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.
A Visit To The Seafood Buffet
Yesterday evening I was watching this alligator that had gone over into the salt marsh in search of a meal. The alligators don’t live in salt water but they will visit on occasion if they get bored with the usual menu items available in the pond and swamp. The only thing I have never figured out was how do they know when it’s low tide in the salt marsh?
In any case, this guy must have had a craving for some fresh blue crab because he spent a good amount of time stalking around in there and did successfully find himself a few. He sure looks very satisfied and pleased with himself in that last photo, so clearly he was very happy with his evening dining choice!
He must have still been rather hungry though, because by the time I left it was dark and he was still sloshing around trying to stir up desert!
A Tale Of Two Ibis
I was happy to see a pair of juvenile white ibis feeding in the salt marsh at low tide yesterday evening. The ibis are always entertaining and amusing to watch as they confidently march about the area frequently stopping to pick around in and among the oyster beds with their long curved bills. The ibis typically feed on minnows, glass shrimp and small marine crustaceans such as these crabs. These are juvenile white ibis which you can tell by their brown and white mottled plumage, as they age they will turn into all white adults with bright blue eyes. These youngsters eyes are just starting to turn from brown into that blue.
Of course many of you are wondering if there were any alligators out last night. Yes indeed there were and I came very close to stepping on one’s nose. But that’s a story for another day!
Sunset At The Marsh
Yesterday evening prior to sunset we were watching this great blue heron fishing in the marsh pond. The sun was starting to go down and the heron was lit by the warm early evening light as he caught a fish. About half an hour later I went around to the other side of him and took this photo as he was silhouetted by the setting sun reflecting off the pond.
And I know what you are all thinking… wasn’t there any alligators floating around there in the warm evening light? Well of course there was!
“I Got One!!”
Yesterday evening just prior to sunset we were watching this black skimmer working the salt marsh doing his thing skimming in and around the reeds in hopes of coming up with a fish. The black skimmers are one of the only birds whose lower portion of it’s mouth is longer then the upper portion, and they use that extended lower section to ‘skim’ the water as their feeding technique. This one last night was super fast, swooping and darting about like a fighter jet on a mission. During one pass it was successful and snagged itself a small fish which it swallowed during mid air flight. It never fails to amaze me that they ever catch a fish as this method appears rather random, but catch fish they do and it’s exciting to see every time!
Stay tuned for another exciting episode of “Marsh Skimmer”…I’ll post more later this week!
Big Catch For Little Guy
For the past several days I noticed a young alligator lurking at the edge of the marsh pond in the same spot almost every time. It’s only about a four footer and I figured it was just trying to stay out of the way of the big guys. The wading birds paid almost no attention to the youngster as they went about their business trying to pluck fish from the pond. Yesterday evening the little guy was there once again in his usual location when I suddenly heard a splashing sound. I looked over and saw our young friend bust up out of the water with a really good size blue crab! The gator quickly crunched it’s catch and gulped it down. He seemed so satisfied and pleased with himself at the end. But he is doing the right thing because if he ever wants to grow up to be a big boy he has to be able to hunt for food like the big boys!
Spear Fishing
Yesterday evening I was watching an anhinga out fishing in the marsh pond. The anhinga is a water bird that fishes by swimming under water and spearing a fish on the end of it’s sharp bill. To swallow the fish, the anhinga will often flip it into the air and then catch it headfirst down. This bird was having a very successful evening…catching several fish for a tasty dinner. Just watching this amazing bird in action is a real treat and photographing them can be quite a challenge!
Getting In Some Fishing Before The Storm
Yesterday evening started off nice enough at the marsh pond with a mix of sun and big white fluffy clouds. We knew there was a possibility of thunder storms rolling in but at the beach you never know, the wind off the ocean often beats back the rain storms and keeps them inland. Life goes on however for the marsh wildlife as they need to hunt for a meal regardless of weather forecasts. At first this great blue heron was working the popular fishing hole, but then he was joined by a great egret. They both were having success fishing so no major arguments or disagreements broke out over who’s territory this was. All this took place under the watchful eye of one particularly sneaky alligator that was lurking among the pond weeds in the same fishing spot. The birds knew it was there and kept one eye on the fish and the other on Mr. Gator. At one point the alligator chased the blue heron along the side of the marsh pond, but the heron didn’t want to leave the fishing hot spot so it just moved over a bit after complaining loudly at the alligator who seemed unimpressed by the bird’s display.
The thunder storm clouds did finally make their way into the marsh area so we packed up and left the beach. Last we saw the birds and alligators were still hanging in hoping to scoop up a another fish or two before having to call it a (stormy) night.
Egret In The Evening
This past Tue. night the sun was still out but starting to set when I saw this great egret fishing patiently in the marsh pond. The sun was almost directly behind the bird so I purposely exposed for a silhouette. The colors of the water were not created later in any kind of post processing…that is how it really looked!
Phil Lanoue Photography 