This guy was working it ! He also did a bow, even started to snap his bill loud and hard. Looking for a lady for sure.
Click the image below and you will see he was even staring at me LOL.
Now, there’s more to the story. On the bottom of this same Cypress is an unattached female. She was completely ignoring him.
He gave it his best, but last I saw he was still single.
Spotted this Great Egret on the edge of a dike, actually almost on top of an old wooden trunk.
Directly below the bird is the edge of a salt marsh. It’s tidal so at low tide all types of edible critters are in the mud. The dike is a perfect place to look around below.
The Ocean is probably 15+ miles away but the tide still works this far inland.
That’s why this is called the Lowcountry, we are low…like sea level low.
A wide scene with a little bit of everything.
This includes the Roseate Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Godwits, and a few Snowy Egret.
Best viewed large.
Early morning, ACE Basin, South Carolina.
This is the type of series I love to catch. I don’t get the full start to finish often like this one.
The ‘tell’ for Herons and Egrets is the lean and bent knee. When I see it likely it is the start of taking flight, like this one.
Below I was focused on the bird, who was watching an Egret he had just chased. Hand holding a big lens means there isn’t a long time for me to focus and wait. It gets heavy, the lens begins to shake, and I need a rest.
My arm had not ‘fallen off’ yet so I was able to get this sequence.
And then he was quickly off across the marsh following the Great Egret.
Taken from the top of a dike dirt road. Some dikes are large enough to have a single lane road, this being one that separates salt marsh from old rice fields. Pretty much an environment with a little bit of everything.
The Great Blue heard and saw something over the side of the dike. He waited patiently but nothing else happened.
Lately everything published has been from a swamp, and Great Blues. Time for a different color on the web site.
Pink of course.
Below is a Spoonbill gliding by us heading to some larger flocks.
Keeping the Roseate Spoonbill tradition alive, the bird takes his spot from the middle.
A few looked his way, but not being a true crash meant none of the others cared.
BTW, in a few shots here you can see the hidden orange color found on a breeding age adult.
She swam right up to log almost directly below me.
After she struggled to climb up, this is the look of surprise when she looked up.
When they are really wet not only can’t they fly, it’s hard to even get out of the water.
She wants to get dry as soon as possible, shaking off helps.
In the middle of the shake she spots me looking down at her.
It was too late and I must not have been very dangerous looking since she sat there dripping.
Female Anhinga, Charleston, South Carolina.
This is another yearly occurrence. A Great Blue arrives and doesn’t appear to know his way around. It might be a young first year breeder or even from a different rookery.
After circling a bit he made his first landing high up.
Several new comers have been around. Some watch to see how things work, others just blunder through the trees and nests.
It’s much safer for the new ones to observe for a while.
