As a boy growing up in the Midwest I’d never have dreamed of seeing a Blad Eagle in the wild. This majestic species was hovering on the edge of extinction. With that memory strongly held in my mind I always get an extra feeling of pleasure and surprise when I come across an eagle in Eastern North Carolina. In the last year I’ve enjoyed a few sightings around the Croatan National Forest and along some of the rivers and streams that form its borders. Sighting two together in a single tree, well that’s a first for me in this part of the state. The following aren’t my best photos by any means. They didn’t stick around long and the sun wasn’t in an optimal position. Never the less, they are special to me because of what they are and what they reprsent. I hope you’ll enjoy them too.

Cahooque Creek is just a few miles from my back door step and makes a for a nice little paddle when the winds are up or the tides aren’t right for exploring the area’s estuarine environments. It’s not the best paddle location for wildlife photos but occassionally you get lucky. Recently I got lucky. On my last two visits I came across a Green Heron. These little herons aren’t seen in abundance in these parts so it was a treat to see and photograph one. In fact this is the first “Greenie” I’ve had the pleasure to photograph.

The Green Heron can be found throughout the eastern United States during the summer. It is a year round resident of Central America and the northern end of South America. This small heron is unique in that it is one of the few tool using birds. It drops bait onto the surface of the water then grabs small fish that are attracted. Baits and lures used by this cleaver bird include various insects, worms, twigs, and feathers. These birds breed in swampy thickets, foraging in marshes, along creeks and the edges of ponds and lakes.

The semipalmated Plover is a small bird somewhat resembling a Killdeer. Eating insects, worms and crustaceans, these birds seach for food along beaches and on tidal flats. These photos were made near Beaufort Inlet in late June, 2010.

I rolled out of bed early this morning with a solid plan for some nature photography on Carrot Island. I’d launch the boat at Fisherman’s Park, Front and Gordon Streets in Beaufort, and make the forty-five second paddle across the creek to beach my kayak. I’d then go on foot to photograph some of the island’s feral horses. Whether your shooting an event, portraits or making like a nature photojournalist, it’s always best to have a working plan for your shoot. However, you also need to be willing to shift gears and abandon the plan if circumstances dictate. It’s extremely easy to get locked into a plan and miss other opportunities. As fate would have it, this morning was one of those days where the game plan fell through. Carrot Island is usually the perfect location to be to photograph some horse but this time they were nowhere to be found. Apparently they were all on one of the other sections of the reserve.

Very early into my hike I spotted a pretty little red fox out playing on the dunes. It’s not unusual for me to see foxes on this island, but usually as they slink off into cover trying to avoid me. This little guy was totally unawre I was there! Now foxes are one of my favorite wild animals. I’ve always been fascinated by them. Any time I see one I consider it a good day in nature. If I get to photograph it… well, that’s just about a perfect day! As the moring progressed it became painfully clear that I just wasn’t going to get any horse photos. But I didn’t let that spoil my day. I already had some fox shots “in the can,” and there’s always plenty of photographic possibilities to be found on the island. I shot wildflowers, birds and even landscape while exploring the island in search of wild horses.

Mention the term “wild horses” and most people will think of Mustangs, cowboys and the Old West. But there is an even older herd living on North Carolina’s barrier islands. To be honest, calling them “wild horses” isn’t exactly accurate. Both the Banker Horses and their western cousins are actually feral animals… descendents of once domestic livestock. While the horses of Corolla, Oakracoke and Shackleford Banks have been in place for a few hundred years, the herd living in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve have only been on those islands since the 1940s. Some “locals” suggest that the animals swam over from Shackleford, thier origin can most likely be attributed to a doctor that kept a few horses on Carrot Island in 40′s. Upon his death the horses were left to fend for themselves.

While I usually use my kayak to explore along the shoreline of the islands locate within the reserve, this morning I beached the boat and went for a hike in search of the horses. I put in at Fisherman’s Park, Front St. and Gordon St. and paddled east to the cut-through that splits the island in two. After beaching my kayak I walked in until I found one of the obvious horse paths, then followed that west until I found several of the animals. I found about a dozen of the horses in one area and greatly enjoyed watching and photographing them.

