Hilton Head & Savannah NWR, South Carolina 2/8-13/16

All photos are © Marshall Faintich

February 9

The weather changed today. The high was 45 degrees combined with 20 to 30 mph winds. It was a 40 mile drive to the Savannah National Wildlife Reserve, but that site held the best chance of seeing my target birds. It was still in the 30s when I arrived, but the sun was shining. I stopped first a short way into the NWR at a pair of canals, as there had been postings of some of my target brids there. I saw lots of Ameican Coots, and some other interesting birds, but most of the smaller birds were hunkered down to stay out of the wind.


Juvenile White Ibises


Common Gallinules


Great Blue Heron

A short time later, considerable cloud cover moved in, and I drove down the road and stopped at the photo blind. This was a small building with a door at the entrance, and wooden shutters on the other three sides that slid open. I entered and closed the door behind me, and opened the opposite window shutter. To my amazement, a bobcat was only about 10 feet in front of the window. It stopped, looked at me, made a couple of soft meows from behind some reeds, and then walked right up to the window to see who I was. Althoug I live in an area where there are lots of bobcats, I had never seen one before, much less photographed one, and this wildlife species was one of my highest photo objectives.


Bobcat


Bobcat


Bobcat


Bobcat


Bobcat


Bobcat


Bobcat


Bobcat


Bobcat

The sun was in and out of the clouds the rest of the day, and I made two trips around the four-mile wildlife drive at the NWR.


Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher


Swamp Sparrow


Tricolored Heron

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