Pretty in Pink

What a beauty! And the bonus is the perfumed air.

I'll Be Back

The sunflower seeds aren't ready, but this goldfinch is checking out the prospects for a future meal.

Red Winged Blackbird

The marsh grasses are the summer home of the red winged blackbirds. You can find them perched on the reeds or atop a cyprus. Egrets beware ... the red winged will attack if the nest is nearby.

Practice makes Perfect

A young fish hawk pumps his wings in preparation for that first flight. Sometimes they lift off the nest as they flap. What a feeling that must be!

Greetings from Waterlily

The narrow causeway that takes you onto the island is always full of life, and the colors are always changing. In the summer it fills with waterlilies, giving evidence to the name of this community.

Tiger Burning Bright

Title Borrowed from William Blake's poem "The Tiger." This Tiger Swallowtail spent part of his day visiting my lilies. The daylily burns as bright as the butterfly.

Beautiful Lady Blue

The female Bluebird: her colors are a pastel version of the brilliant male. Here she is in one of my Live Oaks.

Father Goose

Well I'm guessing of course, hard to tell between the sexes of Canada Goose. But he is always there, either front of the line or rear, guarding the brood all along.

The Newest Fish Hawks

We "host" an osprey nest in the sound. A pair has held the nest for many years. Last year was their first success with two chicks raised. This year there are three chicks! You can only see two in this photo. One is already well-fed and huddled down in the nest. With the birds at this size, the feeding event can last over two hours.

Little Blue Heron

I rarely see this heron. The whites and larger blues are readily seen. The Green Heron always nests nearby. This beauty was on the causeway in May and stood out among all the white herons and egrets.

A Little Something Sweet

The bell shaped flowers of the agapanthus are a favorite of Orchard Oriole. While they are blooming he visits throughout the day to get a little bit of nectar.

Boo!

Here's a great beetle bug I spotted yesterday. Kind of scary at first, but interesting. Those big spots are not eyes; you are supposed to think they are eyes and then you'll back away. That's the idea anyway. It's about 2 1/2 inches long and the real eyes are just below the antennae.

Barn Swallow , Summer Resident

Every year these flyers take up residence on the pier. They nest in the open boat house or sometimes under the pier. It's a small investigation to find the nest and a pleasure to watch the babies come along. Some years the swallows are aggressive in protecting their space, sweeping at us as we walk along the pier. This year they are downright friendly, watching us watching them.

Oh, those blue eyes!

A common sight around here, cormorants. Flying, swimming, drying off like dracula. At a distance, distinctive by shape but up close you get a look at those eyes.

Hippeastrum

I call it amaryllis, hippeastrum just doesn't roll off the tongue for me. I love the flower when it's at this point, looking like a costume from Cirque du Soleil.

First Post from Faune

Hello! I'm Faune of the Etsy Shop Lesfaunes. I design and create fiber art handbags and often include my photography in the design.

Here I will share more of my nature photography, talk about new art projects and life around my North Carolina island home.

I'll start you off with a cute baby bluebird and his very own worm from this week in my yard.