The setting sun was behind me, casting an orangey glow to the east. A few Great Blue Herons were settling in for the night.
I was shooting with my 18-200mm lens, not the best for this distance especially in low light. Still, I couldn’t resist capturing a Great Blue Heron finally leaving this nesting spot after a noisy territorial kerfuffle.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
February 4, 2025
This was taken about 15 minutes after sunrise, after the coolest night we’ve had this fall, down around 40 F (4 C). Hardly a creature was stirring and I saw no wading birds.
Ravenswood Pond, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
October 20, 2022
I took almost the same scene a year ago, with more vegetation floating in the pond:
Ravenswood Pond, October Morning
The sun had been up about an hour when I reached Ravenswood Pond on this October morning. There wasn’t any bird activity; the pond was choked with vegetation, so the reflections I hoped for were not to be had, either.
There were some rising tendrils of pond smoke.
There is an Anhinga drying his wings at the top of the Skinny Tree, but he blends right in.
Ravenswood Pond, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, SC
October 18, 2021
The sky was filled with fluffy white clouds and the water was still, making beautiful reflections.
Both images were taken from the more manicured short side of this rectangular man-made pond, looking towards the far end. The corner where I took the first one widens a bit into an overflow outlet where I was standing.
The second image was taken from the other end of that short side. The trees standing in the water and small island are home to many of the wading bird nests I photograph.
April 5, 2019
