Loggerhead Shrikes were everywhere in Savannah National Wildlife Refuge over the fall. I’d see at least one every day and sometimes up to four. It was the same in the early winter, but as winter went on, the birds must have found somewhere else to go. I also never had the best luck photographing this …
One of the most abundant birds in South Carolina’s freshwater habitats over the winter months are the American Coots. These birds are common in many places across the country and because they can be relatively tame, people view them almost as chickens that live in the water. If you’ve guessed that I still find them …
They may be just black and have no color, but crows are fascinating animals. We have two species that you can find here in the South Carolina Lowcountry and both species come to the beach. It can be quite difficult to tell apart the Fish Crows from the more cosmopolitan American Crows, but the most …
Today I had the chance to go to a new location, Bear Island Wildlife Management Area. A new place is always exciting – even if there are no bears here. I wonder where the name came from. Perhaps there were bears at one point. Anyway, to make the experience better I was going along with …
Today was another slow day in pursuit of ducks. The ducks are nearly all in the peak of their breeding plumage, but there weren’t many around where I checked today. This female Northern Shoveler was one of the few that I did see. The ducks were mostly flying from one marshy area to another – …
After some modest success with a Bufflehead a couple of days ago, I decided to make another try of it. I don’t like using blinds, but skittish ducks are one of the exceptions that I make. Today I was out in the blind before sunup waiting for the ducks. Blinds have two major problems: your …
I am sure that ducks know when it is hunting season. Ok, maybe I’m going a bit far, but they do know when people are a threat. Anytime after the duck hunting season starts to a little bit before it ends, the ducks are especially skittish. But it is still possible to get close if …
I know I say this a lot, but it still bears repeating. When you have a good thing going on, milk it for all it is worth. Don’t feel like you have all the photos you can get after 20 minutes, keep at it. This is especially important with wildlife. First of all, the great …
After a few days of trying to photograph some ducks and having nothing to show from it, I gave up. Just kidding, but it almost felt like that. When I returned to South Carolina, it had been a month or longer since I had been to most of the places that I photograph at. A …
Ducks back here in South Carolina continue to be my nemesis. I went out looking for some early this morning and found a few Buffleheads and a male Hooded Merganser who was leading around a trio of females. So I settled into the bank of the pond and waited. I got a lot of practice …