Phil Lanoue Photography

November Flights

Continuing in the tradition of showing various flight shots at the end of the month that haven’t been previously posted…here are the flight shots for the month of November!

Bald Eagle

Brown Pelican

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Northern Harrier

Osprey

Snowy Egret

White Ibis

White Pelican

This morning we were surprised to see a couple of white pelicans arrive in the marsh pond. These pelicans are not super rare in our area but unlike the brown pelicans which we see frequently, the white pelicans are rather uncommon so it was a treat to see them. They seemed to hang around with the cormorants mostly, which did not turn out so good for me because the cormorants would leave whenever I got near them and the pelicans would follow soon after.

After a brief visit they left for parts unknown, but they were fun and interesting to see!

Fish With Mud Sauce

Yesterday afternoon I was watching this great blue heron fishing in a shallow pool of water at the edge of the salt marsh.

The heron was staring into the water, and I was staring at the heron. I really didn’t think he was going to catch anything, the water did not look to me like there was anything swimming around so I figured he was wasting his time. At about that moment was when he struck and plucked out a nice fish, which immediately proved which of the two of us knew what we were doing.

After catching the fish the heron walked over to land where he promptly dropped the fish in the mud. I know they don’t normally like to eat muddy fish so I expected him to wash it off which he did, but he did not put much effort into cleaning. He must have been really hungry because after a very quick rinse, the great blue gobbled down the fish mud and all!

“This Oyster Bed Isn’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us!”

Monday afternoon we were watching a snowy egret minding it’s own business fishing around the oyster beds in the salt marsh during low tide.

But an arriving snowy must have decided that this was HIS oyster bed and would permit no other occupants, so he rudely sent off his friend. The displaced snowy took it all in stride however. So it goes in snowy egret world…some days you chase, other days you get chased.

Ibis Crabbing

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday so we decided to head out and see what might be happening in the salt marsh.

We were watching this very determined white ibis patrolling among the oyster beds at low tide in search of a meal.

At one point we saw him snatch a small crab out from under the oysters which quickly became a tasty treat for the always resourceful ibis!

Many Thanks To All…

I wanted to thank all the wonderful people who have made caring, and supportive comments about my mom’s recent fall and injuries.

My wife and I appreciate all your kind words greatly.

Mom is still experiencing some pain and doing about as well as can be expected. Unfortunately, compounding the situation is that she resides in an assisted living facility for Alzheimer’s residents. This means she is unable to help contribute toward her recovery in the same ways most of us would be able to. However, her doctor feels confident that her injuries will heal and that she will be up and moving around in a couple of weeks. The accident certainly could have been worse and we remain positive and optomistic that she will make a complete recovery.

Today was the first day we had a chance to get out and enjoy a beautiful day on the marsh. We saw many wonderful birds such as bald eagles, great blue herons, white ibis, wood storks, cormorants, merganser ducks, kingfishers, and this great egret pictured here who was taking off from the marsh pond back lit by late afternoon sun.

One Tough Day…

Just wanted to make a quick post to all my BBs (Blog Buddies) out there to let you know I will be unable to respond to your very kind comments on my blog, and also not be able to view and comment on your many excellent blogs for a short while.

Yesterday my wife and I took my elderly mom out to an early dinner and then to Garden City Beach to look at the ocean which is something she really enjoys a lot. Below is a picture of the beach taken this summer…

Soon after arriving my mom fell and banged her head against a wood fence railing and also fractured her shoulder in the fall. So we spent the better part of yesterday in the hospital ER. We were with my mom most of today already and will likely be spending time with her over the next several days.

Hope to be back annoying everyone with excessive photos of alligators soon!

Aerial Combat

Yesterday morning we saw an osprey flying across the marsh carrying a small fish it had just plucked out of the water.

Suddenly a bald eagle came swooping out of nowhere with a plan to take the fish from the osprey. A mid air battle ensued with the osprey taking evasive maneuvers, and the eagle matching him on every turn. Eagles are often quite successful at snatching a fish from another bird, but this osprey was determined to keep his tiny prize, and finally managed to shake off the eagle and fly away with his fish and pride intact.

In the first two photos where the osprey appears headless, it’s because he’s actually looking beneath and behind himself at the eagle, so what we see is the top of it’s head. In the last photo you can see the eagle reaching out with it’s talons in an attempt to grab the fish from the osprey. But…in the end the osprey was victorious and the eagle would have to go catch his own fish!