Phil Lanoue Photography

Sunday Eagle

On Sunday morning we saw a bald eagle fly across the marsh and land in a pine tree in the distance. We had a general idea of where he’d gone and decided to see if we could find the exact tree so we could set up nearby in hopes of getting a flight shot if he took off. Well…we managed to locate the eagle and had a pretty good vantage point for taking photos. At one point he seemed to be calling for one of his friends, but…no one showed up. This may have given him the idea to go off in search of his friend because he abruptly left the pine tree and took a low swoop right at us and almost directly over my head! What an amazing sight on a beautiful Sunday morning!

Lost In Thought

This past weekend we saw an egret come in for a landing in an area already occupied by a wood stork. But as you can see, Woody didn’t mind the new arrival at all. In fact, he barely flinched as the egret came swooping in…he seemed to have something important on his mind!

Shaking Off

I saw this osprey yesterday evening shaking off water after diving down into the marsh pond in an attempt to snag a fish. No luck for the osprey this time…the fish got away and the osprey got drenched!

Just Another Beautiful Day In The Swamp

A while back we saw this baby alligator (we refer to any alligator four feet or under as a “baby”) enjoying some morning sun at the edge of the marsh. I really liked the expression on his face, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. And in many ways that’s true…his biggest concern for the day will likely be getting enough nap time in the sun!

“You Have That Crab…Or Does It Have You?”

Yesterday I was watching these two white ibis fishing in the salt marsh at low tide. One of them plucked a nice little crab up from out of the marsh mud, but surprisingly it quickly shook the crab off it’s bill and dumped crabby back into the mud! The clearly distressed ibis then flew off, immediately followed by his friend. I couldn’t figure out why they both left the crab which normally would’ve been eaten until I looked closely at the photos later. That crab had really latched onto the ibis’ bill and gave it a good pinch which was more than enough to deter the ibis from any further action. So…crabby wins one this time and lives to tell the tale of how he fought off a hungry ibis!

Last Photo Of The Day…

As I was leaving the marsh tonight, I stopped to grab one last photo of this great egret silhoutted by the setting sun.

At The End Of The Day…

Last week we were at the marsh pond as the day was winding down, but we weren’t the only ones enjoying the sunset. This great blue heron, having concluded his fishing for the day, appeared to be contemplating the colorful sunset before finally heading off to roost for the night.

October Flights

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