Wild Delmarva

Wading in the shallows of a salt marsh creek, a Great Blue Heron fishes in the last light yesterday. This is our largest wading bird on Delmarva and is quite common on both fresh and salt water. While they primarily eat fish I’ve watched them catch snakes, shrimp, frogs and recently even a young Clapper Rail.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

I felt like a surfer early this morning waiting for my wave to break. Recent rain has been welcomed by Delmarva’s farmers but the clouds and dark skies have made wildlife photography difficult over the past two weeks. So, when this morning dawned again with cloudy skies, I headed for the remains of the jetty in Cape Henlopen State Park. A relatively long 8 second exposure creates a ghostly wash of light as the waves break over what’s left of the pier.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

I usually prefer to photograph birds in action rather than perched but I was able to get very close to this Black Vulture. And the closer I got the more interesting this scavenger’s face became. Black Vultures are common here on Delmarva and we can easily see them and Turkey Vultures soaring high overhead. But rarely do we see them up close. This is a juvenile and its “Mohawk do” will be replaced with wrinkled gray skin with age.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

Covered with tiny specks of pollen, a Hibiscus Bee (which looks very similar to a Bumblebee) works the colorful bloom of a Crimson-eyed Rosemallow this morning. Also know as a Swamp Rose, this perennial Hibiscus with six inch flowers is common on Delmarva’s wetlands.

(Thanks to Matt Sarver for identifying the Hibiscus Bee!)

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

After weeks without rain, shallow ponds are drying out and fishing spots are becoming very valuable for wading birds. And as the smaller fishing areas concentrate fish making fishing easier it also brings Snowy Egrets in much closer contact. Territorial fights between egrets are more common now. The fight usually ends as one retreats.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

Two Snowy Egrets get into an argument while fishing in a shallow pond. One chased the other away from a good spot.

Photographs by Kevin Fleming

Six Great Blue Herons were feeding in a shallow brackish pond that was shrinking because there has been no rain for several weeks. As the pond dries down the fish concentrate in a less water making fishing very easy for the herons. The photograph was complete when the Black Skimmer passed through.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

Looking perhaps like an alien from outer space and sporting a feather-do only a mother could love, a young Great Blue Heron chick squawks from inside its nest. Many Delmarva Great Blue Herons have already fledged, this nest of three is somewhat behind. When this chick is grown those intense eyes and that throat are the last thing many fish will see.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

While Glossy Ibis are native to North America and found here on Delmarva and along the Atlantic coast somehow photographing them always reminds me of being in Africa where I first saw them. I’m always happy to get close to these interesting birds especially if there is some direct light illuminating their dark feathers which become almost iridescent. Without direct light they can appear as dark as the wetlands mud and shallow water where they like to feed for fish and other water creatures.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming

Last night was my fourth trip to the Royal Tern colony and this time I concentrated on catching the parents passing a fish to their chicks. Turns out that was a difficult assignment. At eight frames per second with my camera I was only able to catch the moment a couple of times. The pass is amazingly fast. So fast it is hard to even see it happen with just your eye. And with the intense competition for food chicks are very quick to gobble-up the fish.

Photograph by Kevin Fleming