If you haven’t noticed my kayak has become one of my favorite tools for taking photographs of birds. There’s really only one reason for this recently discovered love affair; the kayak gets you to where the birds are. Not only does it get you to the birds, the birds are more tolerant of a water approach than they are of a land approach. Shooing shore birds from a kayak also has another advantage, you’re pretty much guaranteed a shot taken on the birds eye-level. You can look through my recent image postings and see lots of examples of this wonderful, low perspective.

The kayak can also be used to get you where the action is. That action might be birds in flight, birds diving into the water to snag a meal, or birds perched and/or nesting above the water. It’s not just for photographing wading shore birds. This morning I made a trip over to Rachel Carson Estuarine Reseve. I started out with plans to visit my favorite spots but planned a bit of a twist. My goal was to get a few images of birds in flight if possible. I also wanted to spend a little time concentrating on the Ospreys I’d observed around the reserve.

I luanched from the Lenoxville boat ramp just before 8:30 AM. This put me on the water near the end of high-slack tide. The water was absolutely glass smooth with no noticeable breeze to be found. I headed east to start out by visiting the Osprey nesting platform. The pair has been busy and the nest is starting to take shape. I then worked on along the sound-side edge of the reserve, stopping here and there to snap a few shots of shore birds. I then noticed some terns fishing the shallows and moved into position with the hope of getting some shots of them in flight. After working the terns for a while I continued on, photographing some more shore birds, then headed back towards the ramp. On my way back I noticed one of the Osprey perched in a dead tree, so stopped to take a few more shots of this majestic raptor.

While I captured plenty of nice, low shots of shore birds on this trip, I also managed some nice flight and high perched images. I thought I’d share some of these for a change of pace. Here’s an Osprey in flight, coming in for a landing… an Osprey perched… and a Forster’s Tern in flight. Hope you enjoy them.

A large North American shorebird, the Greater Yellow Legs is similar in appearence to the slightly smaller Lesser Yellowlegs. Adults have long, yellow legs (hence their name) and sport long dark bills that are slightly upcurved. The bill tends to be about 1 1/2 the length of the head with a lighter color near the base. In contrast the Lesser’s bill tends to be equal in length to the head and lacks the up turn and lighter colored base.

The Greater Yellowlegs is a migratory bird that travels south to both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the United States and South America. The bogs and marshes of Alaska and Canada’s boreal forest region are its breeding habitats. The female builds a ground nest where she lays three to four off-white eggs with brown markings. Both the male and female tends the eggs which take twenty-three to twenty-four days to incubate. The couple also shares feeding duties for the young.

The photos below were taken along the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve on an early spring afternoon. The birds were feeding in the shallow waters along the shore.

Sunday’s weather forecast was calling for an absolutely perfect day. Even though I early afternoon commitments that I couldn’t get out of there was no way I wasn’t going to get the kayak into the water. I arrived at the Lennoxville Road boat ramp around 9:30 AM. I wasn’t the only kayaker with the idea of enjoying some of this beautiful day on the water. There were two more folks getting ready to launch their boats with a third kayaker already in the water waiting on them. We exchanged pleasantries, they headed west on Taylor’s Creek. I headed east.

My float plan was to travel west along the inside edge of the reserve, navigate around the east end of the island then explore the sound side shore while paddling west. The weather was absolutely wonderful… blue skies and golden sunshine. The water was mirror-like calm with the only ripples being those caused by the forward motion of my kayak. Within a couple minutes I spied a couple of herons on the shore and carefully paddled towards them for a closer look. One was beautiful Little Blue Heron. The other a Tri-color Heron. Quite a treat indeed. I paddled slightly past them before moving in closer to shore, then allowed the current to move me nearer them for some photographs.

As I rounded the end of the island, paddling through the North River Channel, I looked up to see an Osprey pearched high atop a tree and eying my progress. The high sun angle bathed this large raptor in very harsh light, light that was not at all desireable for photography. Additionally, the angle from my boat. so close to the surface of the water, to his high perch was extreme and wouldn’t make for a very interesting shot. As such I just continued along my way with the hope of crossing paths with him again under more favorable conditions.

