Fishing Clinic

Yesterday afternoon in the salt marsh we saw something that looked rather unusual. At first glance it definitely looked like a great blue heron, but we hadn’t seen one with this much orange and rust coloration before. It had to be a juvenile as that color pattern is characteristic of an adolescent great blue. But the juvies we normally see look approximately the same as the adults…a little smaller, thinner and often a lighter shade of blue and grey. This guy really stood out with those orange “accent” colors!

But what made him even MORE interesting was how skilled he was at catching fish! We saw him catch several when nearby adult great blues were coming up empty. So he might have been a youngster, but he was putting on a fishing clinic that a few of the old timers would do well to pay close attention to!

35 thoughts on “Fishing Clinic”

Molly Argo on October 13, 2012 at 11:33 am said:

What a beauty he is!! Your photos, as usual, leave me catching my breath!

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- Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 5:00 pm said:
  
  Well I really appreciate that Molly! Thanks so much. 😀
  
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meyer23 on October 13, 2012 at 11:49 am said:

Wow. Pretty cool. A really cool study.

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- Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 5:00 pm said:
  
  Thanks I’m happy you liked the pics!
  
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Chillbrook on October 13, 2012 at 12:21 pm said:

A beautiful bird. Great shots phil, I love the sequence, it shows so clearly how much effort is involved.

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- Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 5:02 pm said:
  
  Thank you for the kind words, and yes they do put a lot of work into feeding time!
  What’s amazing is I have been set up on one for an hour and with fish all over and they never catch even one. So I guess it’s harder then it looks. 😛
  
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lylekrahn on October 13, 2012 at 12:56 pm said:

It really is amazing. If I didn’t know better, it would be hard to believe a bird could snag elusive fish that way. Very nice.

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- Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 5:03 pm said:
  
  It never fails to amaze me how they do it but they sure do!
  Thanks!
  
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Paula on October 13, 2012 at 1:09 pm said:

I wonder how long do you have to wait to catch scenes like this one :). This bird has quite an appetite 😉

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- Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 5:05 pm said:
  
  You never know…I could walk up and a bird could be grabbing fish all over the place. Or I could wait around and never see it catch a thing. But I get to go home and eat what I want, they have to stay out there as long as it takes if they are hungry.
  
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  - Paula on October 13, 2012 at 5:10 pm said:
    
    😀 Good point Phil 🙂 It is always a treat to look at your “catches”
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 7:07 pm said:
      
      I really appreciate your interest Paula! 🙂
      
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      - Paula on October 14, 2012 at 4:33 am said:
        
        Glad to hear that Phil 🙂 It is my pleasure you know 🙂
        
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Angelia Sims on October 13, 2012 at 1:41 pm said:

He’s a growing boy. 🙂

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- Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 5:06 pm said:
  
  He sure is and if he keeps eating like I saw yesterday he will grow up to be a BIG boy! 😀
  
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orofiorentino on October 13, 2012 at 3:32 pm said:

It really is amazing…Orofiorentino

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- Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 5:09 pm said:
  
  Grazie per guardare le mie foto
  
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mike585 on October 13, 2012 at 4:55 pm said:

An excellent set, Phil. 🙂

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- Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 5:09 pm said:
  
  Thanks Mike, appreciate it.
  
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theforagingphotographer on October 13, 2012 at 5:14 pm said:

What beautiful shots Mike, I thought he looked like a purple heron, but I’m not sure you have those over there?

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- Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 7:09 pm said:
  
  Thanks much Lucy, but I’m Phil not Mike. 🙂
  No we do not have the purple heron in our area here. Thanks a lot for checking out these pics!
  
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Bella Remy Photography on October 13, 2012 at 6:26 pm said:

I LOVE the shot with his head in the water. Bet his elders were quite jealous.

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- Phil Lanoue on October 13, 2012 at 7:09 pm said:
  
  Glad you liked the pics!
  Well they sure should have been jealous, he was putting them all to shame. We saw a few adults catch nothing.
  
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crazytraintotinkytown on October 14, 2012 at 5:22 am said:

And I bet he doesn’t exaggerate about the size of the fish he catches

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- Phil Lanoue on October 14, 2012 at 12:05 pm said:
  
  Ha ha, you are right, he might not. Especially with the skill this boy has. 😀
  
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thehappyhugger on October 14, 2012 at 10:57 am said:

Yours pics are so clear, fabulous!

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- Phil Lanoue on October 14, 2012 at 12:05 pm said:
  
  Thanks for your visit and kind comments!
  
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adinparadise on October 15, 2012 at 3:16 am said:

Wonderful photos, Phil. Do you ever go home? 😆

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- Phil Lanoue on October 15, 2012 at 12:08 pm said:
  
  Thanks much for your kind words! I do occassionally stop by home to feed the cats. 😛 😀
  
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  - adinparadise on October 15, 2012 at 12:20 pm said:
    
    Just as I suspected. 😆
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on October 15, 2012 at 1:13 pm said:
      
      Well if kitty is not happy nobody has a good day. 😮
      
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starlaschat on October 15, 2012 at 12:43 pm said:

Great photos! :+) I think he was very focused and determined on getting lots of fish.

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- Phil Lanoue on October 15, 2012 at 1:14 pm said:
  
  Thanks for checking these out!
  For a youngster, he looked far more experienced then the adults. He was doing quite well for himself.
  
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Rexlin Victor on October 15, 2012 at 11:14 pm said:

Nice Pictures…..

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- Phil Lanoue on October 16, 2012 at 8:23 am said:
  
  Thanks, glad you like them.
  
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