shorebirds

The best of the Lowcountry

Last Saturday morning has got to have been one of 2021’s photographic highlights. We had scheduled an early morning trip out on the water off Wadmalaw Island to photograph shore birds and shrimp trawler activity. This was nothing new, but rarely do conditions come together to offer the best weather, light winds, gentle tides, and great subject activity, the subjects being the birds and shrimp trawlers. It was hard to pick a few images to showcase here, because we came back with hundreds of keepers. The thrill of a successful morning more than makes up for the many early rises and time spent drifting on the water in less than perfect conditions, having spent hard earned cash for pitiful results. This is the challenge of photography. The outcome is never a given, but this was a treat. Thanks to photographer, naturalist, and boat captain extraordinaire Eric Horan. You can find information about his lowcountry tours here: https://horanphoto.com/lowcountry-photo-tours-adventures

Early Morning on Saint Helena Sound

I was never a morning person, even less so as time goes by, but every so often I will make an exception and rise early. So it was yesterday since I was joining some friends at sunrise down at Butcher’s boat landing on St. Helena Island near Beaufort, SC. It was a beautiful morning, and the air was soft and warm as we pushed off and followed the creeks out to the sound. We were looking forward to enjoying nature, observing shorebirds, dolphin, and watching the shrimp trawlers as they plied the sound dragging their nets. It was a wonderful time. Here are a couple of photos of the trip.

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.