Paddling along the Southeast end of Carrot Island and moving towards Horse Island the shore line, if you can call it that, was largely marshland. As I paddled ahead I began to get a bit discouraged despite of the warm sun and fresh sea air. I just wasn’t encountering any kind of wildlife. As pleasant as paddling is, especially on such a fine spring day, it’s seeing wildlife that pleases me most. After a while a lagoon opened up and I could see Banker Horses feeding along the water’s edge. I navigated my kayak in closer for a look and to make some photographs. Now if you walk up towards a horse, even a very domesticated horse, the animal will tend to look up at you to see what you’re up to. These are feral horses, wild and free. You’d expect them to be even more suspecious. Yet my approach from the water caused them no alarm. Not a single horse raised it’s head to look at me! While its very cool how approachable animals are when paddling a kayak, a photo of one of the horses without it’s head down would’ve been pretty nice too.

Leaving the lagoon I continued paddling west along the the reserve. I really was hoping to find some American Oyster Catchers. But I was starting to wonder if I was going to find any. As thoughts of doubt ran through my mind I noticed a fairly large dark bird flying straight towards me. As it passed on my port side I immediately recognized it as an Oyster Catcher. My thoughts of doubt changed to excitement and anticipation. “I must be getting close!”

Ahead I noticed a small island with a large number of birds on it. On the shore beyond the little island of oyster shells I could see several Great Egrets and, beyond them a few Banker Horses. Moving closer I was astounded by the variety of birds sharing that one little patch of dry gound. Brown birds, black birds, white birds… feathered creatures large and small, there was certainly quite a gathering there. Among them several American Oyster Catchers. I paddled a bit up current and allowed my kayak to drift up against the island. The birds were surprisingly calm about my close proximity.

After getting my fill of photos of the birds on the little island I paddled over to get a few shots for the Great Egrets. Then I noticed a flock of Red-breasted Mergansers swimming nearby and paddled in their direction. Ducks tend to be quite nervous of people and rightly so. After all, they’re known for tasting good! These guys were certainly a bit nervous about my presence but as long as I allowed the wind and current to move me towards them, rather than paddling, I was able to get reasonbly close. In my mind this is a fairly exotic looking duck and I was pleased to be able to add a few images of the species to my collection.

Since it was nearly high tide and time was quickly sliding by I decided to see if I could cut through the shallow channel across the island rather than retracing my steps back the way I’d come. As it worked out it was no problem paddling through the channel to Taylor’s creek. However, I don’t think there’s anyway it could be done at low-tide. The short-cut reduced my return to the boat ramp by almost and hour from what I’d originally planned, leaving me a bit of extra time to get ready for my afternoon commitment.

I’m awe struck by the variety of birds I saw in this short, two-hour paddle. While I didn’t photograph every species of bird I saw I observed the following: Little Blue Heron, Tri-color Heron, Grackle, Osprey, American Oyster Catcher, Marbled Godwit, Dunlin, Willet, Lesser Tern, Black-bellied Plover, Great Egret, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, and White Ibis. Truth be told I probably forgot a few! The abundance of birds to be seen along the Crystal Coast in the spring is simply astounding. Well worth the effort of exploring the area by kayak.

I’d planned on going paddling Thursday morning but the weather forecast changed during the day Wednesday and it seemed I’d need to go that afternoon if I was going to get a kayak outing in at all. I put in at the boat ramp off Lennoxville Road, Beaufort, North Carolina with the goal of paddling along the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve in search of birds and Banks Ponies. I paddled across Taylor’s Creek and headed east along the edge of the island reserve. In my mind I was going to round the tip of the island and explore along the sound side a ways. However, as I started around the end I encountered a healthy bit of wind creating a side-to swell. Being fairly novice to kayaking and not feeling overly comfortable in that situation, I decided to turn back and just stick to exploring the Taylor’s Creek side.

Heading west I noticed something white in some trees on the Beaufort side of the creek. Straining my eyes to see a little clearer I realized it was an egret. While I couldn’t tell if it was a Snowy or a Great Egret I knew I wanted to paddle over to see if I could get a shot or two. As I approached I noticed a second bird in the same tree… a Black Crowned Night Heron! These are a bit unusual to encounter so I was a bit excited about the find. I positioned my boat up-current and allowed it to drift towards the birds as I snapped a few pictures. This seemed like the quietest way to approach them. After I drifted past I paddled back across the creek to explore along the island.

