Phil Lanoue Photography

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.

Late Afternoon Cruise In

This afternoon, just as I was about to leave the marsh area, a bald eagle came cruising in to check out the situation.

Got more on this guy which I’ll probably post tomorrow.

He’s Baaaack!

The weather has started to warm up here in recent days and I suspected the alligators would soon start moving around and getting a bit more active.

So this morning I went over to the swamp just to look around, and I wasn’t there ten minutes when You Know Who pops his cute little head out from the brush along the side of the marsh! Our pal Mr. A glances over at me then tiptoes out and takes a nice leisurely stroll onto the path there and then drops down into the water for a slow swim.

Once the alligators start getting hungry it’s going to be a very interesting Spring out there! 🙂

Tricolored Heron

This afternoon we had a couple of tricolored herons come flying into the salt marsh where they spent their time fishing for tiny minnows.

I always enjoy seeing these colorful and active birds as they endlessly dart about the area in search of a meal.

Done For The Day

Early this evening, just as I was leaving the salt marsh, this pelican decided it was time for him to call it a day as well.

He flew across the marsh reeds on his way out with the entire scene lit by warm setting sunlight.

Big Fishing and Flying Day

The same day that we saw the egret struggling with a flounder, we also saw other egrets come flying in and doing some fishing of their own.

One caught a large mullet but then dropped the fish in the mud. Nine times out of ten we would see a bird bring the fish back over to the water and rinse it off. Many egrets and herons don’t like swallowing a lot of mud with their fish, so a quick wash was expected.

Not this guy however, perhaps he didn’t want to risk losing the fish if he dipped it into the water, but in any case it got gulped right down mud and all!