The dark sky, a little rain, and the salt marsh reflections all made for a photograph best skipped. So of course I took the shot.
To me this Great Blue is out of context. He should be in a swamp, marsh, almost anyplace other than the salt flats.
I shot many more than I should have. I just liked the open space and typical Great Blue confident strut.
A wide shot of a Great Blue Heron traveling through a swamp.
This is the style of images that for me is the epitome of a southern swamp.
Spanish Moss over the Cypress trees completes the picture.
This is what happens when you swim underwater for a long time. When you finally do surface there might be a surprise…like me.
I made no sudden move, I know how fast they dive back down.
Neither of us knew what to do.
So of course we did nothing.
Probably the only bird that gets as much attention as a Roseate Spoonbill. Finding these guys is the tricky part. Then once you do chances are they are not near enough anyway.
This guy was out on a sand bar and kept glancing back, as if anyone was going to be walking out there.
The thing about these birds is they have the best traits of many different Egrets and Herons and are completely unique in their looks.
They have the flowing feathers of an Egret, a better dance routine than a Tricolored Heron, and all the drama of a Little Blue.
When we find one dancing in a hunt all I can do is stand back and watch…laugh a bit too.
Two Brown Pelican getting ready to feed with the moving tide. They have a system of following the tide flow from above and finding the fish schools as the water moves them.
Peaceful, big birds catching the wind.
Brown Pelican diving from high into a school of fish.
These birds can completely submerge to catch their prey.
Using monochrome helped define the birds clearly from the rough water.
Note; I almost did a little dance when I realized how I had captured this dive.
While large parts of the Magnolia grounds were set aside for local soldiers killed in the Civil War other veterans are interred here.
Close to the marsh is a well tended stone. General Hagood was a known well known career soldier, until he spoke against US policy. Generals were expected to support with comment.
We could probably use a few more like him today.
A quick shot from a Florida Mangrove Swamp.
At first I thought to get a basic image of the cluster of White Pelican.
This Brown Pelican came in low and made a probable ‘throw away’ photograph interesting.
Click any image for a full size view.
