SHADOW BIRD - THE GREAT BLUE HERON

THE PERFECT PALETTE

Maneuvering my kayak in and out of this cypress bog, challenged by dead ends from fallen cypress trees, I finally reached the perfect light to capture this rather patient and hungry Great Blue Heron. The late Winter hues, with the remnants of color cast against the tea-like waters of the lake were magnificent.

POINTILLISM

"RED RED RED RED RED RED ORANGE, RED RED ORANGE..." (Sondheim) This stunning juvenile copperhead was resting squarely on the juncture of two logs I usually use as a perch to capture the herons and cormorants on a nearby branch at Airlie Gardens. One more step and I may have had a very different afternoon, but as it turned out, he offered me nearly an hour and a half of close up shooting with my 100mmm Macro Canon lens. What I found most fascinating in seeing this beauty up close were the tiny multi-colored dots of pigment that give hum the copper hue of his namesake. The eyes, the scales, every inch, tiny little dots of color, much like a pointillism painting. A stunning creature.

Rest Between Feedings

This juvenile Bonapartes Gull, riding gentle ocean waves between fish sightings. Wrightsville beach, NC.

CALL OF THE WILD GREEN HERON

These football-like herons amaze me on every level. Their beauty, and whimsy, and their ability to transform their bodies into heron shaped form, with a neck completely hidden when not engaged is fascinating. Here in Spring of 2022 a male "sings" his rather frog-like call mid lake, near nesting clusters, as the others build nests using sticks from the cypress trees.

DRAGONSLAYERS

Protected under the laws of Carolina Beach State Park, these fantastic Golden Silk Orb Weavers (Trichonephila clavipes) are free to multiply and take over the wooded areas of the neighboring beaches. By the thousands the large females spin impressive and sturdy webs, that in this case have halted a Blue Dasher Dragonfly ((Pachydiplax longipennis) mid-flight. Present are two passive males that the massive female fends off regularly as they try to scavenge and share the catch. Afterwards I sit and watch this beauty meticulously re-weave the broken portions of her web. This photograph captures the stark face of the dragonfly in its last moments of life while displaying the sheer beauty and at once, savagery, of the Golden Silk Orb Weaver. The webbing and the hint of trees on a sea of white bokeh are the perfect backdrop for this natural drama.

GREEN HERON

THRASHER

These Brown Thrasher are incredibly entertaining in their determination of kicking up leaves and sticks and ground cover to feed on insects. This mother was foraging for food for her nearby fledgling and I managed to get a shot through the brush, no flash, just the right amount of light filtering through.

HANGIN' AROUND

The presence of local Blue Passion Flower in the back paths of Airlie Gardens in the cape Fear region of North Carolina, attracts the Zebra Long Wing and Gulf Fritillary butterflies in the Spring and Summer of each year. Here the larvae of a Gulf Fritillary has attached itself to begin the transformation to pupae and butterfly.

The Maestro

This stunner of a Great Blue heron was sunning in the late afternoon on a cold December day. He gave me a ton of wonderful poses...this capture reminds me of an eccentric symphony conductor.

GOAT EYE CLOSE-UP

I SEE YOU TOO

This stunning white ibis in the moment he becomes aware of me in the nearby brush, shooting through overgrowth getting focus was a challenge, but this capture speaks to the moment beautifully.

BYSSUS SKIPPERS ON A PICKERELWEED

LITTLE MISS FIRECRACKER

This beautiful late season female Ruby Throated Hummingbird getting nectar from a Firecracker Plant flower. Greenfield Lake.

A Guinea Paper Wasp Close-up

Giant Leaf-Footed Bug Close-up

Larva Hanging on off a Frost Grape Leaf

Alligator Swimming in Brazilian Water-Milfoil