Bird Portraits

 

Tricolored Heron (Egretta tricolor). Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida 

Birds are hard to photograph.  Many are small, actively moving and distant.  But sometimes, in some places, you can get close looks and even closeup photos, bird portraits.  

Great Egret (Ardea alba). Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida.

The most striking feature in bird portraits is usually the eyes.  Different species have a different look to their eyes.  Herons and egrets have keen, piercing eyes.  They are eyes of vicious predators that weigh only a few pounds.  Pigeons have the eyes of prey, constantly looking for their predators that can come from any direction.  

White Ibis (Eudocimus albus). Wakodahatchee Wetlands. 
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Rock Pigeon (Columba livia). Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major). Wakodahatchee Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Another feature that stands out in portraits of birds is the beak.  The beak is made of the protein keratin, the same structural element in hair, hooves and claws.  Keratin allows the beak to be strong and light.  Beaks take on some of the functions of teeth in other animals.  Of course, the birds of today do not have teeth.  These were lost in evolution to cut down of weight and allow flight. Nostrils are located on the beak and are mostly is used for breathing.  The sense of smell is greatly reduced in birds. They lost the olfactory lobes of the brain in another weight saving adaption for flight.  

Double-crested Cormorant (Nanopterum auritum) Wakodahatchee Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Double-crested Cormorant. Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach, Florida. 

Great Egret. Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Tricolored Heron. Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Juvenile Wood Stork (Mycteria americana). Wakodahatchee Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida.  

Limpkin (Aramus guarauna). Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Most mammals have obvious external ears. But even in a closeup view of a bird head the ears are not visible.  Birds have hidden ears, covered by feathers.  Despite the feather covering, birds have an excellent sense of hearing. They use this fine-tuned sense to communicate with each other, and to detect predators or prey.   

American Coot (Fulica americana). Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Tricolored Heron. Wakodahatchee Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). Paynes Prairie.
Alachua County, Florida. 

Feathers are the defining feature of birds.  They are made of keratin, the same protein the makes up the beak.  Feathers cover most of the bird and have many functions including flight, insulation and mating display.  The color of feathers ranges from deepest black to pure white and all colors in between.  Sometimes the feathers are iridescent and flash with color as the angle of light changes. Some birds have a cryptic feather pattern that acts as perfect camouflage.  

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga). Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis). Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Green Heron (Butorides virescens). Wakodahatchee Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis). Wakodahatchee Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Juvenile Cattle Egret. Wakodahatchee Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus). Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

These images were made at refuges in Florida where people and birds tolerate each other.  This allows  close interactions that do not stress the birds.  Birds are so much like us, and so different.  Getting a chance to see birds at close range is real gift.  

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps). Green Cay Wetlands.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

 

Achlorophyllous Plants

Indian Pipes (Monotropa uniflora). This cluster of achlorophyllous plants
is pushing through the leaves in early summer.  
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

When I think of plants I think green.  But there are some plants that never turn green because they do not make chlorophyll.  They are achlorophyllous.  Achlorophyllous plants come in a wide range of colors from white, to yellow, to pink but they all share a common feature.  Since they do not make chlorophyll they cannot carry out photosynthesis.  These plants have to get their organic nutrients from another source.  

How do these plants get their nutrients?  It was long thought that some achlorophyllous plants were saprotrophs, absorbing their nutrients from decaying organic material in the soil. It is now known they actually get nutrients from fungi.  The fungi are in a symbiotic relationship with a photosynthetic plant, often a tree.  The tree provides organic nutrients to the fungus and the fungus transfers water and inorganic nutrients to the tree so both benefit. Our achlorophyllous plant parasitizes the fungus for nutrients without providing a benefit to the fungus.  This type of nutrition is called mycohetertropy.  But not all achlorophyllous plants are mycoheterotrophs.  Some directly parasitize a photosynthetic plant by penetrating the root or stem and stealing nutrients.

