No rain. So we hoofed it out to the ocean, and caught some pelicans, who have been showing up lately in greater numbers, doing their thing.
Here they head for a wave; they glide in the updraft created right in front of the wave.
Here the wave is starting to break up on them and they head over it towards the next wave.
There they go! Over the Wave…
Off towards the next one. Just beginning to take shape and always following the leader bird.
I have been concerned about this egret–I am pretty sure it’s an egret thought not snowy or not yet snowy–since it has been hanging out a lot all by itself next to the golf course. I thought possibly it was injured. But today I saw it in flight, so maybe it’s ok. They walk with great delicacy.
I think your last picture is of a great blue heron. Beautiful, exotic looking birds to me because they look so much like shore birds. However, they do populate (or have populated) our local Upstate Carolina lakes and streams, usually in pairs (I’m told, though I’ve never seen more than one at a time)and in widely separate areas. Seeing a great blue heron is a treasured moment for me. Some of my work mates consider them “ugly birds.” I saw one gliding over the Furman Lake yesterday as I headed out for lunch.
Oh, and pelicans have always been a favorite to watch while at the beach. They seem almost military in some of their fly-over maneuvers. I love to watch birds and shore birds in particular because I don’t often get the opportunity.
Rained here alot the last couple of days, took some pictures this afternoon during a break in the rain, http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinguru/