Anhingas are beautiful birds in an understated way. During mating season the color around their eye intensifies to a rich minty green.
The male, on the left below, is all black and the female has a tan neck and shoulders.
These images are from a few years ago, a post I started but left unfinished. This year we are not seeing nearly as many Anhinga pairs at the rookery as other years.
The pair of swans at Middleton Place do not fly and can easily get out of the pond on the other side, but why bother when you have a long neck?
The best grass is w-a-y up the bank.
The sun was warm on a cooler day this spring and he seemed to enjoy just laying his head on the grass.
These pilings are what are left of a dock on the Ashley River at Middleton Place. The tide was going out and a crew of Double-crested Cormorants were using them as perches.
This one seemed to be investigating a crack in the wood.
I looked away and he either jumped or fell into the water.
I thought he might be going fishing but he flew right back out of the water.
There was room for a couple more birds to join them.
Middleton Place, Charleston, SC
April 17, 2021
This log at the edge of one of Magnolia Plantation’s ponds is often occupied by a drying Anhinga, but on this day a Double-crested Cormorant had possession.
I have rarely seen one this close, and he seemed to only be paying attention to the warm sun.
About an hour later when I passed back by, sunlight was no longer shining on the pond or the bird, and the Cormorant was in the same spot.
And he was just as uninterested in passers by.
Catch and release would be an accident. And yes, it does happen as the fish has to be in the right alignment to be swallowed whole. I missed the shot showing the fish stabbed on that sharp beak.
The toss
The catch
And gone!
I don’t see that many Canada Geese expect near housing developments, but a few have been hanging around the pond at Magnolia Cemetery recently.
This one entertained me with a stalk of vegetation that he seemed quite sure was valuable.
He carefully kept his back to his mate, clearly not looking to share this find.
In the end he dropped the whole thing back in the water, perhaps it was too tough or just not edible.
American Avocet aren’t the only birds in these images, but I haven’t seen one in awhile so thought I’d give them top billing. And I really like them with their snazzy color scheme.
I sure was hoping they would fly closer to my side of the pond.
Instead they disappeared on the other side of the marsh.
Two of a flock of American White Pelicans decided to be on their way while a few more continued to feed.
Bear Island Wildlife Management Area
February 17, 2021
The big pond at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area is dotted with these little islands covered with clumps of marsh grasses. Maybe not quite technically hummocks, as I’m not sure the ground is in a mound or if the grass is just thriving in a clump.
It’s not uncommon to see Black-crowned Night-herons tucked into the grass, but on this cold day they were joined by a Great Egret and a Double-crested Cormorant was bobbing in the water. I couple other Night Herons came and went while I was watching.
Look closely and those little blurs are Swallows zipping through the air. By 11:30 AM it had warmed up enough for insects to be active at the water surface.
These Swallows are fast!
This was the scene under the Spoonbill Tree at Donnelley Wildlife Management Area on a recent cold and windy morning. The Roseate Spoonbills were wisely at the back of the pond, tucked under a bigger tree.
A few Gallinules were popping in and out view and the Great Blue Heron seemed on the verge of doing something as he repositioned several times.
The GBH moved back into the water when a Great Egret appeared. This dead tree, which has been a great perch for a Roseate Spoonbills over the last few years, has taken another step towards its end as another good size limb has fallen off this winter.
I was expecting the Heron to drive off the other birds the way he came back around the front of the island all puffed up.
But he decided to ignore whatever was going on behind him at least for the moment, as one lone gull paddled by.
February 4, 2021
