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.
Laying down On The Job
Well everyone knows that a nice bunch of matted down dried reeds makes a comfy spot to lay around on and enjoy the warm sun.
And, as expected, this young alligator was out Wed. afternoon taking advantage of the whole situation. What we did not expect, or remember even seeing before, was a great blue heron laying down on the job. Herons like this are wading birds! If they are not flying they are standing…always…standing. They stand when fishing and even when relaxing they just stand around and watch the world go by.
But this blue heron must have decided that the alligators have the right idea and why should they have all fun?! This particular heron was going to lay right down like he was a nesting chicken and simply enjoy the day.
Well all righty then!
More Spoonbill Fun
Here’s a few more shots from yesterday of our goofy pink visitors. I never get tired of watching these birds and taking photos of their antics, and hope y’all enjoy them as well.
And of course…off in the background of the third photo is, well, you know. 🙂
Friends Arrive!
Well our one lone surprise spoonbill from yesterday was still in the marsh area today, plus he brought friends!
Three additional spoonies were seen this morning at the far back edge of the marsh pond, but by the afternoon only three were spotted but they made a much appreciated visit to the salt marsh during low tide.
As is typical, Mister You Know Who felt compelled to be part of the show if not the star. (well, in his mind he’s always the star)
The three spoonbills spent some time feeding in the salt marsh and made a few short flight hops which provided some fun photo opportunities.
I have a ton of pictures of the spoonbill trio from today (along with the star attraction) which I’ll be posting in the coming days, but for now I thought I would just present a few representative views of what took place this afternoon.
It certainly was great to see the pink visitors especially since we felt so deprived after getting no sightings at all in Sept. But all is forgiven, they are here now, for how long we don’t know, but after all South Carolina has gone through in recent weeks their arrival was a welcome sight indeed!
So NOW One Shows Up?!?
We went the entire month of Sept. with zero spoonbills in the marsh. July some were here for two days, Aug, five were here a week. That was it, the worst summer for spoonies in a really long time!
So this afternoon we shockingly receive a report that one lone pink spoonbill was spotted far out in the salt marsh. Sure enough, we arrive and there is indeed one young spoonie out there with some egrets and wood storks, but at a good distance out and too far for photos. Plus the bird starts to move rapidly as it’s feeding among the reeds and finally just disappears from view.
An hour goes by and I suddenly see it pop up from out there in the reeds and quickly fly a short distance across the marsh. I banged off a few shots and only managed to get a couple flight pics before he landed again. I was also shooting south across the marsh where normally I’m shooting looking north, that is why people and the walkway on that side as visible in the second shot.
Oh well, it was nice to see the one but couldn’t he have been more cooperative and brought some friends and maybe come in a bit closer. You know, just to be photographer friendly?!
Possibly he will still be around tomorrow but the way this season has gone I strongly doubt he will be. We shall see…
It May Not Look Like Much…
But the osprey from this past weekend was happy to have caught even a fairly small fish. These birds are very hard workers and we can often see some ospreys circling and swooping down time after time with no success. So when one finally snags a fish, even what may amount to only a snack is welcome.
After finishing his treat up in a nearby tree, this osprey will be right back at it again. Like I said, they are hard workers.
Time To Head Home
Earlier this afternoon our good buddy Mr. A had decided that he’d spent enough time in the salt marsh and it was time to lumber off to his nice comfy, cozy mud wallow to nap away the rest of the day.
He looked quite full which was no surprise considering he spent the past two days gulping fish left behind in the marsh by the receding tide.
It was also a nice sunny day so that was a huge bonus for the big fellow. Warm sunshine always aids in digestion especially if one tends to overeat a bit. 🙂
Woody Squirms His Way Into A Big Dinner
Yesterday, late afternoon in the salt marsh, we suddenly looked up and a wood stork came walking out of the reeds with a huge eel he’d just caught. Actually, we believe his catch may be a siren which is a type of giant salamander.
In any case Woody was thrilled with his dinner entrée until the struggle caught the attention of one of his friends. Woody was not about to share or give up his wriggling meal so he quickly got away from the uninvited guest and ended up right in front of me.
The battle continued for a total of five minutes until Woody was finally able to wrestle down the unhappy creature in one whole swallow.
You can tell from the look of satisfaction on Woody’s face that this was the finest meal he had eaten in quite some time. The siren however, must have had a different viewpoint on how the day turned out.
The “Flasher”
A great blue heron strikes the ‘flasher’ pose at the edge of the salt marsh this afternoon.
We believe it is actually a way for birds like this to thermo regulate their body temp. Possibly gathering and reflecting sun into their core to warm them up especially after the many days of rain and wind they had to deal with.
Lots more bathing taking place today as well, and everybody is out actively seeking food and enjoying a nice sunny day!
Phil Lanoue Photography 