Liftoff!

This morning I was surprised to see a brown pelican fishing in the marsh pond. Must mean colder weather is on the way, which will surely result in our last remaining pair of spoonbills leaving us any day now to make their way south for the winter.

55 thoughts on “Liftoff!”

Meta on November 10, 2013 at 4:12 pm said:

Marvelous sequence. Your photos are so clear through out.
What speed settings do you use?

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- Phil Lanoue on November 10, 2013 at 5:18 pm said:
  
  Thanks very much, I appreciate it!
  These were shot at 1/1250 second and all settings in Manual.
  
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  - Paula on November 11, 2013 at 3:37 am said:
    
    And what was the aperture? Do you use spot metering?
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 5:53 pm said:
      
      Aperture for these was 7.1 which is a typical bird setting for me.
      I don’t really pay any attention to metering I mostly just guess. 🙂 Seriously.
      
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      - Paula on November 11, 2013 at 5:57 pm said:
        
        and how far were you?
        
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        Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 6:09 pm said:
        
        I don’t know exactly. I remember wishing they were closer. These were a crop so they were not on top of me. But that can be good sometimes too, I get body parts way too often, and I don’t even use a huge big lens.
        
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        Paula on November 11, 2013 at 6:10 pm said:
        
        🙂
        
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hihowsyou25 on November 10, 2013 at 4:14 pm said:

wonderful bird, great action shots and great blog !

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- Phil Lanoue on November 10, 2013 at 5:18 pm said:
  
  I greatly appreciate you stopping by and thanks for the kind words!
  
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Patrizia M. on November 10, 2013 at 4:24 pm said:

E tu come sempre non ti sei lasciato scappare l’occasione e hai scattato delle foto fantastiche, stupende!!!!

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- Phil Lanoue on November 10, 2013 at 5:19 pm said:
  
  Io cerco di fare del mio meglio là fuori e qualche volta ho fortuna. 😀
  Grazie Pat!
  
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foxleylady on November 10, 2013 at 4:27 pm said:

What lovely markings for a bird with a dull name! Love the sequence of shots here, Phil!

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- Phil Lanoue on November 10, 2013 at 5:20 pm said:
  
  Thanks a million Maggie, I’m happy you stopped by to check out the morning pelican!
  
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Lyle Krahn on November 10, 2013 at 4:30 pm said:

Those are great flight shots. I particularly like that second one – I think it’s the fact that everything is stretched out. You should have set up a pool for the date of the last spoonie sighting and given away huge prizes to everyone who participated:)

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- Phil Lanoue on November 10, 2013 at 5:24 pm said:
  
  I’m glad to hear you liked these pelican shots.
  Hey! Great idea about the spoonie pool! Huge prizes are a must!
  I’m going to set up a live web cam over there to give me an edge. Ya know, jus in case. 🙂
  Oh, and although you didn’t ask…I know you were wondering how the alligators were doing with the cooler weather coming in. I saw Big Bubba today and he looked really good. He floated right over to me. What a great guy!
  
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  - Lyle Krahn on November 10, 2013 at 8:39 pm said:
    
    Ahem … if you are giving out the prizes, you shouldn’t advertise that you trying to cheat to win them:)
    
    Oh yes and thanks for helping me remember what I was thinking about Bubba. Good to know they are still around so that you keeps you around.
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 5:56 pm said:
      
      I guess I will never be a criminal mastermind. Giving away my sneaky secrets in advance is not very wise, I see that now.
      I knew you would be thinking about BB. I just knew it.
      
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Dina on November 10, 2013 at 4:43 pm said:

Wonderful captures! Bravo, Phil! I wish I could do stretches like this. 🙂

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- Phil Lanoue on November 10, 2013 at 5:26 pm said:
  
  Thanks so much Dina, I’m thrilled you enjoyed these pelican pics! These guys are nice flyers and can have some dramatic takeoffs, but when they hit the water while fishing they look like they were just tossed out of a moving vehicle. Rather inelegant I’m afraid.
  
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  - Dina on November 10, 2013 at 5:30 pm said:
    
    They’re absolutely adorable! 🙂 Thanks for letting us taking part in a world so different to ours.
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on November 10, 2013 at 5:40 pm said:
      
      It’s so good to know you like seeing and learning about the different types of wildlife we have in our area.
      BTW…I saw White Pelicans last week! They are larger then brown pelicans and fish differently.
      Photos of them will be coming soon… 🙂
      
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photographybycalliec on November 10, 2013 at 5:32 pm said:

Just magic Phil a great series of the pelican, I just love your work INCREDIBLE!!!,are all your pelicans brown?
cheers Callie

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- Phil Lanoue on November 10, 2013 at 5:43 pm said:
  
  Thank you so much Callie, really glad you enjoyed these pelican photos and I appreciate your kind comments.
  The brown pelican is a fairly common bird here especially along the coast. We can often see groups of them flying low over the ocean just out past the breakers, occasionally stopping to fish. But… last week I did see a group of American White Pelicans fly over the marsh. These birds are huge and uncommon here along the SC coast.
  I’ll post photos of the white pelicans soon.
  
