Phil Lanoue Photography

It Was Froggy Out There Today

We took a quick cruise this afternoon over to the marsh and also to check out the beach situation. It was a grey, dreary day with off and on rain showers so we weren’t expecting there to be a whole lot going on and that turned out to indeed be the case.

I was, however, a bit surprised to see some fog rolling in from the ocean.

The first two photos were taken with the phone and the last two with an old point and shoot.

The first picture is looking north and shows the salt marsh at low tide and you can also see the snowy egret convention was in town. (more hijinks and wackiness from the snowys coming up in tomorrow’s post) It was somewhat clear until you got about 50-75 yards out then the fog took over. Normally you can see clear across the inlet and Garden City Beach homes from here, but not today.

The second picture is looking south across the marsh pond with not much happening other than a couple of duckies floating and diving around in the water. No alligators out today although yesterday there was one snoozing along the edge of the pond near where I took this photo.

Checking out the beach revealed it mostly empty as expected. About all we saw was one drowsy looking gull with the ocean waves behind him, and surprisingly, a lone bicycle rider far down the south end. The ocean is in front and to the left of the rider but it can’t be seen at all due to the fog.

We are expecting a significant storm tomorrow with potentially damaging winds so it won’t be a beach day again.

“I’ll Have The Shrimp!”

Late this afternoon, just as I was about to leave for the day, I saw this egret in the salt marsh come up with a huge shrimp.

This was not just the biggest shrimp I ever saw a bird catch in the salt marsh, it was the biggest shrimp I ever saw anywhere!

The egret must have struggled with that shrimp for a good 20 minutes, but sure enough, he got it swallowed and down. I’m guessing this was the most shrimp that egret ever ate at one time.

Talk about a shrimp platter… that shrimp was as big as a platter. 🙂

BIG Mouth, Tiny Catch

A brown pelican fishing in the salt marsh this afternoon knocks back a tasty, but very tiny, tidbit. If you look close you can see a little bitty minnow inside that huge pelican pouch. 🙂

Still At It

Even though the day was winding down, an egret was still out there in the marsh pond fishing for one last meal.

I watched as the bird struck at the water, which was warmed by setting sunlight, with no success. As he continued along on his way, the egret was walking toward me into the darker area of the pond to finish out his day.

Lots Of Oysters But Nothing To Eat

A white ibis was hard at work on a recent afternoon looking for a meal among the oyster beds in the salt marsh during low tide.

He picked around all sides of the oysters but didn’t find anything worthwhile to eat.

Finally the ibis gave up the hunt and at first I thought he must be disappointed, but actually he looked fairly pleased to continue on to the next area where surely a tasty treat awaited.

Heavy Landing

When I saw this brown pelican come dropping by for a close in landing this past week, I realized they are quite large birds.

They just really look bulky and heavy.

Just Before Leaving…

On an early evening last week I was headed home from the salt marsh when I noticed a distinctive flight pattern far back out over the reeds.

A harrier hawk was doing his thing flying (or flitting) just above the tops of the reeds and I managed to grab off a quick shot as he was heading off after finishing his patrol.

Minutes later this great blue heron came gliding in low over the water, giving me at least something to show for the day.