Indian Pipes turning black after flowering.
Blue Ridge Parkway, Watauga County, North Carolina. 

Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora) is a mycoheterotroph in the Ericaceae, the same family as Azalea and Blueberry.  This widespread plant is found in North America, South America and Asia. Another common name for Monotropa uniflora is Ghost Plant because the whole plant is ghostly white.  Indian Pipe often grows under beech trees where its fungal host is associated with the beech. The Indian Pipe plant is 4-8 inches tall with a nodding flower and small leaves. Highly reduced leaves are a feature of many achlorophyllous plants because they do not carry out photosynthesis and do not need a large leaf area.  After flowering the Indian Pipe stem and leaves turn black. 

Dodder (Cuscuta sp.) in flower.  The host plant is Muscadine (Vitis sp.)
Jackson Park, Henderson County, North Carolina. 

A truly bizarre parasitic achlorophyllous plant is Dodder (Cuscuta sp). Dodder is in the same family as Morning Glory (Convolvulus sp.) and has thin yellow stems that drape over its host plant like colorful spaghetti.  The leaves of Dodder are reduced to minute scales on the stem.  There are more than 100 species of Dodder with the highest diversity in the tropics.  Dodder in North Carolina is represented by 8-10 species and they all are annuals growing from seed each spring.  The Dodder seedling locates its host by detecting volatile organic molecules its host releases. The seedling then grows over the surface of the host and invades the stem to extract nutrients.  Dodder parasitizes a number of crops and causes significant economic damage.  Dodder has a number of other interesting common names like; Witch’s Hair, Love Vine and Devil’s Guts. 

Dodder growing on Sand Live Oak (Quercus geminata).
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

A large stand of Dodder draping over Sand Live Oak.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Beechdrops (Epiphagus virginiana) is classified in the Family Orobanchaceae and is a parasite on American Beech (Fagus grandifolia).  The genus for Beechdrops is from the Greek “epi” meaning on and the scientific name of American Beech, Fagus. The specific name virginiana came from where the first specimen was described but this plant is found throughout eastern North America.  Beechdrops directly parasitizes the roots of American Beech and extracts nutrients. Beechdrops have a brown stem sporting tiny scale-like leaves. Beechdrops make light purple flowers that appear in summer. 

 

Beechdrops in flower.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Conopholis americana, Cancer Root, is another member of the Orobanchaceae.  Like Beechdrops, Cancer Root directly parasitizes trees, in this case Oaks (Quercus sp.).  Cancer Root has medical properties and can be made into an astringent tea used to treat bleeding and menopausal symptoms.  Ironically, this plant is not used to treat cancer.  An obsolete, racist common name for this plant is Squaw Root.  Another common name for this parasite is Bear Corn because it is reported to be a favorite food of bears awakening from hibernation.   

Cancer Root (Conopholis americana).
Blue Ridge Parkway, Watauga County, North Carolina. 

Corallorhiza, is a genus of mycoheterotrophic orchid with 11 species in North America.  The common name Coral Root comes from its branched, underground stem that resembles coral.  Corallorhiza has greatly reduced leaves like many of the achlorophyllous plants and a reddish-brown stem.  Wasp pollinated purple flowers are borne on the pink stem.  

Western Coral Root (Corallorhiza mertensiana).
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon.  

Closeup of Western Coral Root with flower buds
that are about to open.
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. 

Flower of Western Coral Root.
Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. 

I think achlorophyllous plants are interesting because they have taken a different path from other plants.  Despite their lack of chlorophyll, they are all closely related to plants which can do photosynthesis.  Achlorophyllous plants have highly reduced leaves and their chloroplasts have lost many of the genes for photosynthesis.  Achlorophyllous plants are a fascinating slice of life’s rich diversity. 

A Walk to the Jetty

 

Birdwatching on the jetty at 
Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina.

