A Young Mr. Cranky?!?
Earlier this week I was watching a juvenile spoonbill and white ibis feeding together in the salt marsh and they seemed to be getting along just fine. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, the spoonbill just reached over and snapped at the leg of the ibis! The ibis appeared quite startled by this unprovoked act and quickly moved over and got out of the spoonie’s way. The spoonbill however went right back to feeding as if the whole thing never happened.
This immediately reminded me of a certain other grumpy individual who has been well known to nip at another bird’s tail or leg with no provocation. So could this be a future Mr. Cranky in the making?! I plan to keep a very close eye on this young upstart. 🙂
Phil Lanoue Photography 
Grumpy Jr.
Ha ha yes, I think so!
The HBSP needs another Mr Grumpy to fill in when needed….
I guess this youngster is in training to be the part time fill in for our regular cranky pants spoonbill. That way the adult MC can take the occasional vacation.
Cute photos.
Thanks for checking them out.
LOL…now that wasn’t nice 🙂 Great captures.
Heh heh, no it was not nice. 🙂 These guys are always up to something.
Definitely a chip off the old block, Phil. Imagine if we went around nipping at people’s legs! 😯 Great series of pics again.
The person in front of me at the grocery store today was taking way long and being a pain, but I did not nip at their legs much as I wanted to. 😀
I’m pleased to hear that you manage to control your urges so well. 😆
🙂 ! Interesting tale ! Nice shots , as usual !
Well done , Phil !
utham
Thanks utham, so glad you enjoyed these!
You really think that swamp is big enough for two of them?
There is a lot of space out there that could easily accommodate hundreds of birds but still two can’t get along.
Goof Heads.. 🙂
E’ proprio dispettosa questa spatola!!! 😀
Foto magnifiche come sempre caro Phil.
Ciao, Pat
Grazie Pat!
Very nice and cute shots Phil. I was in hospital for 7 days and could not answer your posts.
Thank you Jan and sorry to hear you were in hospital, hope all is well now.
You never get bored, Phil :D. Nice to read your ongoing tales 🙂 Beautifully caught!
There is almost always something going on out there to keep me watching Paula!
I’m thrilled you enjoyed this series!
He learned well from the master! And like usual, you were on the shutter at the right time.
He must have been paying close attention and taking notes from the head crank before he flew off for the season. Might be next June or July before I see the original Mr. Cranky again.
Oh my goodness! What a great capture, regardless of his crankiness!
Has Mr Cranky been breeding this summer?!
I wonder if spoonbills think of the occasional nip as encouragement, like patting a football player’s uh, rear.
How rude! 🙂 I don’t mean to laugh, but I laughed so hard when I saw Baby Cranky biting that ibis’s leg! It’s interesting how the young ‘un spoonbill’s look.
Could this possibly be a relative of Mr. Cranky? Or worse yet, offspring?!
Could it be that this spoonbill behavior is not as uncommon as we might wish?! And great photos, as always.