Phil Lanoue Photography

All In A Frazzle

This snowy egret got himself all fluffed and frizzied while walking among the oyster beds in the salt marsh yesterday.

At first I thought that maybe an oyster had Snowball by the foot, but no, once again it’s just a case of a snowy being a snowy.

They often get all in a tizzy over anything…or nothing.

This morning a great blue heron and an egret were fishing nearby each other in the salt marsh. They were getting along fine because they were on a pool of baitfish and everybody was snatching them up as fast as they could.

They were going so fast that they each dropped a fish in their excitement to wolf them down so quickly.

Normally both birds, but especially the blue heron, would rather catch one or two large fish than have to use the energy to catch lots of small ones. But it all turns out fine in the end because if a bird eats enough of the tiny fish they will get filled up, it will just take a bit longer.

Just A Light Breakfast

An egret fishing yesterday morning comes up with a tasty breakfast snack.

Actually, if he catches enough of these fish he will feel like he hit the buffet. Which of course is exactly what the egret wants most!

Nice Catch!

This morning I was watching an osprey circling above the marsh hunting for breakfast. I saw him dive down a few times and come up empty each time.

Finally, he hit the water and I could tell he got himself a fish. What I didn’t realize at the time was that the osprey had caught two fish!

Normally I stop taking photos as a bird begins to fly away from me, but in this case I’m glad I stuck with it. It’s amazing for me to see an osprey with a pair of fish, one dangling from each talon!

I Think We All Know Who Made Those Tracks…

Very early this morning, I mean really early, we noticed some fresh tracks in the salt marsh mud leading out to the shallow water due to low tide.

The architect of the tracks was quickly spotted making his way along the mud and out into the water to get an early jump on some morning fishing.

The little sneak had gotten up and out right at sunrise, no doubt to surprise the seafood buffet that will be unprepared for a hungry breakfast guest.

Where Are You Guys Off To In Such A Rush?

Earlier this week I looked up just in time to see a group of white ibis flying in formation across the salt marsh in a huge hurry.

Not sure what the big emergency was, but they must have needed to be somewhere fast because they were really moving!

The ‘Tweener’

Little Blue Herons start out as all white juveniles and look very similar to snowy egrets. As adults, they become almost entirely blue with a small touch of maroon coloring.

When they are at the in between phase, transitioning from immature to adult little blues, they appear as a patchwork checkerboard of blue and white. These are the birds we often refer to as “tweeners”.

This afternoon I saw one flying above me over the salt marsh. Little blue herons are usually high flyers as opposed to skimming just over the reeds as the larger herons often will, so I ended up with these open blue sky shots.