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.
Spoonbills Surprise Everybody
We had a few spoonbills show up in the marsh this evening which was a bit of a shock because we had practically given up on seeing any this summer.
Unfortunately they mostly stayed way back against the far edge of the pond area except for a brief visit to the salt marsh.
At one point it seemed an egret was as surprised as the rest of us when three spoonies came by interrupting his preening session. The egret gave them a look as if he was thinking…”what the heck are these goofy pink things?!”
In any case it was good seeing some of our pink visitors and hopefully they will decide to stick around for a while!
Dropping In On Friends
Yesterday evening this wood stork came swooping in from somewhere out in the salt marsh and made a dramatic entrance.
Of course, after all that, he just ended up standing around looking…well maybe ‘cute’ isn’t the exact best word, but you know. 😀
Bright Eyes
An egret heads out over the water while an alligator glides over to say hello.
The warm setting sunlight nicely lit both their eyes, and the entire marsh area this evening.
Crab For Lunch
Earlier this week we were watching as this alligator appeared to be stalking something in the marsh right around lunch time. Of course it’s always lunch time with these guys.
It was interesting to see the big guy acting all quiet and sneaky until he finally plunged through the water and came up with what he was after the whole time. Fresh crab! These blue crab are a real favorite of the alligators who seem to derive particular satisfaction from the extra crunch the crabs provide.
I instantly knew crab was going to be on the lunch menu as soon as our gator friend lifted up his head and started chewing. I could see the crab being systematically disassembled by the hungry boy with each opening of those large jaws.
As Mr. A was busy crunching, I was able to approach a bit closer knowing the alligator was interested only in his meal. Once the full crunch was completed you can see his throat expand to give the crab entrée room to slide down into his belly.
He also seemed to have a somewhat satisfied look on his face once lunch was over.
One other funny note though… crab was not the only item this boy had for lunch. Just prior to the crab hunt, a man nearby me had some cash that he was holding blow out of his hand and float down into the water where Mister A promptly ate $11 as an appetizer. 🙂
Heading Back
There must have been 120 wood storks out in the salt marsh today.
After a busy day of fishing small groups, as well as single individuals, started to head back to the trees for their afternoon roost.
They have kind of a rough looking face, but they’re quite interesting birds.
Snowball? Nope
Yesterday afternoon I saw what I thought was a fairly common snowy egret flying high across the marsh, and just for the heck of it I snapped off one quick shot. When I looked at the photo later I realized it was a juvenile little blue heron and not a snowy at all.
Little blues start off life as all white youngsters then gradually morph into “tweeners” with a patchwork of blue and white before eventually becoming the all blue (with a touch of maroon) adults that we more commonly see.
I don’t know where the little blues nest, but we see many more adults then we do these bright white juveniles.
Quiet For Once
This evening I was surprised to see this great blue heron take off and fly across the salt marsh without making a sound.
No major announcement of his arrival or departure, no loud in flight squawking, just simply a nice calm quiet flight.
Unusual for this typical loudmouth who generally seems to feel compelled to let the whole world know of his activities.
The Lineup
The Wood Storks have finally begun to arrive in significant numbers over the past week or so.
Here you can see many of them lined up against the far back edge of the marsh pond earlier this week. Wood storks are funny, they often hang in groups, but the layout of the group varies from a straight line as you see here, to a loosely organized circle.
Good to see the big guys back again though in any case.
Phil Lanoue Photography 