Phil Lanoue Photography

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!

Spoonbills!!

Here are some flight shots of our pink visitors, the roseate spoonbills! The first four are from yesterday evening and the last four were taken this morning. We continue to be thrilled to have these amazing birds spending time in our marsh area and hope they stay all summer, and if we are very fortunate they may have some friends stop by in the coming weeks!

Group Portrait

I mentioned previously how excited we were that our favorite pink visitors, the roseate spoonbills, arrived in our area this week. At first only one showed up, followed by a second one two days later, and then last night three more came making the total five. We found the group out in the salt marsh this afternoon and I thought I would post up a quick group shot for you all to check out. Everyone here is thrilled!

The Fish Were Flying!

Our pal Mr. Gator was really getting things all stirred up in the salt marsh last night, and by “things” I mean lots of small fish! They were busting out of the water all over the place as the big boy was lunging out, splashing down, and swallowing mouthfuls of the tasty treats. The fish did not have much hope for escape either, the alligator had them corralled in a shallow landlocked pool formed by the receding tide. It was close to total dark by the time we left and Mr. Alligator was still at it sloshing about gobbling up the hapless fish. I bet he slept well last night!

Evening Spoonbill Flight

As many of you know I am always excited by the arrival of roseate spoonbills to our marsh area. The spoonies are not normally a bird we see here, but for the past few years we have been lucky around this time to get a visit by one or more of these big pink goofy birds. Sunday night this one youngster showed up in the marsh along with a group of wood storks which is typical as the spoonbills generally hang around with the woodies. Monday night I went back again to search for this spoonie and did not see it with the wood storks and I suspected it was out in the salt marsh feeding and could potentially fly in soon to join his companions. After a while the spoonbill did indeed come flying in just as I hoped.. but unfortunately it flew in toward the setting sun making the bird severely upper back and side lit and the lighting less than ideal. In the first photo you can see spoonie has a great egret buddy in the background.

The current update is that our young spoonbill picked up a friend last night as a second, brighter pink and older individual came in to join the relatively pale colored youngster. So now we have two and the hope is that more will arrive in the coming weeks!

Alligator Out For An Evening Walk

This past weekend I noticed our old pal Mr. A poking his nose out from the edge of the marsh pond clearly with thoughts of taking a little walk. It didn’t totally surprise me that he wanted to take a pleasant Sunday stroll, but what I did find interesting was that he was dragging what appeared to be approximately ten pounds of pond weeds around with him. That had to have been quite a burden too because when he got to the other side of the roadway, he needed to lay his chin down for a brief rest before moving on. Once he made his way into the salt marsh though, all the weeds got washed away and he was free to enjoy a nice leisurely swim.