Photo:Engage

  “ I often wished I could capture and share the sudden moments of beauty that I would see around me."   - Caroline Mueller     It's been put many ways but we don't help our spouses as a nice-to-do, occasional thing. A marriage, or relationship, is best built as a complete partnership where both people, or birds in this case, work together selflessly for the good of the relationship or family. Nobody is doing a favor as both parties act without ego to help further the goals of the unit. As I wrote in my post on May 13, 2023...      Welcome back to Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge where the graceful great white egrets roost and rule. Both male and female egrets help with nest building. This elegant bird posed perfectly for me with a small stick in their beak as they prepared to fly back towards the rookery. I watched the whole congregation for a long time work on their nests together and care for their hatchlings. What a magnificent display and ...

  “ You just have to live and life will give you pictures. ”  - Henri Cartier-Bresson      From native American fishing grounds to colonial homestead to plantation worked by slaves to hunting retreat to wildlife refuge, Pinckney Island in lowcountry South Carolina has witnessed much in its recorded history. I shared some details in my post from January 14, 2023...      I’ve referred in my recent birding posts to the beauty of Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge. In this one, I thought I’d show you a view of the refuge itself. As you walk north along the main trail, off to your left past the marsh you will see Mackay Creek, a lovely blue sliver of water that also separates the South Carolina mainland from the island of Hilton Head. The creek is named for Alexander Mackay, the first European to call Pinckney Island his home. The island was later sold to the famed Pinckney family, one of whom was a signer of the Constitution. After the Civil War...

  “ Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better. ”  - Albert Einstein     Do you think this precariously perched fellow has any idea that it’s National Bird Day today? Although he looks quite happy, many of his avian cousins are in dire straits.       According to Julia Jacobo reporting today for ABC News, “the majority of bird species in the U.S. face a grim future in coming decades if environmental efforts, such as mitigating climate change and decreasing habitat degradation and loss, are not implemented on a larger scale.”      She notes that, “birds face human-induced threats, such as climate change, disruption of natural systems, habitat loss, poaching, poisoning, outdoor cats, collisions into glass windows and the severe decline of bug populations, which many bird species feed on, according to experts.”      So maybe keep your cat inside and don’t worry about cleaning your windows. Avoid...

  “ I almost never set out to photograph a landscape, nor do I think of my camera as a mean of recording a mountain or an animal unless I absolutely need a 'record shot.' My first thought is always of light. ”  - Galen Rowell     I was surprised by how bright the birds were in the afternoon sun. Their white feathers reflected so much light that my camera consistently overexposed them unless I took great pains to meter directly on their gleaming bodies. Of course, this darkened the background behind the birds, but I think it resulted in a beautiful look to the image. See for yourself as I share what happened in my post dated December 3, 2022...  Although my visit started with a gross underestimation of how far I would be hiking in the South Carolina lowcountry heat and humidity, I was also cursed with the hubris of ignoring the large sign warning me to bring drinking water as there would be none available inside the refuge. After walking a long way...