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.
Where’s Mom?
We saw this tiny baby alligator in the swamp this morning all alone by itself, no mom in sight. The little tyke had a forlorn look on his face as if he was thinking… “Mom left me, so now what am I supposed to do?!?”
No Competition
Earlier this week the salt marsh was active with many species of wading birds feeding at low tide, including this spoonbill and great blue heron. While the spoonie was very busy moving his spatula shaped bill back and forth through the water in search of food, the heron plucked himself out a nice fish.
If there had been an egret or another blue heron next to him there might have been an issue over who got to eat that fish. But…in this case the spoonbill simply ignored the great blue and it’s catch and continued on hunting for tiny shrimp. Although I have seen spoonbills eat very small fish, they are no competition for a heron and a fish like this, so they can all get along just fine during their evening meal!
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!
Phil Lanoue Photography 