The resident birds of an old mill pond in Maine that we discovered by accident entertained us along with their human neighbor who stopped by nightly as part of his evening ambulation.
A pair of Canada Geese patrolled the shore.
A Gull that seemed to be having fun playing in the water, back and forth near the dam’s edge.
A surprisingly peaceful Canada Goose vs Mallard interaction.
Near Freeport, Maine, May 2016.
Sharing the shallow edge of the Cooper River in the shadow of Charleston’s Ravenel Bridge these two waders patiently ignored each other as they went about their business.
The Snowy Egret was intent on personal grooming and the Tricolored Heron was in search of dinner.
They ignored the noise of a live concert happening at the adjacent Waterfront Park and a small airplane practicing banking over the river as well.
The Tricolored Heron finally moved along, flapping his wings in the late afternoon sun.
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Surrounded by duck weed that may or may not be concealing an alligator, this Green Heron was agitated as he watched for lunch material.
He settled down for awhile.
Looked around.
Then ruffled his crown up again.
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Holding still and blending in are two great ways to stay hidden. This frog did both, never moving in the five minutes I watched him.
His skin appeared extremely smooth; if he had lines like the leaves I might not have seen him.
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Gone in a flash this striking bird wasn’t interested in a photo shoot.
I hoped the well-lit tree trunk would attract him but it wasn’t to be.
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After a couple of false starts when junior thought this was about getting lunch brought in this adult Little Blue Heron got his offspring to fly.
First we climb to the top.
Then flap and go!
Junior was reluctant to take that last step:
Success!
And touch down, all in less than 30 seconds.
Landing is a “must do” after they have learned to fly and sometimes the young in the rookery make precarious choices.
Even the adults sometimes land on less secure perches. The stance of this Little Blue Heron reminded me of a gymnast about to perform a routine on the uneven bars.
The juvenile Little Blue Heron in the header photo landed in a tree over my head amidst much squawking and just hung on.
This Green Heron landed in a tree above my head then opted for a spot closer to the water. Unfortunately it was already occupied by a turtle.
Soon the Heron jumped to a solo spot where he concentrated on finding lunch.
Edisto Memorial Gardens, Orangeburg, SC.
(Click photos for larger view.)
These spiders have webs all along the trails around the Audubon Swamp Garden at Magnolia Plantation. During our visit June 26th there was a lot of mating activity. Look closely in this photo and you will see the much smaller black male on this side of the more colorful female. An exoskeleton she recently shed is stuck in the web just above them.
(Click any photo to enlarge.)
Our guide on the walk says these spiders won’t jump out onto human passers by. I reminded myself of that a few times as we passed under some webs. We’ll return in a few weeks and see how family life is progressing.
In the mean time the pond surfaces were active with dragonflies in a variety of colors scooping up other insects.
Spider lilies didn’t seem to mind the heat with their roots in several inches of water.
Any direction was too hot to ride yesterday when the heat index was over 100 Degrees in Charleston, SC. There wasn’t a breath of air in this narrow street.
Click to enlarge.
