We've been notified that we'll be moving into the new building on Aug 10. Until then I'll be teleworking from Jackson, SC, so there will be lots of photos from Silver Bluff and Phinizy. Juvenile yellow-crowned night heron, Audubon's Silver Bluff Sanctuary, South Carolina. #birds #wildlifephotography

After the Evolution meeting in Cleveland, I had just a few hours free to explore the Cleveland Lakefront Nature Preserve on the shore of Lake Erie. This American goldfinch looks like I used some kind of filter, but it's just out of focus leaves. #birds #wildlifephotography

More Cooper. Because who doesn't need more Cooper. When he's not busy making barrels, buckets, tubs, troughs, and other products made of wooden staves, he enjoys agility training and cheese. But mostly cheese. #dogs

This is Cooper. He's super duper. #dogs

Eastern kingbird, McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area #birds #wildlifephotography

Six weeks after my first visit, I returned to McKee-Beshers Wildlife Managment Area, Maryland to see fledgling least bitterns. By this time, the cattails were so high it was difficult to find a gap to see through, but I did see some fuzzy-headed goofballs. #birds #wildlifephotography

Sanderling, Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware #birds #wildlifephotography

Dunlin, Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware #birds #wildlifephotography

Ruddy turnstone, Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware #birds #wildlifephotography

Red knots, Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware #birds #wildlifephotography

Piping plover, Cape Henlopen State Park, DE. The beach was surprisingly uncrowded, to the point that I had it to myself for long stretches. The birds were going to town on horseshoe crab eggs and not paying me much mind as long as I sat still, which I did, for hours. #birds #wildlifephotography

Least tern, Cape Henlopen State Park, Delaware #birds #wildlifephotography

Brown-headed nuthatch on the hike to the beach, Cape Henlopen State Park, DE. The first two days in Delaware were, TBH, great birding but kind of a bust for photography. Then I decided to see what was shaking in Cape Henlopen, which was a good decision. #birds #wildlifephotography

Shorebirds incoming: I took a long weekend at the end of May to visit Delaware for the horseshoe crab spawn and was not disappointed. First photo: semipalmated sandpiper, Slaughter Beach, DE. Second photo: absolute unit of a horseshoe crab (size 12 shoe for scale). #birds #wildlifephotography

Fork-tailed flycatcher, East Potomac Park, DC. Their normal range is from southern Mexico to Argentina, but vagrants are occasionally found much further north. The worn tailfeathers made this one look a lot like an eastern kingbird, which were also present. #birds #wildlifephotography

Sedge wren, Nine Springs Natural Area, Wisconsin #birds #wildlifephotography

Eastern wood pewee, Hoyt Park, Wisconsin #birds #wildlifephotography

Blackpoll warbler, Hoyt Park, Wisconsin #birds #wildlifephotography

In May, I was in Madison for the Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon) and took a couple of days of personal leave to go birding. Red-eyed vireo, Hoyt Park, Wisconsin #birds #wildlifephotography

Eastern bluebird, Pendleton King Park, Georgia #birds #wildlifephotography

Least bittern, Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Georgia #birds #wildlifephotography

I spent the end of April/beginning of May in South Carolina and visited some of my favorite spots, including Audubon's Silver Bluff Sanctuary, a hotspot for wood storks at the right time of year. I was too early, but I did see a mother wood duck with ducklings. #birds #wiildlifephotography

Eastern kingbird, McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, Maryland #birds #wildlifephotography

Least bitterns, McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, Maryland. This is the smallest species of heron in North America and one of the smallest in the world, not much bigger than a pigeon. Usually secretive, they love marshes with reeds and cattails. #birds #wildlifephotography

Unusually among herons, least bitterns have obvious sexual dimorphism. In adult females the back is mostly brown; in adult males, it is black. These two made a cute couple: every time one flew to another part of the marsh, the other reliably followed within a few minutes. #birds #wildlifephotography

In late April, I heard there were least bitterns in McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area in Maryland, so I headed up there. This was the last US heron I didn't have any good pictures of. It took some patience, but I finally got some good looks. #birds #wildlifephotography

Greater yellowlegs, Blackwater NWR, MD. This was the next morning (from the previous pics), and I had just settled in when a sudden storm blew in, with rain & 30+ mph winds, so I decided to head home. I really hate crossing the Bay Bridge (4 mi, ~380' high) in heavy wind. #birds #wildlifephotography

All this greater yellowlegs drama is not just harmless horseplay. Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland. #birds #wildlifephotography

I get real Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon vibes from that second photo: Greater yellowlegs, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland #birds #wildlifephotography

Greater yellowlegs, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland #birds #wildlifephotography