I was having a hard time with a title here. Having done this web site for a long time, and out with the Alligators for 10 years, I have used about every description I can.
He is ‘Best viewed large’ , a very impressive gator minding his own business.
Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Lightroom, DxO Color Efex.
It was the least he could do, pose for a photo.
After all we feed him every day. And they only eat ‘the good stuff.
We were getting ready to change locations, I grabbed my OM-1 (1) with the OM 12-100. There are always nice wide shots to be had, and we planned on another stop (which never did happen).
There started to be even more splashing and we found the Cormorants started working the big fish right by the dike. The fish had been there all morning and nobody was interested. Now they start to feed.
There were lots of fish, and Cormorants. I didn’t try to get the long lens kit. I went with what I had.
Best viewed large.
Specs; OM-1 (1), ON 12-100, Lightroom.
Each fall the Double-crested Cormorants come back to these marshes after being spread out around the Lowcountry. You look around one day and noticed them all around. They just show up.
The opposite happens with the Anhinga that live here. Anhinga can be thought of as the South American version of a Cormorant. Anhinga drift away from the marshes and move a few hundred miles south.
This shift of diving birds happens every year.
There are times I need to remind myself to just stop. Don’t go anywhere, stay put and watch.
In the marshes there’s nothing you can do about distance. No standing in the water or shoreline. Take what they give you. The other day some were too far for a shot, some were too close for a shot. Some were about right.
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Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Lightroom, Topaz.
There are days when the big guys are very cooperative. Best days are when there are patches of sun after a chilly night. They are warming the old bones, and not giving up their spot.
Night Herons are not very big, length is 58–65 cm (23–26 in), wing span of 115–118 cm (45.3–46.5 in). Those long wings are what makes it hard to shoot while in flight.
Good auto focus and bird tracking are what gives us a decent chance.
This is a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron. The young Herons were out and about. They were shy and fast, and some downright friendly. A day of contradictions for sure.
There was actually some color in a few trees too.
Best viewed large.
Black-crowned Night Heron, ACE Basin, South Carolina.
Specs; OM-1 mk2, OM 100-400 II, Lightroom.
A Great Blue moving along a dike. The tall grass borders the drop off to the water. Perfect for fishing.
The Great Blue is the tallest wading bird in North America, just not this one who is rather small.
This time of year these birds are out in the large marshes. They are solitary for another 2 months or so. At that point males head back to rookeries they know and begin searching for good nesting sites.
For now they are content to eat and argue with any other big Herons or Egrets they find.
