Phil Lanoue Photography

They’re Back!

Well…technically I don’t believe it is our previous pink visitors who have returned, I suspect these two juvenile spoonbills that appeared in the salt marsh yesterday afternoon were new arrivals and not part of the group of five we had last week.

These two appeared to be somewhat older then the other two youngsters from last week. Comparing photos of each it seems that this pair from yesterday are developing some facial and head colorations that last week’s younger ones did not have. Although these two still have yet to develop the adult red colored eye, their age in general appears a bit more advanced then the juvies from last week.

The last time I saw any of our first spoonies was the one I photographed in the heavy rain Tuesday. We still hope those original spoonbills return at some point but in the meantime we were quite pleased to see this pair out feeding in the salt marsh along with their wood stork and ibis buddies yesterday!

Anhinga Fly And Fish

Recently I grabbed these shots of an anhinga as it flew past the tree line and then swooped down looking for a spot to land along the edge of the marsh pond. Once settled in and satisfied with his base of operations, the anhinga hopped into the water and did what he does best…spearing a fish dinner!

Dropping In Unexpectedly…Part II

Here is the follow up to the post from earlier this week showing what happened after a juvenile spoonbill dropped into the salt marsh right next to an adult that was already in there feeding…

At first I thought the adult was happy to see the young spoonie, but it quickly became apparent that the older bird was in no mood to share his hot fishing spot with the upstart youngster. The juvie was chased on several occasions just to make the message clear, but eventually they both settled down and seemed to mostly get along.

Notice how much more pale pink in color the juvenile is compared to the adult who also has the adult red eye while the youngster’s eyes are still dark. Also you can see how the color and vibrancy of the birds change as the late evening sun goes in and out.

“There Has To Be A Fish In There Somewhere…”

Lately the marsh pond has become inundated with widgeon grass, which is a submerged plant that is able to grow and thrive in brackish water. This aquatic plant provides a habitat in which many small invertebrates can grow, which in turn provide food for birds and alligators, that’s the good part. However, the grass can also cause fits for some of the wading birds who invariably come up with a beak full of grass along with their fish. This morning we saw a tricolored heron in exactly that predicament. The bird got his fish but needed to hold on to the fish as it separated out the grass and dropped it back into the water while keeping control of the small wriggling fish.

Morning Activity

So…the rain of the past few days has blown by and it’s once again a beautiful day here so I thought I would head out this morning to see if I could track down our visiting spoonbills. Well, I hope the inclement weather has not upset them because I saw no spoonies. Zero. Their wood stork pals who they often hang around with were everywhere but no sign of the pink goofballs.

So making do with what I did see, here is an anhinga fishing and big bubba giving me a bit of an attitude from the side of the marsh. I plan to check back later this evening and hope I can spot some spoonies…

Spoonie Is Not Happy

This morning I took advantage of what I thought was a break in the rain we’ve been getting pummelled with for the past two days and went over to the salt marsh to check out a spoonbill that was feeding there along with some wood storks. For the first few minutes everything was fine and the spoonbill was feeding happily. Then the rain started again and it really came down hard this time! When I last saw our pink friend he was just standing there looking rather disgusted with the whole situation.

I also took a few seconds of video so you could see how it was really pouring…

Dropping In Unexpectedly

Yesterday evening we were watching this adult spoonbill who, along with a snowy egret, was quietly picking around in the salt marsh at low tide. Suddenly we saw both spoonie and snowball whip their heads up with the spoonie widely opening his yap. Quickly we realized what caused them to get so alert, another spoonbill, this one a youngster had just come swooping in to join the party. At first we thought the adult spoonbill was all excited because he was happy to see the juvie show up. But in a short time we would discover that “happy” may not have been at all the feeling of our pink friend.

What happened later is a post for another day…

“Is It Safe To Come Out?”

Remembering the lessons his mom taught him back when he was a little tyke, Mr. A knows to always look both ways before walking out into a roadway. So he carefully ducks his head under a guardrail and takes a quick peek at the conditions before venturing out. Satisfied that all looks to be safe he takes a slow stroll across on his way to the salt marsh where a weekend night of fun awaits. It takes a bit of work to climb over the rocks along the side but once down in the salt mud at low tide it’s all good for our friend!