Eastern Phoebe

I spotted this cute little bird last weekend at the old Kings Grant Golf Course. I needed some identification help and again received prompt and accurate replies after I posted two photos on the WhatBird.com forum that helps people identify mystery birds.

I first thought that this small bird may be a Warbler and was later surprised to realize it is in the Flycatcher family.
I didn't hear its call but that's where the name Phoebe comes from, the "Fee-bee" sound it makes, according to the write up on this bird on WhatBird.com.

Another neat fact is that a group of Eastern Phoebes is called, among other names, an outfield.  Catching flies as a baseball outfielder would-- get it? 

The state (and fate) of the former Kings Grant golf course has been in limbo for years. But this summer Wachovia/Wells Fargo bank sold it to an out-of-state developer. I am hopeful, as are residents in the Kings Grant neighborhood, that part of the old golf course will be left alone or turned into a nature park.

In June I had a letter to the editor published in the Charleston Post and Courier sharing my views on this issue. I know it has been widely circulated in the neighorbood (because someone contacted me some weeks later and asked my permission to copy the letter to share with residents there.)

The link to my letter doesn't include the photograph that ran with it in the newspaper.  It was of a pair of Red-shoulder Hawks I photographed at the old golf course a while back.

Aren't they beautiful? Since the golf course closed several years ago, there has been no development on the land so it has reverted back to nature and has become a really neat bird refuge of sorts.

Let's hope the new owner sees the benefits of keeping part of the property along the Ashley River as a park with access to not just Kings Grant residents but the rest of the community as well. 

 

 

Welaka, Florida Fall Visit

Alesia and I were in Welaka, Fla. a couple weekends ago visiting her sister and her husband who have a second home on the St. Johns River.  It was our first time there and we really enjoyed the lovely scenery, especially this amazing sunset one evening!

These weren't storm clouds just a very striking confluence of colors at sunset made even more spectacular by the reflection in the river.

Welaka, population approximately 600, is a small river town in Putnam County, about 90 miles southwest of Jacksonville.

Ron and Suzan took us on a fun morning outing in their boat.

Me being me, I had my eye out for birds along the river.  Osprey are abundant in the area, near the river...

...and in town on a TV antenna.  I didn't know people still used these!

Osprey have amazing yellow eyes that do not miss a thing- or a person like me taking its picture.

Along that same residential road I had to jump out of the car again when seeing this Red-shouldered Hawk on a powerline.

Hawks have some powerful eyes too.

Another stop-the-car moment was when we passed these two large birds near the Welaka State Forest.

Initally, I thought they were Great Egrets or Great Blue Herons, but then did a double-take when I noticed the red markings on their faces.

These are Florida Sandhill Cranes, a "lifer" bird for me, meaning this was the first time I ever saw one.  I can't say I had ever heard of this breed.  But that's what makes going to new places neat, the opportunity to see new things, including birds and ducks. How about the crane's orange eyes!

Speaking of orange, this lovely butterfly caught my eye during our visit to the Welaka State Forest.

Saw some Common Moorhens in a murky swamp at the park.

A Great Egret stood tall for this photograph.

We really had a nice time in Welaka, Fla., a true fishermen's paradise.

The birding was good too.

The scenery was special!

But the real treat was the fine food at my brother-in-law Ron's new restaurant, R&B Welaka BBQ. He and two partners have opened a delicious barbecue restaurant in this small town. If you're ever in the area, be sure to stop in.  You'll love it too I am sure!

That's Ron on the left with the other two owners.

Thanks for a great visit Suzan and Ron!

Florida- the Sunshine State where the sunsets aren't bad either!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magnolia Cemetery Summer 2012 Favorites

My 2011 book "The Birds of Magnolia Cemetery: Charleston's Secret Bird Sanctuary" was not the end of my interest in this unusually beautiful and historic place. A second book is underway about the many interesting people and monuments at this graveyard that dates to 1850. But I do still keep an eye out for the delightful amount of bird activity at Magnolia Cemetery. This post features photos I've taken in recent months there.  In my new book, I may just have to have a chapter at the end with more bird photos, kind of a mini-sequel to my first book! 