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  - photographybycalliec on November 10, 2013 at 5:45 pm said:
    
    thanks for the info, we have black and white pelicans but never seen the brown ones.
    
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    - Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 5:57 pm said:
      
      I saw some American White Pelicans last week. I’ll probably post a few photos of those guys soon.
      
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edithlevyphotography on November 10, 2013 at 6:09 pm said:

Wow…fantastic shots.

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 5:57 pm said:
  
  Thanks a bunch Edith!
  
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Gunta on November 10, 2013 at 6:56 pm said:

Your images never cease to amaze me. Lovely to see the takeoff in stop action. The water action is marvelous to see, too.

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 5:57 pm said:
  
  I’m very happy you enjoyed these, thanks for checking them out!
  
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vastlycurious.com on November 10, 2013 at 8:31 pm said:

I can hear them flapping! Such a remarkable sound and your photos enlightened my senses!

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 5:58 pm said:
  
  They are good size bird and when flying close those wings displace a lot of air. Thanks much!
  
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  - vastlycurious.com on November 11, 2013 at 7:01 pm said:
    
    My pleasure!
    
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Steve Gingold on November 10, 2013 at 9:11 pm said:

Each and every one of these is super, Phil. The last two are really excellent. You are so fortunate to see these birds much of the year.

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 6:00 pm said:
  
  Thanks a million for the kind words, Steve! It’s funny how I rarely pay much attention to them at the beach (which is only a few hundred yards away from the marsh) but when they come into the pond I’m all over them. 🙂
  
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adinparadise on November 10, 2013 at 10:34 pm said:

Great photos of the pelican, Phil. I hope your spoonies come down to my back yard for the winter. 🙂

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 6:01 pm said:
  
  Start looking for them soon Sylvia. I did see one this morning but we have very cold weather coming in tomorrow so I expect whatever ones we still have around here will be leaving shortly.
  
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  - adinparadise on November 11, 2013 at 9:34 pm said:
    
    Will keep my eyes open, as usual. 🙂
    
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Garden Walk Garden Talk on November 11, 2013 at 1:37 am said:

Excellent images, Phil. I never saw a pelican in nature and hope to one day. Just too south of us here.

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 6:02 pm said:
  
  These birds are big and goofy but I like them. I saw American White Pelicans last week and I’ll try to post photos of those guys soon. They are HUGE!
  
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janmasyn on November 11, 2013 at 2:14 am said:

Absolutely wonderful, devine light to. This is nature photography at its best.

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 6:02 pm said:
  
  I greatly appreciate your kind words Jan, thank you.
  
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niasunset on November 11, 2013 at 9:27 am said:

Amazing photographs…. I wanted to be a bird… 🙂 So beautiful. Thank you dear Phil, love, nia

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 6:03 pm said:
  
  Thank you so much Nia and yes you are right, being a bird would be fun! 🙂
  
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The Dancing Rider on November 11, 2013 at 10:34 am said:

I love the pelican. He looks so greaceful the way you captured him. And the detail/sharpness is amazing.

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 6:04 pm said:
  
  They mostly only look graceful in flight. When you see one hit the water it looks like it was just tossed from a moving vehicle. Rather indelicate I’m afraid. 🙂
  Thanks for checking these out!
  
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monisertel on November 11, 2013 at 1:52 pm said:

Hello Phil,
your series is simply brilliant, love it all!
Have a nice day
moni

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 6:04 pm said:
  
  Thank you so much moni I greatly appreciate that!
  
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meyer23 on November 11, 2013 at 2:55 pm said:

Fantastic captures of this lift-off. 🙂

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 6:05 pm said:
  
  Thanks a million! Glad you liked them.
  
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Cowboys and Crossbones on November 11, 2013 at 6:00 pm said:

I can just imagine the sounds being made as you took these photos. Love!

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- Phil Lanoue on November 11, 2013 at 6:06 pm said:
  
  Those big wings can displace a lot of air for sure. And hey! I know you were wondering about the alligators! I saw two yesterday! Good for November. Gonna get cold tomorrow though so that could be it for them and the spoonies. 😦
  
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  - Cowboys and Crossbones on November 11, 2013 at 6:20 pm said:
    
    Bummer! I was wondering about my gators!
    
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drawandshoot on November 12, 2013 at 9:32 am said:

This is beautiful series. I love the warm reflections (looks like autumn!) in the background, that pelican really stands out. Very artistic.

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jonimarcy on November 12, 2013 at 1:44 pm said:

Beautiful shots! I was also out there Wednesday and got a shot of the brown pelican but nothing like these! It was my first time using a new lens with my cannon rebel – prime 300mm with a 1.4 converter. I’ve not had one good flight shot yet – any advise?

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pixelspielerei on November 13, 2013 at 9:09 am said:

I Love Pelicans! Your photos are again enchanting, dear Phil! ▲

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