All types of Birds
The Ruby’s Are Back – every year I wait in anticipation to see the first Ruby Throat hummingbird arrive here at home.
They are not very afraid of us here and they allow me to get pretty close to take their photos. Always a challenge but so worth the effort.
The Ruby’s Are Back
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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Singing a Song as they are walking along. These Sandhill cranes were very vocal this morning. A short video below showing them strolling through the meadow singing.
Have a great weekend. 🙂
Short video of these Sandhill Cranes calling back and forth. Or click this link here; Sandhill Crane Call Songs
Singing a Song
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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When Indigo Jack Found Sora
There are moments when the wind stills, and the world leans in.
High in the pines, where the sky folds softly into needles and light, I met a pair of great blue herons who seemed untouched by time.
I had seen them before from afar—graceful silhouettes skimming the water’s edge, sentinels of the marsh.
But that day, they flew right beside me. Not away. Not afraid. Just there, like I was part of the story. And in that moment, I was.
He came first, bold and brushed in indigo, his wings cutting wide through the blue. I call him Indigo Jack, a name that feels just wild enough to belong to a creature of wind and water. He carried a stick in his beak, not for himself, but for her. The one who waited.
Her name is Sora, meaning “sky,” and she wears it like a crown. There is a hush about her, a quiet knowing. She is moonlight in feathers. Not soft, but sacred.
Together, they built a nest—twig by twig, moment by moment. And I watched, breath held, as Jack passed a branch to Sora, their bills touching not in hunger, but in offering. A ritual older than memory.
Link Two Herons Building Nest Video
I often feel that nature lets us in only when we’re still enough. Quiet enough. Respectful enough to be trusted.
This was creation unfolding, and I was invited to witness it.
Have a Wonderful Weekend.
And the wings kept beating.
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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Small Rookery – I found a small rookery by accident actually. My first time getting to see herons up close as they build their nest.
They were so busy finding sticks that they did not seem to even notice me. Most of the time herons fly off the minute one moves.
I took lots of photos and I will share my video on Friday, I decided to name two of them. Because the male looks like he has a crooked leg and the majority of my photos contained this bird flying back and forth to the nest with sticks.
It is not easy to tell the difference between the males and females. Except that research states the males usually brings the nesting material as the female builds it. So that is what I am going on.
Small Rookery
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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Bird Art
The Great Blue Heron
Bird Art
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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King of the Sky – I photographed this eagle in Kentucky. We have some friends who knew about a place where we can park off the edge of the road. It’s not far from an eagle’s nest along a riverbank.
The nest is in a dead tree, in the middle of some farm land. But there is a nice size lake not to far away. These eagles come back to this nest every year. They had one eaglet this year as you can see it looking at the parent.
Coming in for a landing.
Have a great weekend.
King of the Sky
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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April Showers bring May flowers as the old saying goes. From the gray colors of winter to the spring colors soon to come.
April Showers
Water & Birds – Beautiful egret bird flying by. Have a great weekend. 🙂
Water & Birds
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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Building the Nest, that is a big stick for the nest.
Have a great weekend.
Building the Nest
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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Heron in a Tree video below or click link. Beautiful balance and wing span.
Big Stretch and ready for the weekend. 🙂
Big Stretch
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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Is Valentine Day Here 🙂
Is Valentine Day Here
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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Snow Birds, literally. 🙂 Me and these blue herons. Good thing we always bring some winter cloths with. Hoping to not have to ware them.
I think it is because I was thinking a month ago when Iowa was getting some snow. I thought, it would be nice to take some snow photos again.
Snow Birds
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
Real Christianity the Great Awakening
By RJ Dawson
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Colorful Ibis Birds – Creation at its best.
Colorful Ibis Birds
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
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Juvenile Ibis Bird – I find these birds to be pretty special as well as the Spoon Bills. One only sees them in the south. Such a unique design.
This one below is one of my favorite shots.
Juvenile Ibis Bird
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
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Wading in the Water – One of my favorite beach birds. They are always out walking with me on the beach.
Wading in the Water
Sandra J’s Adventures Outdoors
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Pelican Close Up – this gorgeous bird just happened to be perched on a railing near some fisherman of course. Lots of folks were taking his photo as did I. When one has a chance to get this close to a wild bird, it is an amazing experience.
