Maybe not friends, but tree-mates. This dead tree stands on the banks of the Ashley River and is popular perch for a variety of birds.
I have been watching some Yellow-crowned Night-herons that are nesting at the edge of a nearby pond. This one stayed here, perhaps getting a respite from nest duty, for over an hour.
The Anhinga and Grackle came and went. The sky stayed grey.
Acutally it was more of a slide than a dive.
But it was precise.
A final selection of the spot.
Toes out, wings tucked.
Hardly a ripple for score of 10.
Alligator ramps around the pond provide a fairly safe and dry spot for the Wood Duck ducklings to dry off and preen.
The Yellow-bellied Slider seemed oblivious to their occupation of his sunny spot.
Mama Wood Duck stayed in the water, patrolling for safety. Other times I have observed this there has been a Wood Duck drake nearby, also on alert, but I did not see one this time.
This family was up against the edge of the pond and I didn’t see them until mom had them underway.
I was hoping they would swim into a patch of sunshine.
They preferred a path through the shade.
That’s far enough!
Pelicans don’t look that agile, but you can see by the landing trail in the water that this fellow executed a 90 degree turn as he was hitting the water. I suspect he saw something for lunch!
We are on day two without internet service but I can log into WP admin with our spotty cell phone data service. I found this post in my drafts from February 2018. I have no idea what my plan for it had been but this seems like a good time to finish the post. I’m still amazed at the way Pelicans can fly and dive.
Anhinga fish under water and often bring their catch to the surface and eat while they are swimming, flipping the fish around and swallowing it head first. This fellow may have tried that before climbing onto the alligator ramp.
He was having trouble dislodging the fish from his beak.
The ramp seemed like a convenient tool to work the fish free.
Or so he thought.
I missed the resolution this time. More than once I’ve seen the fish drop over the side after all that hard work.
This log was an easy spot for a female Anhinga to climb out of the water and preen.
I was able to move and get a different reflection from the nearby tree.
A light breeze ruffled the water as she spread her wings to dry.
April 15, 2019
A female Anhinga perched so that she was overlooking a small pond.
You can see her giant feet wrapped around a slender branch and her sharp beak, used for spearing fish underwater.
I went a few steps to the right trying to clear the branches from my view which resulted in a drab sky. And different branches.
April 5, 2019
An American White Pelican, flying low over a pond, almost ready to drop down
Landing gear down
Touchdown with a small muddy flourish!
February 10, 2020
A Pied-billed Grebe just floating along.
A bird or turtle beyond the frame caused the water to ripple.
January 15,
