowing what to expect for Great Blue Heron activity. This pair was getting to know each other in the low light just after the male returned to the nest with a stick.

Their nest was well in the shade by this time and the light was going fast. I tried different white balance options during developing, wanting to keep the feather detail the clearest.

Despite their affectionate attentions they were still alert to their surroundings as a kerfuffle was going on in a nearby tree where other GBH, Cormorants, Great Egrets and some song birds were settling in.

When we left the male had flown off again; maybe there isn’t room for two in this nest for the night.

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Magnolia Plantation Rookery, Charleston, SC, 02/02/2017.

Birds, Nature

Anhinga Feeding

February 6, 2017 Ellen Jennings 12 Comments

More “how’d he do that?”

A few days ago I posted photographs of an Anhinga flexing his neck in an unnatural looking way. This week I saw another Anhinga flipping a fish like a Benihana chef–he didn’t have the height but he had some other moves.

I don’t know how he stabbed the fish, especially in that murky water covered with duck weed. But once he had the fish speared it was a mere minute before he swallowed the fish … whole!

His end game is to get the fish facing head first down his throat so that any spines on the fish won’t get lodged on the way down. Flip, turn, turn, turn.

He was an expert and at no time lost his hold on the fish. At the same time the Anhinga has to swim to keep afloat.

There would be no getting away for this fish, stabbed completely through.

I didn’t get any clear shots of the fish going down and it was over in an amazingly short amount of time. The Anhinga then swam to nearby platform, lifted out of the water and fanned his wings to dry.

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Magnolia Plantation Rice Field Pond, Charleston, SC.

Birds, Wading Birds

Little Blue Heron on the Move

February 5, 2017 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

A wading bird, the Little Blue Herons can cover a lot of territory as they methodically wade around the swamp in search of food, pulling each leg fully out of the water for each careful step.

The swamp floor has greened up a lot in the last couple of weeks with a variety of plants poking through the water hiding all manor of tasty morsels.

On this day I only saw him pull up vegetation.

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Birds, Wading Birds

White Ibis

February 4, 2017 Ellen Jennings 1 Comment

I usually end up discarding any photographs I take of White Ibis: they are dirty with gobs of mud hanging off them, they are surrounded by mud without so much as a blade of grass to add to the composition, they are dirty…you get the picture.

A group of 5 or 6 surprised me in a beautiful pine tree hanging over the trail, looking pretty clean.

They flew up there when one of the local Red-shouldered Hawks was cruising the area.

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Birds, Wading Birds

Great Blue Heron Mating Behaviors

February 3, 2017 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

Part of the Great Blue Heron mating ritual is building the nest. The male brings sticks to the nest and they both arrange and re-arrange. Here he has just returned with a stick that was well received. I have seen sticks get rejected and the male take it to a different female.

I caught this pair from a bad light angle as he flew back and forth to a nearby tree line for branches. I moved into a better position and he flew off again.

I waited from this better spot, watching her work on the nest, but he didn’t return in the twenty minutes I stood there.

Heron Rookery, Magnolia Plantation Audubon Swamp, 2/1/2017.

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Animals

Marsh Rabbit

February 2, 2017 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

An educational trail sign says the rabbits in the swamp are Marsh Rabbits. This is as good a look as I’ve gotten and I’ve read that the Marsh Rabbit is a strong swimmer. He’s on a small island in the flooded marsh so it seems to fit.

The other possibility would be an Eastern Cottontail, but he was not moving to show his tail while I was watching.

He was well camouflaged among the Cypress Tree knees.

Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Gardens, Charleston, SC.

Birds

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

February 1, 2017 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker’s markings are more distinctive right now than I’ve seen, especially the white stripe along the edge of the folded wing. The one below was too busy flirting with another at the edge of the woods to drill sap holes.

The Spanish moss, artfully hanging from the trees, was a nuisance today as a breeze flipped it around…wait for it to swing away and hope the bird stayed put.

Back at the parking lot another Sapsucker was munching on these red fruits. He took them to a nearby pine tree and used the rough bark to hold the fruit while he pecked it.

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Flowers

Winter Beauty

January 31, 2017 Ellen Jennings 1 Comment

One of the lovely things about living in South Carolina is seeing plants in bloom throughout the year.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston maintains a huge variety of plantings, most in a less formal style “where humanity and nature are in harmony.” Surprises are at every turn and this Lily was holding court in a small clearing near a massive oak brought down by hurricane Matthew.

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Birds, Nature

Flexo-neck Anhinga

January 30, 2017 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

Or, “how’d he do that?”

It is mystifying to watch the larger birds scrunch their necks so they look like spirals, partly because it happens so fast and a turn of the head makes it look like a bad yoga position.

One turn to look the other way.

Then his head is down like a corkscrew. The rest of his body never moved as if it wasn’t attached.

A slideshow like an old-time flip book if your browser allows it:

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Old rice fields at Magnolia Plantation, Charleston, SC 1/4/2017.