Pelican Close Up
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Happy New Year – Here’s looking at you kid, 🙂
The Brown Pelican
Happy New Year
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
The Osprey in Flight
Another fun bird to photograph, especially when they are flying. They can hover for a long time as they look around in the water for a fish to snag.
This shot below show the orange hue color of their eyes. Which I have never noticed before.
The Osprey in Flight
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Portrait of a Rooster
Portrait of a Rooster
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
New Bird at the Campground – A New Bird at the Campground – Out of nowhere, this stunning rooster appeared, strutting around our RV at this small campground. I thought I heard one crowing at 5 a.m. this morning, and sure enough, there he was.
He’s the most vibrant rooster I’ve ever seen, with feathers that looked incredibly soft and shiny as the sunlight danced across them.
I took lots of photos of him. He did not seem to mind. Probably gets this attention everyday from all the campers coming and going.
New Bird at the Campground
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Kestrel – American Kestrels occupy habitats ranging from deserts and grasslands to alpine meadows. You’re most likely to see them perching on telephone wires along roadsides, in open country with short vegetation and few trees.
My first sighting of one of these colorful birds.
My shutter speed on the camera wasn’t nearly fast enough to stop motion of this quick bird.
Have a great weekend.
Kestrel
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Birds in the Nature Preserve – Just a few of the birds I saw while driving around the nature preserve. A lot of the usual ones like the herons and a few ducks now and than. We are a little late for migration time so there were not as many birds as earlier in the year I am sure.
Most of them were quite far away from where we were standing. I found this photo below interesting as the alligator swam past the Anhinga bird perched on the dead tree.
We did find at one end of the lake a lot of bird feathers. The alligators do eat birds.
Looks like this bird blind got hit by a storm and ripped the roof right off of it. Closed for the season.
Birds in the Nature Preserve
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Stop the Car – I mean the Jeep||||
Yesterday’s Spoon bills were so far away, I could not get a decent photo of them. But today we were driving along a dirt road and all of a sudden I looked down this small ditch of water and there was one spoonbill.
So I got a better look at one and now I am happy. 🙂
Have a great weekend.
Stop the Car
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
I finally spotted two new bird species and one I’ve been hoping to see for years at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge!
Whenever I’m traveling, I always pull up Google Maps to check for nearby wildlife areas. In the Southeast, especially along the coast, there are tons of them, thanks to the vast marshlands.
Lately, I’ve been discovering more wildlife refuge areas that let you drive through the landscape. These parks have roads winding through the marshes, giving you deeper access to the area and better chances of spotting wildlife.
Savannah National Wildlife Refuge is one of those special places!
We didn’t spot many bird species as we drove through the area, but I did add two new ones to my list.
My first exciting sighting was a wood stork. They were distant, but I still got a good look with my binoculars.
Then, as we walked down a narrow trail alongside a waterway, a hint of pink caught my eye. Sure enough, there they were!
The spoon bill bird. I finally got to see them. A pink bird. Quite amazing. So different from all the other birds. We are in South Carolina where I finally got to see these. I thought I would have to go to Florida to see them.
Savannah National Wildlife Refuge
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
My Second Favorite Bird – The Great Blue Heron photographed in South Carolina at a National Wildlife Refuge
My Second Favorite Bird Have a great week ahead
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Birds – Starting to see some birds other than the blue jays from home.
First the Double Crested Cormorant known for those striking blue eyes. One of these days I would like to get a close up photo of this birds eye. So unique.
The Little Killdeer bird. Always fun to see in the spring time.
But very fast birds, it was very hard to get a shot of this one flying.
This photo below was from last spring, just cute as is. Two goslings.
Birds
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
The white pelican is a majestic marvel of nature, embodying a blend of grace, power, and beauty in its wingspan. As it spreads its wings, the sheer expanse is nothing short of breathtaking. With a wingspan that can reach up to nine feet, the white pelican commands the sky. Its presence is almost regal.
The beauty of the white pelican’s wingspan is remarkable. The contrast of its pristine white feathers against the vast sky accentuates this beauty even more.
As sunlight filters through the feathers, they can shimmer with a soft, iridescent glow. When the pelican soars, it casts a striking silhouette against the horizon. Its wings form a dramatic, sweeping arc. This captures the eye.
A Majestic Marvel of Nature
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
He Sticks the Landing, nothing prettier than watching a pelican land on water. My favorite bird to photograph.
He Sticks the Landing
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
