Phil Lanoue Photography

The Chase Is On

Great Blue Herons seem to get particular enjoyment from chasing each other around.

This pair that flew across the reeds in the salt marsh this afternoon appeared to be having a great time.

The one in the back was the instigator and started the whole thing.

Dropping In On Friends

One day last week we were watching three spoonbills feeding in the salt marsh during low tide.

At one point I happened to glance behind me and saw number four come gliding in from the direction of the swamp.

Our new arrival dropped right in and started feeding immediately while his three friends never broke stride and acted liked the whole thing never happened.

In the second and third photo you can see the antler from a deer skeleton that still remains out in the marsh from last summer.

Some In A Hurry, Others…Not So Much

Many birds such as this white ibis were quite busy this afternoon flying from one end of the marsh to the other.

However…not everyone was nearly as active as the birds. A certain well known individual was perfectly happy to spread out his chubby jowls (don’t tell him I said that) and snooze the day away while the rest of the world went on around him.

One Fish…Two Fish

If one fish is good, two must be better. An egret in the salt marsh this afternoon was only getting better at catching fish as the day went on. He went from snatching one at a time to getting two with one grab.

Very nicely done and a good job by our egret friend!

Well At Least Somebody Was Working Hard Today

Early this afternoon I saw an osprey circling out over the marsh and diving down several times trying to get himself a lunch. A short time later he swooped over and landed in a dead tree with his meal which by now turned out to be a partially chewed fish. He must have taken an in flight bite.

In any case he seemed quite proud and happy with himself over his fresh caught seafood entrée.

Now over on the other side of the marsh… an individual (who shall remain nameless) was taking the opposite approach to the day. Hard work clearly was not part of the plan because I never saw him so much as crack open an eye.

I didn’t feel it was my place to criticize, so I left our napping friend alone to enjoy his snooze in the sun.

Still At It

Well our four pink visitors are still here and still hard at work feeding in the salt marsh.

Sometimes they work as a team, other times they get a surprise guest appearance by a little snowy.

We are still happy to see these guys and hope they continue to enjoy the marsh.

Well That May Have Been Unexpected

Despite it being a grey, rainy, and super windy day over at the salt marsh, we still had the four visiting spoonies out doing their thing.

They seemed to be in a feeding frenzy and perhaps they are stuffing themselves in anticipation of more foul weather coming in, or they might be planning to fly back south soon.

In any case it’s still great to have them around and they sure help brighten a cloudy day.

At one point the adult spoonbill came swooping in landing next to a juvie. I’m not sure if the adult caught the youngster in mid preen or if he was just scratching his head, but he sure appeared surprised when the older bird dropped in on him.

Finally the rain sent me off but I left our quartet busily feeding away…