Phil Lanoue Photography

Big Day Of Fishing

Actually, there was nothing big about it at all. I was watching a pelican getting all pumped up to fish in the salt marsh this afternoon and sure enough, he plunged right in.

I knew he caught something, and when he opened up that big yap I instantly saw what it was.

No, I made that up, I didn’t see anything. It wasn’t until I got home later today and looked at the photos that I saw the pelican had caught the tiniest fish on the face of the earth. He probably really had several, but these were small fish, really small.

I suppose if he catches enough of them, as in huge mouthfuls, it might fill him up. But at this rate he will need to snag a jackpot soon!

Snowys… At It Again

You would think the main purpose of fishing in the salt marsh would be…fishing in the salt marsh. But oh no, not for the snowy egrets. As usual, 60% of the time they could spend hunting for food is instead spent fussing and squabbling with each other. It never fails, if there is more than one snowy egret in an area, a disagreement will break out. I think it’s in their official charter.

So once again… this afternoon there were about half a dozen of these high strung little agitators around and that meant almost non stop bickering. Of course that provides almost endless comical photographic possibilities for me, but somehow I don’t think they see it that way.

Nothing Interferes With Nap Time

An alligator was trying to enjoy a quiet nap in the sun this afternoon when an egret showed up and proceeded to stroll around the whole area and create a ruckus.

The snoozing gator was not about to allow this annoying bird to disturb his sleep however. I think he may have opened his eyes halfway once or twice and stretched out his back leg, but that was about it. Afternoon naps are serious business and no prancing egret is going to mess that up.

Pelican Coming And Going

A pelican this afternoon was working the salt marsh hard as the tide was coming in and bringing fish in with it.

The big guy made several back and forth passes in front of the reeds and just above the oyster beds.

Warmer weather made it a busy day out there today. In addition to the pelican, we had a bald eagle, osprey, egrets, herons, the usual assortment of little shore birds and of course some alligators were out soaking up the sun. 🙂

Morning Float

Here’s our good buddy Mr. A yesterday after he came over to say hello. He kind of just laid there for a bit looking at me with only his head sticking up out of the water until eventually floating off to find a nice nap spot.

At The Edge Of The Marsh…

It’s kind of a cold grey windy day here so I wasn’t expecting to see very much wildlife activity around the marsh this morning.

But suddenly I spotted our cute little mink friend scampering along the rocks at the edge of the water! After staying out for maybe five seconds, the mink also quickly disappeared into the warmth and safety of his den in among the rocks and brush.

I was even more surprised to see our good buddy Mister Alligator floating quietly in the same area. Alligators are generally not particularly fond of either wind or cold so I expected him to spend the day tucked into his mud hole wherever that might be.

Good day to stay inside.

Not Everyone Was Active…

Here are a few more views of the bald eagle that was patrolling over the salt marsh yesterday afternoon. He made several wide circles over the water, possibly attracted by the activities of the pelicans, egrets, and herons that were feeding down there.

Although the birds, including this eagle, kept themselves quite busy all day, that was not the case for everyone. Our favorite marsh resident Mister A was instead enjoying a pleasant nap in the sun. The big guy is not fond of unnecessary or optional movement, choosing to conserve energy wherever and whenever possible.