Phil Lanoue Photography

Enjoying The Day

Yesterday morning a tricolored heron was standing around on a small island out in the marsh just trying to enjoy a nice relaxing day in the sun.

Soon a young alligator came floating over to claim his own spot on the island. The little tri took immediate notice and at first seemed somewhat flustered over the presence of the new arrival and even backed off a bit.

But as the alligator snuck further up into the weeds, the heron realized he had important matters to attend to (such as fishing) so he casually went back about his business. Well…not completely casual, the tricolored still decided it would be wise to do the occasional look back just to be sure.

But, as these things usually turn out, everybody wanted the same thing, just to be able to enjoy a beautiful day and soak up some sun. They each had their own way of going about it though, the heron wanted to fish a little, and the alligator wanted a nap.

“Go Eat Someplace Else!”

This past weekend a great blue heron was relaxing in the salt marsh when he noticed an ibis taking a nice slow stroll over in his direction.

At first the heron didn’t pay much attention to the visitor until the ibis started to feed close…real close. By the time the ibis started picking around the heron’s feet, he’d had enough.

Big blue coiled up his neck and whipped his head around and gave the ibis a shot sending the curve billed intruder scurrying.

Of course after all that, the ibis just continued on his way like nothing had ever happened while the blue heron kept a watchful eye out for any further infractions.

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. 🙂