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.
On An Evening Hunt
Earlier we had an alligator cruising the salt marsh in search of a dinner. His preference would be some nice, crunchy blue crabs, but none were to be found.
He settled on the alternate method of gathering food which involved thrashing about in the water, scaring up numerous bait fish and shrimp. The gator had to work a bit harder, but it ends up making for a very satisfying meal and a full belly.
Who Knew Fishing Could Be Such Dirty Work?
It seems that a couple of hours of chasing shrimp and fish around the marsh can get a bird’s feathers all mussed up.
The solution apparently involves a nice vigorous bath. Not only were the spoonies involved in the bathing process, but at one point a White Ibis joined in as well.
I must say it’s a vast improvement, they all looked quite spiffy after bath time was over.
Afternoon Spoonbills in the Marsh
We had several Roseate Spoonbills show up in the marsh yesterday afternoon.
As is often the case, they were once again following along a flock of close to one hundred Wood Storks.
It’s always fun when our pink friends come to visit and brighten up the our day!
Morning At The Salt Marsh
We decided to go over to check things out at the salt marsh yesterday. Fairly quiet, but there were a few things going on.
This one snowy egret was extremely active and flying all over the place. He seemed to really enjoy having most of the marsh to himself for once.
Next an alligator picked out this moment to climb up out of the marsh and take a slow stroll across the causeway. We also noticed that the gator was making appropriate use of the crosswalk marked out on the road. How very polite and conscientious of him!
And a cormorant was enjoying the freshest shrimp in the inlet!
A pleasant morning was being had by all.
Blending In…At First
Nice warm day with clear, bright blue sky and this great blue heron was doing a nice job of laying low and blending in among the reeds at the salt marsh.
But, as soon as he decides to jump off in search of greener pastures (or in his case, nicer fish) the cover is blown and his presence is immediately detected in the wide open spaces of the sky.
Fishing Practice
This morning we were watching a couple of young brown pelicans working their fishing techniques over at the salt marsh.
Brown pelican fishing has to be hard on the head, as their method basically consists of diving down face first into the water and hoping to come up with some fish as a reward!
Although the birds we saw were indeed juveniles, even as adults they will continue to feed in much the same way. Some practice is required however…as it does take a bit of practice to refine the technique, making it hopefully less stressful on their heads.
Red Moon Rising
I stayed up a bit late last night to see the blood red super wolf moon eclipse (or whatever the heck it’s called) and wouldn’t you know it would turn out to be our coldest night of the Winter so far. In fact I’m still cold.
The eclipse was kind of cool, and the moon eventually started taking on a reddish color, but I only stayed out briefly to get a few quick grab shots.
We do have an owl that often hangs out in one of our nearby trees but I suppose I would have needed night vision equipment to capture him, so that accounts for the lack wildlife photos in this post, moon only!
Winter Wear
On yet another bright sunny day (prior to the arctic blast expected for Monday) We found a Little Blue Heron playing around in the marsh pond.
The little blues start out life as all white juveniles, then progress to a patchwork of blue and white (“tweeners”) before becoming deep blue colored adults with a maroon neck.
This individual however, was a bit different. He was a sort of pale grey with only a slight blush of red on his neck. I was thinking that this little blue was past his tweener phase and might be exhibiting some winter plumage on his way to full adulthood.
I expect to see him and all his friends all fully decked out and colorful this Spring!
