2019 Bird Portrait Contest honorable mentions

Photographer: Dianne Mumola

Location and date: Heron Rookery, Audubon Swamp Garden at the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston, South Carolina, March 23, 2016

Description: Living in Charleston affords me access to so many beautiful venues to photograph the birds of the Low Country. When I found out that the Heron Rookery at the Audubon Swamp Garden was in such proximity to my home, it became a destination that I visited many times over and at all seasons. The mating and breeding season for the egrets, herons, and other marsh birds in South Carolina begins in mid-winter, just after the first of the year. The gorgeous plumage and vivid color changes to the birds' lores during this time made for some spectacular photo opportunities.

It was mid-afternoon on this March day when I visited the rookery. One of those remarkable clear Carolina-blue-sky days. As it was rather late in the breeding season, most of the birds were already on the nest -- many with young chicks. I had chosen this time of day, mid-afternoon when the sun was beginning to get low in the sky, thus making it more conducive to capturing good images of the super-white Great Egrets that were the dominate nesting bird.

But as luck would have it, I found a tree by a pond that had at least four Anhinga nests...a real find! These birds tend to be a little more reclusive than the others in choosing their nesting spots. This one particular male Anhinga was out on a branch all alone, separate from his mate who was on the nest. He had been preening and was resting, giving me just the moment I needed to catch a shot of his gorgeous plumage along with the vivid green color of his lores, striking turquoise eye-ring, and his garnet colored eye. I knew immediately that this photo was truly a keeper!

Gear and Settings: Nikon Coolpix P510, f/5.9, 1/500s, 360mm. ISO 220, Handheld.