Feeding Frenzy!
Yesterday afternoon as the tide started to come in at the salt marsh it brought fish in with it. The fish brought in wood storks and egrets with the wood storks arriving in great numbers which immediately prompted a feeding frenzy to break out among them!
The storks were going crazy chasing the schools of fish coming in with the tide and chasing each other. Occasionally one of the storks would snag a good sized mullet and it would fly off from the herd to, hopefully, be able to consume it’s prize catch unmolested by other storks. Although they are quite large birds, I rarely see a wood stork with a big fish, but they were sure happily snatching them up yesterday.
When the whole herd decided it was time to move off down the marsh I can tell you that the sight and sound of well over 100 huge wood storks flying together 20 feet from me was an amazing experience!
Phil Lanoue Photography 
Non sono molto belle queste cicogne, le ho sempre immaginate più carine, ma le foto sono bellissime 🙂
Le cicogne sono grezzi da guardare vicino. Ma sono bei volantini 🙂
Grazie Pat!
I can feel the action in your photos! Truly survival of the fittest here, and the guy with the camera gets the last word!!
There was a lot of action out there for sure Deb and I was happy to be there to see it!
Thanks for looking!
Wonderful shots Phil.
Thank you Jan I appreciate that.
I snagged a good sized mullet once. Not a happy biker, I can tell you.
I imagine the sound of all those stork wings beating must have been loud and impressive. I’ve been in fields with large gatherings of geese and that can be loud….both the cackling and the takeoff. They all seem to be getting along splendidly. Very nice group photos, Phil.
Thanks very much Steve. Those wings made an incredibly loud sound when they all took off it was quite a sight too.
They were getting along surprisingly well considering they were all competing for the same fish. The snowys on the other hand spent most of the time squabbling as usual. 🙂
Look at all those woodstorks!! Cool on many levels!!
I had a good crowd out there, must have been 120 or more. Thanks so much Judy!
I believe immediately, that that was an incredible backdrop! Until then, it was probably a “battle of the cold buffet ‘, hm? 😛
It was a nice backdrop and indeed the cold buffet was the menu of the day. 😀
Awesome, Phil! I can almost hear them.
They made a heck of a racket Gracie, thanks for looking!
I understand the sentiment behind the feeding frenzy. Great shots.
Sort of the same thing we might see at one of our local Myrtle Beach all you can eat buffets. 🙂
Glad you liked the pics!
Lovely, Phil! I can only imagine the cacophonous sounds you experienced!
Thanks a million! So glad you liked these wood storks and yes the sound of feeding and fussing as well as takeoff was quite amazing. 🙂
You’re welcome. We don’t have wood storks here, nor spoonies, so I am living vicariously through your lens, it would seem!
Well I’m glad I am able to present some different and unique wildlife for you to view. 🙂
Wow what a bonanza of wood storks. It is a pretty amazing sight. Love your photos.
It was a wood stork palooza! 😀 Thanks very much for checking these out and I appreciate your kind comments!
Amazing photos! Reminds me of what the everglades probably looked like 50 years ago. They are beautiful birds in the air.
Glad you liked these photos! Up close they have a face only a mother could love but they are quite elegant flyers. 🙂
Love the photos! Wood storks are so graceful and beautiful! At least I think so.
Well I think they might be a bit more attractive when viewed from a distance such as when in the air. But they do have a certain charm I will admit. Thanks for looking!
Now that’s a lot of wood stork! I like the close ups but the fish don’t seem very happy.
We had a huge group out there and I went back the next day and there was no repeat of this behavior, so I was glad I was able to grab it while it was happening.
There were very many unlucky fish in the marsh for sure.
Those woodstorks had to step carefully around all those oysters! Great shootin’!
Yes there were stumbling and tumbling all over and around the oysters as well as each other. It was every stork for itself!
Not much to say except “wow”! I think the closest thing I’ve heard to what you describe is a covey of quail taking off as they’re flushed from out of the brush. Quite startling when you’re not expecting it.
It is an amazing sight to have a huge group of huge birds fly close and low like that, the wing flap sound was quite loud!
Thanks!
Great pics.
Thanks I appreciate you checking them out.
Amazing, how lucky are you to see all this every day
I never get tired of watching nature in action, and it continues to surprise and delight.
Love the egret photo-bomb in the 5th picture. So typical…
Oh absolutely, you can always count on one of those wise guy egrets to pull something.
Glad you noticed that. 🙂
Great captures, Phil. Those wood storks got really lucky…….the fish, not so much. 🙂
No the fish had a very rough afternoon for sure Sylvia. I can not imagine what it would be like to have a mob of over 100 of these huge birds looking to eat you. 😯
Amazing captures! I like the composition of the second one.
Thank you Amy, I really appreciate your kind comments!
Wow! Great shots! It’s not often you see that many storks together. At least not in Florida. You caught the details perfectly.
We have fairly large numbers of the wood storks in our area now but more often they are standing around in a group, it’s not too often we get the whole feeding frenzy like this. They were on a large school of fish.
Thanks I’m glad you liked these pics!
Wow you once again had some great day yesterday. Never thought I would be a fan of a woodstork but you have
changed my mind. I now can see the beauty in them with your photos.
Well they may not be much to look at up close but they are wonderful flyers and can be interesting to watch in action.
Wow, a magnificent sight!
Thanks for checking these out Karen and glad you like them!
So striking, the white against the mud and water!