Fog creates a mystic environment for photographers. While the clarity is somewhat blurred, it adds a bit of mystery to the images. Normally a clear lake on a sunny day, Bass Lake in North Carolina is shrouded in fog creating an eerie image.
Captured this heron far from the boardwalk at Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, South Carolina.
The green anole is one of the most commonly encountered lizards in South Carolina, and is often incorrectly referred to as a chameleon due to its ability to change color from green to brown. Spotted this anole on the boardwalk of Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, South Carolina.
This Prothonotary warbler looks like a bit of spring sunlight with its golden-yellow head and breast set off by blue-gray wings. “Prothonotary” refers to clerks in the Roman Catholic Church, whose robes were bright yellow. To a Prothonotary Warbler, a great breeding habitat features dead snags and trees full of holes, always near water—whether rivers, swamps, or bottomland forests. The Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, South Carolina is home to numerous Prothonotary warblers.
The National Audubon Society’s Francis Beidler Forest in Four Holes Swamp contains within its 18,000+ acres, the largest remaining stand of virgin Bald Cypress/Tupelo Gum swamp forest left anywhere in the world. One thousand year-old trees and native wildlife abound in this pristine sanctuary that has been untouched for millennia.
On our camera club field trip, we were underwhelmed by the number of birds and wildlife that we saw, but viewing the swamp from the boardwalk was worthwhile.
A cypress knee is a distinctive structure forming above the roots of a cypress tree. Their function is unknown, but they are generally seen on trees growing in swamps. Some current hypotheses state that they might help to aerate the tree’s roots, create a barrier to catch sediment and reduce erosion, assist in anchoring the tree in the soft and muddy soil, or any combination thereof.
It wasn’t only swans and irises at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, SC. Captured this squirrel posing on a tree branch showing off its wide open eyes and bushy tail. Colorful bokeh effect in the background.
Iris is a genus of 260–300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, which is also the name for the Greek goddess of the rainbow, Iris. Here is a beauty at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina.
How can you ignore irises at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, SC? While not completely in bloom in the gardens, there were sporadic signs of irises.
The Bewick’s Swan is a sub-species of the native Tundra Swan seen in North America. The Bewick’s swan is much smaller and has a shorter and straighter neck than the whooper and mute swan. The yellow shape on its beak is like a blob of butter, while a whooper swan’s seems like a wedge of cheese.
Here is Bewick’s Swan on abstract water ripples at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, SC
Swans swimming in water with ripples creates interesting reflections at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, SC
Unlike ducks in yesterday’s post, these swans are swimming away from each other at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, SC
Two ducks swimming in tandem at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, SC
A Whooper Swan framed by abstract water formations swims at Swan Lake Iris Gardens in Sumter, SC
Close-up of a Whooper Swan at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumpter, South Carolina. A distinctive feature is that its black bill has a large triangular patch of yellow on it.
The Whooper Swan, also known as the common swan, pronounced hooper swan, is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan.
Here is a whooper swan with a little bite at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, SC
A swan and turtles coexist at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina
Is this swan resting or preening at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina?
It almost seems like this Mute Swan is mesmerized by the abstract reflections at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, SC
The Canada Goose is well known for flying in a distinctive V-formation, its loud “honk” and its unmistakable looks. A Canada Goose gander can reach 14 pounds and can have a wing spread of up to 5 feet. Here is one at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, SC.
A Black Swan creating circular ripples at Swan Lake Iris Gardens, Sumter, South Carolina
Photos by Ravi 