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.
The Fish That Conquered The Marsh
As I mentioned yesterday there were a few brown pelicans swooping around the salt marsh and occasionally diving down to go after a fish.
Well, at one point I saw this pair come in together but one of them dove down and hit the water first. He immediately came up with a huge fish! Since his friend was only seconds behind on the plunge, the situation quickly escalated to a two pelican event.
They went back and forth for a bit with each bird not only convinced they were the rightful owner, but were at least potentially able to even attempt to swallow the big prize down whole.
Suddenly, they both took off. Had they both concluded that the fish was too big to eat?!? It was possible. Possible until I glanced up and saw that face. That look. That unmistakable iconic image of one of our resident bald eagles in full on attack mode.
I knew the eagle had been perched in a nearby tree and was certainly keeping his eyes on the action below and now it was his turn. Once again the mighty eagle, sky hooks at the ready, would settle this situation and settle it decisively.
Only there was one slight problem…that same fish that was too big for either of the pelicans to get down, was apparently too big to haul up out of the water as well.
Once the eagle hit the water and got his talons on the fish, he discovered that may have bit off more then he could chew. Or in this case, carry. The eagle tried lifting the fish straight up out of the water but that didn’t work, he couldn’t get any altitude even with those massive wings. Then he turned sideways and tried that maneuver. No luck. That fish was going nowhere and the eagle now realized it.
The eagle’s next move was to hop out of the water and fly a few feet over to a thicker section of the floating clump of reeds to rest up a bit. With a dejected and possibly slightly embarrassed look on his face, the eagle finally left the area in disgust and flew back to their nest at the far side of the salt marsh.
One important update on the eagle nest…As best as we can tell the pair is not only together, but appear to be feeding one or two chicks which we estimate to be just about a week old now. I’m sure this further added to the eagle’s displeasure over how the big fish incident of 2016 turned out. That would have fed two hungry mouths for a couple of days I’m thinking.
Brown Pelicans Invade The Salt Marsh
We had a group of brown pelicans really working hard out at the salt marsh during mid tide this afternoon.
They would go way far out into the middle of the marsh, then come back in toward us, and they kept this up for quite a while.
At one point one of them caught a huge fish that seemed not only too large for them to eat, but too much for a bald eagle to handle as well.
More on that tomorrow. 🙂
Back In The Brush
Yesterday afternoon this great blue heron popped up from deep back in the brush where he had been all tucked in. I think he was keeping out of the wind until the need to chase after another heron arose. It’s starting to be *that* time of year again.
Serious Fishing, But Looks Like Fun
Yesterday afternoon we had several white ibis engaged in some serious fishing activity over in the marsh pond.
Although I’m sure they were serious about getting themselves fed, but looking at those faces and expressions, they somehow manage to make it look like fun.
Must Be Something Good In There
Early this afternoon we were watching a small group of northern shoveler ducks feeding around the widgeon grass in the marsh pond area. It was a mixed group of males and females. The males have the glossy green heads and may be in a breeding plumage phase.
I don’t exactly know what they were eating but they must have been quite thrilled with it because I almost never saw any with their head up out of the water. I had to be fast just to grab these shots here.
That over sized bill contributes to the duck’s name similar to the spoonbill. How on earth do they ever come up with these names?! 🙂
Togetherness
We still have a small group of American White Pelicans hanging around in the marsh area. They mostly tend to stick around in a group.
They fish together, they rest together, they float around together and at some point they will invariably, take off and fly to a new spot together.
That’s what was happening here, they were floating around in a line when suddenly it was time to fly off to a new, presumably better location.
“Hey! That’s MY Fish!”
At a quick first glance you might expect the title comments to be coming from the overly excited looking blue heron. But if you look closely in the lower left corner you will see the original owner of the fish was in fact a cormorant.
The cormorant is the bird that first caught the fish but the GBH is in current possession so I guess that makes it his…at least he sure thinks it’s his. 🙂
Closing In From Behind
On a recent afternoon out at the salt marsh, I saw a great blue heron flying just above the reeds and taking some serious evasive maneuvers.
The guy closing in from behind looked rather sinister to me and I believe I’m not the only one that decided he might be up to no good.
Since I was not the target of the hunt I didn’t actually have to leave, but our nervous GBH friend clearly figured it would be a great idea to quickly depart the premises.
Phil Lanoue Photography 