Phil Lanoue Photography

He’s At It Again!!

Well our cranky dysfunctional loner spoonbill was at it again yesterday in the salt marsh. (that’s him on the right) Mr. Grumpy was feeding at low tide when a group of six spoonbills suddenly came swooping in right at the spot where our anti-social pink friend was already feeding. He did not care for this unannounced intrusion at all and immediately attacked one of the new arrivals!

Mr. Grumpy leapt up in an airborne assault but he miscalculated as the enemy spoonie managed to grab hold of our disgruntled friend’s foot in mid air! This maneuver only served to further anger the cranky pink bird who proceeded to use that same foot to jam the head of his opponent down into the water. You can see that happen in photos five and six. The poor spoonbill was able to avoid being drowned as it quickly freed itself and bolted free of the entanglement with our aggressor still continuing his aggressive stance.

Well THAT Was Uncalled For…

This past weekend we were watching an adult spoonbill fishing in the salt marsh with a younger juvenile. At one point the older spoonie decides to grab at the youngster’s tail for no apparent reason that we could see. The little guy lurched forward, jumped, and managed to free his tail and then quickly went right back to fishing as if nothing happened. The older bird seemed satisfied that he got his message across and ultimately just went back to feeding. I suppose it might be part of growing up… the juvies know they are going to have to put up with a certain amount of harassment from the older crowd and have already learned that the best way to handle the abuse is to basically ignore it!

Evening Stroll

Yesterday evening I saw good old Mr. A sloshing his way across the salt marsh at low tide. I could tell just by looking at him he was not planning to stay there for the night and sure enough, a few minutes later he came lumbering up out of the marsh and took a nice little stroll over to the pond side!

Spoonbills Make A New Friend

Last night we were watching this pair of spoonbills feeding in the shallow water at low tide. It wasn’t long before our pal Mr. A showed up to join the party and proceeded to fish in the same spot as the spoonies. At first the two pink birds seemed a bit flustered and were not sure what to make of this new arrival. But, after a brief discussion, they apparently concluded that the alligator checked out OK so they went right back to fishing. Mr. A’s curiosity was also quickly satisfied since he simply turned around and went over to his little area to fish as well. More on that later…

Mama “Radar”?!

Last night everyone was thrilled to see five spoonbills working the salt marsh during low tide. We were also particularly happy to enjoy a special guest appearance by our favorite great egret “Radar”. As some of you might remember, Radar got his name because he has a transmitter pack attached to his back that has two antennas sticking out of it. He is supposed to be part of a study involving migratory habits of certain wading birds such as egrets.

Yesterday evening though, Radar was behaving more like a mother duck with the spoonbills as her ducklings. At one point Radar had them all lined up and led them over to the water. Eventually he, (Radar is actually a male egret) kept watch over the brood as they stayed in line and fed in the shallow water in the salt marsh.

I included the last photo with a closer view where, if you look carefully, you should be able to see the antennas sticking out from Radar’s back.

One Last Word…

Great Blue Herons can be vocal, very vocal. They often feel compelled to loudly announce both their arrivals and departures, and you can never miss that distinctive GBH squawk. Whether there is anyone nearby listening or not is basically irrelevant to this bird, I think he just likes to hear his own voice!

So late yesterday evening just as we were leaving the salt marsh area, I heard that familiar sound and turned just in time to see this blue heron arriving. I got these photos as he flew in low across the marsh reeds, proudly and boldly announcing his presence to any and all who may, or may not be around. He quieted down to make his touchdown landing and had a look on his face in that last photo like he was thinking to himself…”yup, nailed that one.”

The Pelican Parade

This morning a quartet of white pelicans were doing a slow glide through the water at the far back edge of the marsh pond. I watched and waited for the formation to come floating in front of a large group of wood storks that were preening there at the pond’s edge.

In the first photo you can also see a spoonbill joining the storks in a bit of a morning feather touch up. The wood storks seemed to be mostly ignoring the procession as the pelicans paraded by, but in the second photo two storks appeared to be acknowledging the pelicans with a wings up salute which I’m sure was greatly appreciated. Notice also the pink marsh mallow flowers in the background which of course always serve to wonderfully accent the pink color of the spoonbills.

Oh and I know what most of you are thinking…these are nice enough pictures but what about Mr. A, what was he doing during the parade? Well not to worry, our pal was hanging with me on the near side of the pond with the rest of the cool group. 😉 😀

Having Fun?

Last week I noticed this great egret rapidly diving down toward the water in the marsh pond. Egrets are wading birds, they don’t normally hunt by flying, swooping, or diving into the water to catch fish. But this bird did not seem to be fishing. In fact it didn’t even stop… the egret splashed around while still running and skipping at the water’s surface until finally lifting off again and flying away. It looked to me like it was simply having a good time and enjoying life! Of course having the ability to fly makes it all the more fun I’m sure. 🙂