Phil Lanoue Photography

Who’s Watching Who?!

Recently I was watching this bald eagle as it came gliding in from across the marsh. Almost immediately, it started watching me! Uh oh, I’m not sure I like the looks of this. And by ‘looks’ I mean the look this eagle was giving me. Maybe it didn’t like that someone was pointing something at it. Or…maybe it recognized me and was happy to see me! Yes, that must be it, I’m going with that.

One Last Attempt

Last week as I was leaving the salt marsh I stopped to watch this great egret that was closing out his day by doing a last bit of fishing before heading off to roost for the night. The entire marsh was warmed by setting sunlight and I couldn’t resist grabbing just a few more shots before it was time for me to also head home to my evening roost.

Unfortunately for him this final attempt was not successful, but he had already put in a long afternoon and had enough to fill him up before starting all over again tomorrow…

“Well…My Work Here Is Done!”

Last week the snowy egrets in the salt marsh were acting feisty as usual. I can almost always pick out who the aggressor will be and I know if I concentrate on him I’ll soon see action. When I saw Mr. Troublemaker fly over to jump another snowy who was fishing quietly and minding it’s own business, I suspected it would lead to the incident you see here. An aggravated snowy (and they are quite often aggravated) will chase away another one of his friends that is simply fishing and not creating any problems. The agitator doesn’t at all want that particular fishing spot for himself…he just doesn’t want the one who is currently there to have it!

So what we have at the end is the typical way it turns out. The troublemaker gets his way and after successfully chasing off the other snowy he now has the spot all to himself and will stand alone in triumphant victory for a few moments. But since he never really wanted the spot to begin with, his next move will be to fly over and chase away some other poor bird that is only trying to pick out a meal.

Swimming Lesson

Here is an overhead view of an alligator in the water which will give you a good idea of how they swim. Their legs are not used for swimming and instead dangle loosely at their sides. They use their strong tails only for propulsion. Generally they take a leisurely cruise around the marsh pond but if a big guy starts to chase a little guy those tails can get them moving very fast through the water. Their acceleration is quite impressive!

Although it is tough to judge size from this photo, it was about a 7-8 footer. I used a 16-35 lens for this so it’s a real wide shot.

Who Knew A Bath Could Be So Much Fun?!?

Last week we were very amused to be watching this brown pelican having such an active bath in the salt marsh. He was beating the water with his wings, and splashing like he hadn’t been near water in weeks, and really seemed to be enjoying himself.

Well, as you can see in the last photo, the efforts sure paid off with terrific results. That pelican is practically gleaming he is so clean!

Mister Popular

I was going through some file photos today when I found this shot from the swamp that I had forgotten I even took.

This poor alligator only wanted a little peace and quiet so that he could enjoy a relaxing nap in the sun, but the whole crowd apparently decided they needed to hang out there with him. There is a mix of snowy and great egrets (including a great egret that just arrived) and looks like a little blue heron standing by himself on the right side. With the noise and constant bickering of the snowys, it’s doubtful the gator will be getting much sleep which could make him a little cranky!

You Never Know What Might Come Tiptoeing Out Of The Brush

Last week I noticed our pal happy Mr. Gator here taking a slow step out from the brush at one edge of the swamp. You would think he would make quite a racket busting up through there stepping on dried leaves and snapping twigs, but he never made a sound.

Cormorant Takeoff

Last week I grabbed a few shots of this cormorant as it took off from out of the marsh pond. Normally when a cormorant does a running takeoff it continues on in a straight line. This one however did a somewhat odd hover maneuver as if once it got airborne it couldn’t decide which way it wanted to go, or even why it wanted to leave in the first place.

It ended up settling in a nearby tree which I suspect may not have been it’s original destination…I believe it altered it’s flight plan while in mid air!