The Pelican Parade
This morning a quartet of white pelicans were doing a slow glide through the water at the far back edge of the marsh pond. I watched and waited for the formation to come floating in front of a large group of wood storks that were preening there at the pond’s edge.
In the first photo you can also see a spoonbill joining the storks in a bit of a morning feather touch up. The wood storks seemed to be mostly ignoring the procession as the pelicans paraded by, but in the second photo two storks appeared to be acknowledging the pelicans with a wings up salute which I’m sure was greatly appreciated. Notice also the pink marsh mallow flowers in the background which of course always serve to wonderfully accent the pink color of the spoonbills.
Oh and I know what most of you are thinking…these are nice enough pictures but what about Mr. A, what was he doing during the parade? Well not to worry, our pal was hanging with me on the near side of the pond with the rest of the cool group. 😉 😀
Phil Lanoue Photography 
My absolute first digital camera outing with the original Rebel dslr got me into all this photography trouble as I took several pictures which I loved. One was a picture of Sanibel Light from a little rented skiff..who knew a pic from a boat would turn out ok? My other favourite was taken on a little spit of land in the middle of Matlacha Pass in the late afternoon. A bunch of White Pelicans were congregated and I was so excited to see them. Naturally they all flew off. So we pretended to leave and floated off and when they clustered on the island, we snuck back and I got some really cute pictures at the time. Love to do that again with my more current camera!! Those darned white pelicans started the whole thing!!
Enjoy these pictures of yours for the layers of pelicans, wood storks, and those pink flowers..nice scene.
Well, the gator too!!
That’s great Judy, I enjoyed hearing that and it’s quite similar to my own experience getting really more involved with nature photography. Except in my case the dopey spoonbills started it all! Back in 2009 we had a group of 11 show up which was a first and I immediately thought I need to get the best photos I can of these big pink goofballs. 🙂 It just escalated from there!
So I’m glad you liked these photos including of course the star of the show, Mr. A!
Wonderful shots Phil.
Hey thanks very much Jan!
So much fun!
It was fun and there were no bugs out this morning which is a great thing right there! 🙂
Everyone loves a parade…even Mr. A. I imagine the two of you and the rest of the cool folks were kicked back with your iced coffees and a bagel enjoying the procession. Mr. A in high key is lookin’ good.
We often talk about how we could really use snacks and beverages out there. In the mornings I almost always bring along some coffee but perhaps a full breakfast just might be perfect. Although…not sure what effect the smell of sizzling bacon would have on Mr. A! 😯
I dunno – it looks like a pretty cool group on the other side …
Oh they are OK I suppose but I suspect they think they are too ‘good’ for us regular folks on the other side of the tracks, uh I mean the pond. 🙂
🙂
That almost borders on too much of a good thing! You lucky devil, you! 😉
It was quite a group out there for sure and I believe they enjoy their wild flower garden area. 🙂
The layering effect works well, Phil. And no rain on your parade. Very fortunate.
No rain, but it has been hot, it’s right back to being summer which I suppose is the best time for a parade. 🙂
I like the layering too. Especially with the backdrop of flowers. Beautiful images.
I think that crowd has really been enjoying their wild flower area. They end up there almost every morning and evening lately. Glad you liked these photos.
What lovely pictures, Phil! The reflections add to the whole overview so beautifully!
Thank you very much Maggie, so wonderful to have you back and as always I greatly appreciate your kind comments!
Without Mr.Alligator, I can’t imagine any place now 🙂
Beautiful parade… Do you know you are writing poetry of this area with your camera…. Thank you dear Phil, love, nia
Mr. Alligator has kind of got to the point where he feels he should be included in all activities and photos of those.
Thank you so much Nia!
The parade is really worth seeing and I understand, that Mr. A. looks quite and friendly: With You he had also nice company! ▲
It was a very nice parade and I’m sure Mr. A enjoyed my company but he looked kind of hungry. I was hoping he would catch something tasty for breakfast!
But not your legs. Right?! 😉
I hope not.
Erm, scary when you are reading our minds. Regarding the flotilla, mini-Fantasia springs to mind.
Heh heh well I try to do my best to anticipate what folks might enjoy seeing. 😀
It was a fun and interesting flotilla to observe for sure!
They were there for you, Phil! Thank you for the beautiful parade post, Wow!
It was a good thing I showed up when I did because I checked the paper and there was no notice regarding the time and date of the parade. They need better public announcements.
Thanks very much Amy!
Fantastic photos Phil, I love those lines!
Thank you very much Lucy, I’m thrilled you enjoyed these!
Never knew that woodstorks were such big fans of parades! Learn something new every day. 🙂
Isn’t that the truth?! I didn’t realize that either! It’s hard to tell though if they were really enjoying the parade and having a great time or not. The wood storks don’t say a heck of a lot.
You really are hogging all the birds up there, Phil. We only have three on our lake. Please send some down. 🙂 Fabulous shots.
Well we have been really thrilled this summer with the spoonbills. We counted 11 at one time which tied a record for us set in 2009, but lately there have been six staying fairly steady which is still great. The past few summers we had only a few and they might stay for a day or two then leave. The GBHs are starting to come back in as well, and our bald eagle pair can be spotted in far off trees and I wait for some close fly bys. Hope your bird situation improves Sylvia and as always I appreciate your interest and support. 🙂