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.
White Pelicans Arrive….And Arrive
For the past couple of days we have had a group of eight American White Pelicans hanging around in the marsh area.
They are usually there if you check first thing in the morning but then they go somewhere, (none of us knows where) for portions of the afternoon before returning again for the evening.
These photos were all shot yesterday with the first three taken very early in the morning and the last three taken in the early evening.
So far we have the arrivals covered, but have yet to be there for the departures. I wish they would post a schedule so we could track their movements more accurately.
Flying Fish
Earlier this week an egret flies off with a fish it just plucked out of the water.
What IS going On Here?
At first, this snowy egret appeared somewhat perplexed to find himself in among a group of American Avocets at the marsh this morning. And the avocets did not seem to know what to make of the egret either.
Bet then, a minute later, the avocets moved over a bit and something caught their attention because suddenly everyone was looking in the same direction.
This Is What We Are Waiting For
When spoonbills arrive in the marsh they often join a group of wood storks which could also include an assortment of egrets and herons.
These shots from two weeks ago are what we are hoping to see any day now. After our five pink visitors left the area back in late August we have been eagerly awaiting their return and hope to see some pink fly ins soon.
We miss our big goofy pink friends. 🙂
Quick Exit
A snowy egret jets across the salt marsh in a huge hurry. Snowys are high strung little birds that do almost everything in a hurry.
It’s All In The Technique
This juvenile tricolored heron that was fishing in the salt marsh yesterday afternoon has the whole deal down perfectly.
Step one is to stalk your prey (in this case a tiny minnow).
Step two is to angle your body and neck down low to the water and get in the proper position to strike.
The final successful result is a tasty little fish!
This youngster has all the tools he will need to grow up to be a skilled adult Tri. 🙂
Why Is Everyone Flying South?!
Late this afternoon we had light grey overcast skies with a threat of possible thunder storms coming in. I was looking north over and across the salt marsh when I started to notice quite few birds, especially the egrets, that seemed to be flying south in a hurry.
Within 15 minutes I discovered why. The clouds came rolling in from the northwest and were moving in a southerly direction right toward us.
These last two shots are looking north across the salt marsh and were taken 3 minutes apart. Although the long, low shelf clouds appear quite ominous, those are only a part of an approaching storm system and are not in among themselves very dangerous. But they must look rather scary to much of the wildlife who seemed to want no part of whatever was coming next.
Pop Up
This juvenile little blue heron surprised me with a quick pop up out from the reeds in the salt marsh this afternoon.
Little blue herons are interesting because they start out their lives as all white immature birds, then gradually begin to change into the blue adults they will eventually become. At this stage they can easily be confused with snowy egrets which are almost identical. But snowys start out white and remain all white into adult hood.
I was happy to see this guy because I generally see a lot more adult little blues then the juveniles so it was a fun sight!
Phil Lanoue Photography 