I came across a flock of White Ibis feeding along the shoreline. They really paid me no attention as I grounded my boat on the sand to provide a bit more stable shooting platform. The biggest issue I had was that there was a slight rise between me and most of the birds. I guess that’s one of those rare cases of being too low to get the shot I wanted.

Further down the island I decided to beach the boat to do a bit of exploring along a boardwalk that had been put in on the island. It lead back to on observation platform overlooking a mudflats area. It was around low tide, late in the afternoon. There was a plethora of birds on the flats… Willets, Ibis, Egrets, a pair of Common Mergansers, Terns… quite a sight to see. As I turned to head back to my boat I noticed a huge raccoon walking out of the brush along one of the horse paths on the island. I moved against the LH hand rail, where the overhaning branches of a Wax Myrtle would provide me with some cover, and started working forward to try and get a shot of the ‘coon. After a shot or two I noticed his attention diverted to my left… a blind spot from where I was. Next thing I knew a fox came barreling out of that area, straight at the raccoon. I’m not sure if the fox only rammed the ‘coon, or bit it, but there was definately a confrontation. About then they both recognized my presence and headed into the brush. I didn’t get a shot of the attack, but did get a shot of the fox heading for cover and the raccoon looking at me, seeming in shock, before running for cover. It’s always interesting to see these bits of drama in nature.

The Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve consists of a series of small islands and marshes located between historic Beaufort and Shackleford Banks. The area is separated from Beaufort by Taylor’s Creek, with Back Sound lying between the reserve and Shackleford Banks. The main site includes Town Marsh, Bird Shoals, Carrot Island and Horse Island. Combined the main site is approximately three miles in length and less than a mile in width. Off the east end of Carrot Island, across North River Channel, the reserve includes the Middle Marshes. The marshes are about two miles wide and, like the main site, less than a mile wide. The reserve is home to more than 200 species of birds, wild horses, as well as fox, raccoon, rabbit and river otter. Access is via boat. Local water taxis can provide transportation if needed. It is certainly an amazing resource for viewing wildlife.

When you think of ducks or egrets you tend to thing of somewhat wild, natural places. As someone that loves to observe and photograph wildlife I can promise you I spend most of my time looking for them on trails, along lakes and rivers, in the woods. But sometimes they show up in unexpected places. Below are three shots taken over the last few months. They all have one thing in common. The subjects were photographed in an urban setting.

The Great Egret was photographed in the Morehead City limits, along Highway 70 East. It wasn’t a lone bird that happened to find its self in town, it was one of a few dozen settling down in trees to roost for the evening. During the winter this particular spot always attracts a large number of the egrets that spend each night there. But they only roost there a couple of months each year.

The Hooded Merganser was photographed in Jacksonville, NC. This duck, actually a flock of several, were found along a busy 4 lane street in a storm water holding pond in front of a busy retail area. The funny thing about the day I found the Hoodies was that I’d spent the morning in a blind along a pond in a wooded area hoping for the chance to photograph a duck or two. Since I wasn’t far from Jacksonville I’d came into town to do a little shopping at a sporting goods store after my outing.

Finally the Mallard Duck was photographed inside the New Bern city limits. This is perhaps the least surprising of the series as it was found on the edge of a city park bounded by the Neuse River. Still, it wasn’t the most rustic of environments. The New Bern ducks are pretty well conditioned to human enteraction. Locals come to the area a toss bread and shell corn to the ducks. In addition to the ducks pigeons and gulls gather for handouts. In this case I’d had a meeting with a prospective client in New Bern and, knowing about the ducks, headed to the park afterwards to photograph them. It started raining heavily before I got there so I ended up sitting in the back of my mini-van with the hatch up to provide cover for my tripod and camera.

In all these photographs I’d been careful to hide anything that would clue a viewer that they’d been taken in urban settings. Thinking back… hindsight being twenty-twenty… including some of the urban-scape in the photos might have made them more interesting. Whether you live in the country, in suburbia or downtown if you keep your eyes open you might be surprised at how much nature is around you. Sometimes the best wildlife and nature experience is right there in your own backyard.