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.
Around The Marsh…
Kind of a quiet day around the marsh this afternoon, nothing very exciting happening, but a few of the usual suspects were out taking care of business.
An alligator was enjoying a nice float and getting some sun which I know he liked.
I watched this egret pluck several of these small fish out of the salt marsh so I’m sure he must have eventually gotten full.
The great blue heron went for some shrimp as his main course, and the seafood could not be more fresh.
As I was leaving a black-necked stilt did a quick fly by and around that same time I was ready to do the same.
“Hey, Watch My Head!”
A snowy egret made a quick hop up out of the salt marsh earlier this weekend and almost clipped the head of a poor willet that was quietly minding it’s own business.
Sometimes those long stick legs can end up dangling a bit farther then Snowball might expect.
His Secret Spot
Early this morning a tricolored heron was alone fishing in a small corner area of the marsh. At this time of day he has the special spot all to himself, no crowds, no gawkers (well except us) and apparently a decent supply of fish for breakfast.
It is a lovely little area and I don’t blame him one bit for picking it out for a morning cruise.
Just Mucking About
Our alligator friend was out in the marsh this afternoon just enjoying a pleasant sunny day mucking about the place.
He seemed to be constantly dragging some of the various reeds and grasses along on his journey.
I’m not sure what the whole idea we see here of him putting his rear foot up behind him and resting it on his back.
But who am to question his methods? If it works, it works.
Grey Day At The Marsh
On a grey, cloudy afternoon a snowy egret makes a rather ominous looking landing in the salt marsh during low tide.
I guess snowball was matching the mood of the day with his flight behavior.
Egret Afternoon Fly and Fish
An egret came gliding in across the salt marsh this afternoon, then dropped in for a quick snack.
Playing Horseshoes
On the same day the three spoonbills arrived, we had this big fella sloshing around in the salt marsh during low tide. It quickly became clear what he had caught, although the reveal was more then a bit of a surprise.
Our hungry alligator friend found himself a horseshoe crab and appeared to be extremely excited with his crunchy catch!
As I said, this was very surprising as we had never seen an alligator with a horseshoe crab before and never even saw one in this section of the marsh.
But our pal was thrilled and after plucking the hapless crab up out of the water, he proceeded to crunch and munch the hard shell. (note the teeth marks in photo three)
The plan was to systematically dismantle the crab into smaller, more manageable pieces for ease of swallowing.
He was flinging the horseshoe crab up in the air and at one point had it by the tail while thrashing about wildly.
Finally, after a lengthy struggle, the gator had only a few pieces of shell remaining and those quickly went down the hatch. The entire process stretched out to well over an hour by the time the crusty creature was reduced to only bits, and Mister A seemed quite pleased with himself when it was over. Bad day for a horseshoe crab though for sure.
Spoonbills! In May?!?
Phil Lanoue Photography 