Phil Lanoue Photography

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!

Bath Day

Well the local birds clearly decided that is was bath day in the salt marsh this afternoon.

I saw an egret, several wood storks, and a couple of white ibis all taking advantage of the beautiful day to bathe and then use the warm sun to dry off.

These are also birds I rarely see bathe and splash around in the water so it was an interesting and exciting treat. I suppose it’s possible that much of the wildlife is finally breathing a sigh of relief that the severe rain and wind is now behind us, and they can afford the luxury of sprucing themselves up a bit. 🙂

A Place In The Sun

All the area reptiles were thrilled as were the rest of us to finally see the sun today.

We were moving lizards off our screen porch all morning, the turtles were up and out all around our backyard ponds, and of course the alligators at the marsh were all trying to find the perfect spot to soak up some long anticipated sunshine.

The gators were struggling a bit just to find a piece of dry land to nap on and that was at a premium. Many ended up laying down on the mats of dried reeds that the storm and abnormally high tide deposited along the edges of the salt marsh.

The birds were there as well. Here, a great blue heron keeps an eye on a napping alligator and then a short while later, the GBH left the scene replaced by an egret, and one more gator moved in to claim his small slice of (somewhat) dry real estate.

Mixed Activity Out Today

It was still a recovery day from the heavy rains and winds for much of the wildlife over by the marsh this afternoon.

Some birds were still just sitting in trees looking confused and exhausted, while others were out in full force hunting for food.

There were a few alligators around but they were not doing much and they seemed as shocked as everyone else about the conditions of things. The water is super high everywhere and even at low tide, the water level in the salt marsh remained high. It was almost as if there wasn’t a low tide at all anymore. Impossible, but that’s how it appeared.

Most of what we saw out there today was some egrets, blue herons, ibis, and ospreys flying around and searching for a meal.

Here are a few egrets from today, doing their best I’m sure under the circumstances.