I took this photo in July.  It's by far my favorite bird picture of the summer. I love the position of the two Wood Storks, how they are side by side but looking in opposite directions.  Their reflections are neat too, as is the greenish color to the water. And I like the Snowy Egret, its reflection, and position in relation to the storks. This is a photo I'm planning to have made a large canvas print.  Imaging Arts and Knight Printing in Charleston do great work with these. 

I love this photo also. I'm more likely to see Wood Storks in trees than in the water, so this was a unique sighting for me. And add the Snowy Egret to the mix, the green water color and the reflections- all make for a cool shot.  Plus I did a little PhotoShop black point treatment that I learned from Kate Silvia at our Carolina Nature Photographers meetings.  This easy fix can give photos a darker contrast, a positive polish.
I use that technique with some photos but not in ones like the next two that don't need such a treatment.

A Great Egret on a branch over one of the cemetery's two ponds.

It's been a hot summer and event the birds feel it. In 90-plus temperatures you're more likely to see birds with open beaks like this, sort of like panting but without a dog's (or my) heavy breathing.

This seems to be another cooling device.  I've seen Great Blue Herons (above) and Wood Storks in such unusual positions with their wings.

The distinctive Anhinga spreads its wings to dry them after a swim and food dive in the pond. This bird is quite an underwater hunter/fisher.

The Anhinga in its signature pose.

Then in flight...

A Great Blue Heron takes off over the salt marsh that borders parts of the cemetery.

The Double-crested Cormorant is another big bird that can be very symmetrical when in pairs or more. I love their green eyes.

Note the Cormorants webbed feet and the "can opener" beak.

A Green Heron on the prowl for a meal. This colorful small heron continues to be a favorite of mine.

It's amazing the neck extension Herons and Egrets have!

In June there was a Green Heron nest over the front pond near the cemetery entrance. This is one of the youngsters, just weeks old still with its downy feathers.

In May I spotted a pretty Bluebird on a headstone. The cemetery setting makes for some unique bird perches.  My book has lots of such compositions!

A Northern Mockingbird atop a decorative funerary urn.

Here's the wide shot of the monument and that Mockingburd at the top.  Sometimes I do a double take, stopping and seeing if such a bird is real or part of the sculpture.

Notice the "no see ems" in this shot. Nats, mosquitos, deer flies and other pests can be bad at the cemetery in the summer. That's why I keep spray in the trunk of my car.

A mother Mallard with two offspring in tow. An unusual amount of life- albeit bird life- can be found at Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery.

Aren't they cute, the little Mallards under the watchful eye of their mother! 

Magnolia Cemetery is located at 70 Cunnington Ave. in Charleston, which is off Meeting Street Road near North Charleston. The cemetery is open every day from 8-5. It's a great place to visit to check out the birds, the graves and all the history and style they present. The grounds are very walkable with flat roads and paths.

Chicago!

We had a nice family trip to Chicago where Alesia and I lived for a short time some years ago. It's a city with fond memories that I've enjoyed visting several times in recent years. During our visit this month we stayed at a fabulous Westin Hotel downtown on Chicago River, right in the middle of everything!  Here are some favorite photos of one of my favorite cities.

A water taxi on the Chicago River. We stayed on the 18th floor of the Westin Hotel seen at the top left. Below is a view out our window. That's the N. Clark St. bridge.

Staying downtown like this, there are many fine restaurants, stores and other attractions within walking distance, as are some of the train stations that will get you around the metro area.

ACE Basin's Bear Island

This week I had a really fun outing at one of the South Carolina Lowcountry's wildlife management areas.  Bear Island is south of Charleston near Green Pond, S.C. It consists of more than 12,000 acres of wetlands, tidal marsh, woodlands and agricultural areas. Much of the property was used for rice cultivation (with slaves) back in the 1700s and 1800s.

These Double-crested Cormorants were one of nearly 20 bird species I photographed during my visit. Note the duck blind in the background.  The reserve is open to hunting and fishing certain times of the year. My coolest bird discovery on this day was one I have never seen before.  When I came up this particular dike in the farthest back of Bear Island the bird was flying.  The way it skimmed the surface of the water for food my first thought was this could be a skimmer. My trusty small bird book I always keep in my car confirmed this to be a Black Skimmer.  A most unusual-looking creature.

This Skimmer's lower mandible is much longer than the upper one.  In fact, this is the only bird in North America with such a feature that enables its superior scooping action in the water. It looks kind of awkward on the ground with its short legs and odd beak but in the air skimming it's quite a beautiful bird to behold!

I didn't get a sharp picture of it flying this time.  Hope to run into the Black Skimmer again and get a better flying shot.

Had to laugh when I learned that a group of Skimmers goes by these names: a "conspiracy", "embezzlement", and "scoop." Scoop I get but the other names seem sinister!

You see a lot of straight narrow canals like this at Bear Island and other Lowcountry nature parks.  This one particularly had bird (and alligator) activity which included a second new species discovery for me: the Black-necked Stilt.

Among its many distinctions, the Black-necked Stilt has the second-longest legs in proportion to its bodies of any bird, exceeded only by the Flamingo. (WhatBird.com)

Yep, the leggy Stilt is well named.

  Quite a photogenic bird though both on the ground, in the water and in the air.

Miles of hiking can be done here along the many paths amid a series of water impoundments still controlled, as they were in the heyday of "Carolina Gold" rice, by wooden trunks.

This visitor's efforts were rewarded by many surprises coming upon colonies of birds or individual ones, or other animals such as deer, raccoons, rabbits and gators.

June proved to be a good time to visit Bear Island. I enjoyed quite a bit of bird activity including this grouping of coastal favorites.

From left, we have a Wood Stork, four Snowy Egrets and a Great Egret.

I thought the Wood Stork looked out of place but then that's a neat thing about nature: how birds of different species often do interact and exist together so, well, naturally.

A Tri-colored Heron also showed up for this little party.

This was another interesting grouping I encountered on an unsual wooden structure in the middle of one of the many ponds or impoundments.  I'm saying Royal Tern for the larger birds and Forster's Tern for the smaller black eye marked birds.

Getting back to the Tri-colored Heron.  I watched this one coiled like a snake poised to snag a tasty treat. It moved with purpose around this spot, striking here then there.  Look at the intensity!

ACE Basin planners would surely applaud the ample ecosystem they have fostered.

A Green Heron also prowls for food, which seems to be abundant here for our feathered friends.

These large birds also caught my eye, the Boat-tailed Grackle. You see both the dark male and the female that is more brown. I thought these may be Great-tailed Grackles but some fellow posters on WhatBird.com convinced me otherwise...

I saw this Grackle in another location snag a crunchy meal.

A female (left) and male Anhinga high atop a tree with what must be an amazing view of Bear Island and beyond.

An Anhinga in flight.

Red-winged Blackbirds were, by far, the most abundant bird I saw on this day.That's the female in the background.

Up close and personal with a Red-winged Blackbird. I'm determined to eventually get a really good photo of this striking bird flying so that you can really see its fabulous red wings in action.

The bugs were pretty bad on this June day. I'm glad this Northern Mockingbird kept at least one off me!

I'm bullish on Bear Island. Lots of parts I did not see this visit.  I hope to get back soon, before it gets too much hotter.

My car seemed to have a good time too, especially when I parked it in the shade of Spanish Moss.

For more information on the Bear Island Wildlife Management Area see this website:

https://www.dnr.sc.gov/mlands/managedland?p_id=56

A Great Egret looking, as always, so great!