Amos freezes, whines, and lifts his foot after stepping on a spiked fruit from Common Sandbur (Cenchrus spinifex).
Monthly Archives: March 2019
Mixed flock feeding
I’ve seen mixed flocks of passerines bouncing through a forest, feeding on different vertical levels and plants, but hadn’t really ever noticed it among these waders and swimmers. There were probably over 15 Double-Crested Cormorants, a few Snowy Egrets and Great Egrets, about six Brown Pelicans, and a handful of passing Royal Terns, all cruising a small marsh creek entrance as the tide approached the morning high.
Brown pelican dive
Willet and plovers
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) and some plovers (Charadrius sp.; maybe Wilson’s Plover?) hanging out as the sun rises at Little Tybee Island. The willets stood on one foot, and many of them hopped around, instead of putting their other foot in the frigid water.
Shrub-maritime communities
Shrub-to-maritime communities at the upland portion of the Little Tybee Island marsh complex, including a brackish slough. Salt spray and saltwater intrusion may be responsible for dwarfed growth of some of the trees, including some of the pine (Pinus sp.), live oak (Quercus sp. ) and Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana).
Sand and sun
Amos enjoys the sand and morning sun at Little Tybee Island.
Little Tybee Island Sunrise
Sea oats
Senescent sea oats (Uniola paniculata) on Little Tybee Island
Mosses and lichens at Mt. Mitchell
Mountain Lily
On the trail, in August, wild flowers and blue skies dominate. I photographed many of the wild flowers, and hope to provide some identifications to the images. Here’s one:Erythronium montanum from a visit to Mt. Hood in 2012.
