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.
Morning Mood
Early on a recent morning I decided to look in on (or in this case, look down on) our pal Mr. A to see what kind of mood he might be in first thing in the morning. I could not tell for sure from this angle, but I thought he may be just a bit grumpy. He didn’t seem to be in the mood to socialize and I suspect that could be because he didn’t have his morning coffee yet. If that’s the case, then he’s just like me…I’m generally not in the mood for too much bright and early chit chat.
Morning Flight
I realized I may have been neglecting my favorite bird the great blue heron by not posting any photos of them yet this month. So I thought these two recent photos of this handsome heron would be appropriate for a Monday to start off our week.
In the first photo you can see it flying across the marsh pond with the trees along the side reflecting green in the water. By the time the great blue begins his descent, he has arrived in a clear portion of the pond where only the light grey sky is reflected in the water. The great blue heron is one of our larger wading birds and may appear a bit gangly when walking, but they are quite elegant flyers.
The Fish Were Jumping Last Night
Yesterday evening I only had a few minutes to spare so I took a quick trip over to see if anything was going on in the marsh. Well Mr. Alligator was in the salt marsh at low tide and he really had everything all stirred up! He had the small fish and the tiny glass shrimp jumping (for their lives) all over the place. Even though most of his dinner consisted of this small marine life, if he scoops up enough large mouthfuls he gets full.
When I was leaving he had calmed down, (which meant the entire area was calmed down) and he was giving me this cute innocent little face which might have worked except I saw what he had been up to!
Evening In The Marsh
Yesterday evening we had our resident dysfunctional loner spoonbill Mr. Cranky Pants feeding in the salt marsh by himself. We saw four or five other spoonbills fly over, but none stopped once they saw who was down there. I guess they decided it’s easier to just avoid their grumpy friend altogether. He did manage to get along OK with a wood stork, so it looks like it’s mostly members of his own species that he has issues with. In any case though, I’m happy he is sticking around. I’m thinking the other spoonbills…not so happy. In the last photo he’s flying off to roost for the night, back lit by setting sunlight.
I Thought Something (Or Someone) Was Hiding In There
Last week while walking along the edge of the marsh pond I noticed this suspicious looking dark shape in among the weeds. I had an idea of what, or who, it would turn out to be and sure enough…within a few minutes who do I see come walking out with a sneaky grin on his face?!? Of course it’s our old pal Mr. A once again taking a pleasant little afternoon stroll over to the salt marsh likely with visions of nice crunchy crabs dancing in his head. 🙂
Calm Before The Storm
Things have been a little slow the past couple of days so yesterday afternoon when we went over to the salt marsh we were hoping to see some birds out and about. We quickly saw one bird who is impossible to miss, it turned out to be our resident cranky pants spoonbill. We always know right away it’s Mr. Grumpy because he is a brighter, deeper pink in color, and has the red eyes and greenish head which is typical of an adult spoonbill. He is the oldest of the small group of spoonbills we have been seeing this summer and apparently he feels that entitles him to be head spoonbill in charge, as well as head crank of the marsh.
When we arrived he was feeding by himself which was no surprise since he does not generally play well with others. He put on his full cute routine for us, stopping to pose a few times as he went about his business feeding in the marsh during low tide. As the tide was coming in we could tell it was bringing in lots of small fish and shrimp which the spoonbills love but that also attracted other birds. We thought perhaps Mr. Grumpy was in a particularly good mood due to the abundance of available food, so he got along just fine with an egret and an ibis who also showed up to feed.
The good mood was not to last long however… we saw a young spoonbill come flying in from out in the marsh and Mr. Cranky quickly saw it too. As the new arrival came in for a landing you can see in the seventh photo down how he was immediately irritated and started yapping and complaining before the younger bird even had a chance to land. What happened next was vintage Mr. Grumpy behavior. He went right for his signature move which involves a bite to the tail of the bird he doesn’t like, followed by a chase off attempt. Interestingly though, the lure of a potential big meal with all the fish and shrimp being in the area seemed to be enough to get cranky pants settled down, and he stopped bothering the youngster. Plus you have to give credit to the juvie for deciding he was not going to be pushed around and chased away from a jackpot food source so he just went right back to feeding and ignored the grump.
As the tide starts to really come in, the water gets too deep for the wading birds and so it’s time to fly off to the far back edge of the pond where they can stand around and nap in the shallow water there. As the two fly away, note once again how the older spoonbill has a much deeper color than the youngster.
It Must Be Love
So what is love? Maybe having someone to goof around with and just be silly? Maybe having a mate with a good sense of humor that appreciates your jokes? It could be that special someone who is happy to give you a nice place to rest your head? It may be someone that is just like you, who really enjoys having you around all the time to share life’s adventures.
In any case, when I was watching a bunch of wood storks in a pine tree last week these two stood out. I quickly realized they were not fussing and arguing with each other as is typical wood stork behavior when everyone is trying to get the best branch. This pair were clearly in love…
Eagle In The Afternoon
Sunday afternoon I spotted this bald eagle standing in a pine tree along side the marsh area. I suspected it would not sit still in that tree for very long and I was right, within just a few minutes it jumped out and was gone. I was all set to grab some shots as it took off from the tree, but unfortunately the eagle banked hard to the right and after getting this third shot my only view was the back of it’s wings and it’s white rump. I was glad to have the opportunity to see this magnificent bird regardless of whether I got flight shots or not because any day you see a wild bald eagle out in nature is a good day. 🙂
Phil Lanoue Photography 