Phil Lanoue Photography
I previously worked as a news and sports photographer. Recently I have been enjoying wildlife photography. My approach toward bird photos is similar to sports photography. I attempt to capture mostly action and hopefully a unique perspective.
Big Blue Coming In
A Great Blue Heron last night came flying in just above the reeds in the salt marsh at sunset. He took a left turn in front of me, then continued on down the marsh for one last bit of fishing before it got too dark.
Separate Arrivals
Last night we had three young spoonbills show up in the salt marsh but they each arrived separately. You can see how the light changed as each spoonie flew in. When the first one arrived the lighting had a typical early evening look, less harsh than afternoon but still a bit cool. When the second one showed up the sun had gone down more and was beginning to pick up some evening warmth. By the time the last one arrived it was just prior to sunset with the setting sunlight really warming the entire scene with a golden glow.
After arriving, the trio posed for a quick group portrait, then got right down to the business of feeding! At this point the sun had mostly gone down giving the marsh a cooler look with a more blue color temperature. The three spoonies were now in shadow but you can see how the last bit of setting sunlight was still reflecting some red and gold off of the water.
Late Evening Skim
Last night this black skimmer swooped in and made one fast pass across the marsh pond and then was gone as quickly as he arrived…
Little Blue Heron
Earlier this month I spotted this little blue heron gliding across the salt marsh. The late afternoon sun gave a nice warm glow to the reeds in the background.
“Hey, Nice Splash!”
An alligator this past weekend was having some fun in the water jumping around and making a big splash! The fish however were not having near as much fun…
Shrimp On The Run
Yesterday evening we were watching this spoonbill feeding in the salt marsh between the oyster beds. A favorite food of the spoonbills are these tiny transparent glass shrimp that are often brought in with the tide. At one point spoonie got into a whole mess of the shrimp and they reacted by jumping out of the water and away from the pink predator. The spoonbill had the shrimp on the run and spoonie was on the chase as he followed them along the shallow water gobbling them up as he ran!
“Those Little Things Are SO Annoying!”
This is the bald eagle from last week that some of you may remember seeing jumping off from the pine tree and flying off across the marsh. Prior to him leaving however, he was buzzed and annoyed by a persistent pair of mockingbirds that just would not leave the poor eagle alone. I don’t know if they had a nest nearby, but the mockingbirds kept pestering the eagle who tried at first to ignore the little birds but the tiny mockingbirds were determined to give the bald eagle a hard time.
In the first three photos you can see one of the mockingbirds perching on branches next to the eagle and in photo #3 it pecked the eagle on the head. In photos 4 and 5 you can see the pair buzzing around the eagle which definitely further annoyed him so he decided to move over to a different section of the tree as can be seen in photos 6 and 7. That tactic failed to produce the desired effect as in photo 8 the mockingbird can be seen perched right above the eagle’s head. The exasperated bald eagle voiced his displeasure before finally leaving the area entirely which was the theme of last week’s post. 🙂
“What Are You Looking at?!?”
Looking at this alligator and egret from last week…I’m not sure if the egret can’t believe what he is seeing or if the alligator can’t believe this goofy egret is giving him the close up hard stare.
Both, however, seem surprised to be almost nose to beak though. 🙂
Phil Lanoue Photography 