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.
Gotta Love A Nice Toothy Grin!
An alligator earlier this week swims over to say hello and opens up with a nice friendly smile!
If he looks happy it’s because he has been stuffing himself with bait fish all afternoon and into the evening. He found himself a convenient landlocked pool fully stocked with huge crowds of fish and was making the most of it.
The snowy egrets are often attracted to the panicked hoards of jumping fish caused by the marauding alligator and they were working the area as well. Photos of them, in addition to our well fed gator pal showing the fish who’s boss, will be upcoming through the week.
Woody Loves Flounder
As soon as I arrived at the salt marsh yesterday evening I noticed this wood stork struggling with some sort of fish he had just plucked out of the water.
As I got closer I realized the stork had caught himself a nice flounder. It was going to be a tough job and require some work, but Woody badly wanted this seafood delight and was determined to get it down the hatch. After a ten minute or so battle, our pal Woody successfully swallowed down his hard earned dinner.
I know Woody loves him some flounder!
Wild Day
It was a crazy day over at the marsh this afternoon and early evening. There were three alligators feeding in the salt marsh sending the fish flying in all directions, plus another 8 or 10 over in the pond area, the gators were all over the place.
There had to be close to 100 wood storks fishing in the salt marsh along with egrets, herons, and their alligator friends. I even saw a wood stork grab himself a nice size flounder and after a 20 minute struggle, woody got it down.
But since I can’t get at all those photos right now… I have this osprey I found sitting in a dead tree along the edge of the salt marsh. He was just relaxing and enjoying the view but took a second to check me out.
Anyway, wood storks and alligators will be upcoming throughout the week. 🙂
On Duty
This weekend is the huge arts festival over at the park in the marsh area. A big crowd, as always, attends this exciting event.
But speaking of exciting! Here’s our pal Mr. A out manning his post and making himself available for pictures and autographs. Everyone passing by on their way to the festival had to drive by our good buddy here and as is typical, he does not disappoint the enthusiastic crowd. What a guy!
Hardly Worth The Effort
This great blue heron was fishing in the salt marsh last week and was at it for a while with very little to show for it other then a small minnow or two.
Finally the heron decided to move over to another section and hopefully have better luck. But unfortunately he just ended up looking bored and disappointed in among a group of wood storks.
Oh well, maybe tomorrow will bring better fishing.
Personal Appearance
Earlier this week one of our alligator friends came over to right below where I was standing to make an extra special personal appearance.
Always nice when one of these guys makes the extra effort to swim over close and say hello. 🙂
Competitive Eating
These are some of the group of white pelicans we had in the marsh last week.
Here, one of the pelicans eats a big dinner while his friends look on enviously. It’s best at a time like this to not drop your food because there will always be someone around ready to take advantage of any error.
These big birds especially, have no problem pushing aside your dinner mate to get a better spot at the table.
Friendly Visit
This egret was standing along the edge of the water in the marsh yesterday afternoon when his little friend suddenly popped his head up out of the water to make a surprise appearance.
Always nice when friends drop by! 🙂
Phil Lanoue Photography 