Huntington Beach State Park is a natural gem tucked among the beach houses, condos, t-shirt shops and golf courses (miniature and full-sized) on the South Carolina coast.  The park has salt marshes, freshwater ponds, maritime forest, the ruins of a grand house and a wide, wild beach.  The north end of the island is bounded by Murrells Inlet and the inlet is protected by two stone jetties.

Paved path on the jetty.
Photo courtesy of Ms. Malia Kline. 

We have been visiting Huntington Beach for many years and the highlight of any trip there is a walk to the jetty at Murrells Inlet. It is about a mile and a half to the jetty and there is so much to see along the way. The best time to do the jetty walk is early morning.  As the sun sneaks over the horizon, warm light bathes the beach. 

 

Birders on the beach at sunrise.

Walking toward the jetty.

The jetty is visible on the horizon at the right.

Birds are a major attraction when going to the jetty and we often go with a dedicated group of birders.  In fall and winter, ducks and loons are on the ocean and in the inlet.  Terns and gulls abound, wheeling overhead and taking their food from the sea or the beach. 

A male Black Scoter (Melanitta americana) bobbing in the surf next to the Jetty.
 

Common Loon (Gavia immer) in winter plumage.  

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis).
 

Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) at the jetty. 

Large flocks of Black Skimmers (Rynchops niger) loaf on the sandbars inside the inlet.  These relatives of terns are black and white with a long bill.  That bill is a defining feature of Black Skimmers.  The lower mandible is longer than the upper mandible.   When feeding, Black Skimmers fly just above the  water, cutting the surface with their beaks.  If the lower mandible hits a small sea creature, the bill snaps closed and the Skimmer has a meal. 

Black Skimmers (Rynchops niger), Royal Terns (Thalasseus maximus),
Caspian Terns (Hydropogne caspia), and Sandwich Terns (Thalasseus sandvicensis)
 resting on a sandbar. 

 

Black Skimmers over Murrells Inlet. 

Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria intrepes) pick their way along the rocks of the jetty looking for invertebrate prey.  Their hunting strategy is to turn over small rocks and shells.  Ruddy Turnstones have a distinct black and white pattern on the face and breast, orange legs and the namesake ruddy feathers on the back.  The winter version of this plumage is a little less dramatic but there is no mistaking a Ruddy Turnstone.  

Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria intrepes).

Sandpipers and plovers walk the sand probing for food. Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) are large (for plovers) and in winter have lost their black belly feathers. Sanderlings (Calidris alba) are small sandpipers, that in winter are a dapper gray and white.  They tirelessly run up and down the beach like a windup toy, following the breaking waves seeking small crustaceans washed in by the surf.  

Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola). 

Sanderlings (Calidris alba) at sunrise. 

Semipalmated Plovers (Charadrius semipalmatus) and Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) are seen both on the beach and dunes on the way to jetty.  These two birds are not closely related but are of a similar size and they both have small webs between their toes, giving them their Semipalmated name.

Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla). 

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus).

A large sandpiper on this beach is the Willet (Tringa semiplamata).  Willets are gray and white in fall and winter.  When Willets fly, they say their name “Pee-will-willet” and show flashes of black and white on their wings. 

Willet (Tringa semipalmata).

At the base of the jetty there is a small saltmarsh and in winter Saltmarsh Sparrows (Ammospiza caudacuta) live there.  These elusive sparrows jump up on the stems of marsh grass and even on the rocks to give us short looks.  

Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta).

Brown Pelicans (Pelicanus occidentalis) fish the Atlantic and inlet while raptors, including Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) and Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), soar by on their hunting trips. Skeins of Double-crested Cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) cross from marsh to sea on their travels. 

Brown Pelican (Pelicanus occidentalis).

Ospery (Pandion hailaetus).

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

Double-crested Cormorants (Nannopterum auritum) over the beach.

A walk to the Jetty at Huntington Beach is always rewarding.  The sun, the light, the sand, the water and the birds make this trek a wonderous experience.  

Walking the beach with masks during COVID.