breeding

Bird Key, Stono Inlet

Because of current rambling limitations, I have been going back and re-editing some of my older images. Sometimes I am sloppy with editing if I have a batch of hundreds to get through, so it pays to go back and try and adjust exposures, color, and extract the most detail possible from these aerial images. Here are a few of Bird Key, just off Folly Beach and Kiawah in the Stono inlet, taken in March of 2016. Soon (if not already), it will be a hive of activity and full of nesting shore birds of all descriptions.

Bird Key Stono Heritage Preserve

Through most of the year, this small barrier island is just another one of many off the coast of the Carolinas, but during breeding and nesting season, it comes alive with activity. The diversity of shorebirds that crowd this space is nothing short of mind boggling, and the cacophony of squawking is carried on the wind for some distance. The smell also alerts you to your imminent arrival at the shores of the island. It is illegal to land, and really you should not get close enough that you change the natural behavior of the birds. These are a few images from our boat trip out there yesterday evening.