The old cemetery area of Charleston runs alongside the salt marshes and rivers. being the Lowcountry the area floods, and has been sinking for a few hundred years.
Like the New Orleans St. Louis cemeteries there are plenty of above ground mausoleums and stone caskets.
Some are plain, others have ornate carvings, even stained glass created by Tiffany & Co.
There’s never a shortage of things to photograph in the area.
They don’t appear to ever hurry in flight. However those huge wings can push them ahead pretty fast, besides the fact you can hear them beating the air if close enough.
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In this wooded rookery area there might have between 12 – 16 nesting places of the smaller Herons. That’s actually quite a few for these birds.
Below was taken when I found a small opening in the branches and leaves. Personally I like this shot. Getting two together, in the thickets wasn’t particularly easy. They were kind enough (or half asleep) to give me time for changing settings a few times until both birds were in focus.
Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
Middleton Plantation, 1730.
The northern most area in old Charleston, SC was plantations until around 1850. Being an old city, surrounded by water, the churchyards finally had no space left for burials. Also there was a Yellow Fever pandemic.
Umbra Plantation and nearby land was sold and created early cemeteries.
Below may be one of the first burials in the Umbra Plantation property. Only the date was clear.
It was not my intent to capture the Egrets green lore this way. The portrait turned out a bit better than expected.
When an Egret is ready for breeding the base of their bill, and the area surrounding the eye turn almost Kelly Green. This area of a bird is called the lore.
Best viewed large.
This Wood Stork rookery is like an apartment complex. Nests are almost on top of each other.
It’s usual for the various birds to build close to each other. I assume it’s a safety thing. But these Storks are so darn big I’m not sure they can even stretch their wings here. We have been in two others this month and I wish I had paid more attention.
It can be the little things you notice in passing that make an interesting photograph.
Bright sun, mucky water, and a few locals napping.
