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.
Grey Sky
We have had more then our fair share of dreary, rainy, overcast skies lately. This recent osprey flight is an example of how the grey sky makes an almost totally white background.
But as with all the area birds, they still have to get out there and hunt down a meal despite how dismal the flying weather may be.
Frozen Flights
It was cold out at the salt marsh this afternoon, extremely cold. Despite that, the birds still have to be out fighting the wind gusts and going about their business.
At one point I realized that they have to be out in this cold I don’t. So… I stayed about ten minutes, just long enough to grab a few shots of some frozen looking birds flying across the reeds, then it’s back into a warm (well, sort of warm) house for me!
Not Expecting That
It was a bright, clear afternoon today but extremely cold and windy so not many birds were out there fighting the gusts.
When I first saw this great blue heron nestled down in among the reeds in the salt marsh, I assumed he was trying to stay out of the wind. But suddenly he jumped up and took flight across the marsh. I guess he was still looking for a nicer, warmer spot to settle in and hopefully hide from the stiff ocean breeze.
On The Move
Here’s a few flight shots of some of the white pelicans from yesterday. As they were going back and forth feeding in the shore line marsh area, they would occasionally take short flight hops to the other side. I tried to zero in on a main group, then as they got closer I attempted to focus in on a smaller number before finally picking out a single bird to track.
It’s really fun seeing these big guys take flight!
Pelicans And Ducks
There was a group of white pelicans fishing in the marsh near the beach this afternoon, but they had to share the area with several species of ducks that were also floating around enjoying their day.
The pelicans are huge birds and take up a lot of space so sometimes the ducks need to get out of the way and often in a hurry.
The Big Guy Was Up
This afternoon I saw a small group of American White Pelicans circling in toward the marsh from the ocean side.
One of them did a direct overhead pass by my location giving me a nice view of those huge wings.
White pelicans have the second largest wing span of any bird in the United States, second only to the California Condor.
This is a good size bird and quite a bit larger then our regular brown pelicans we see much more often, especially along the coast.
Nice Flying Weather
It was a nice crisp, clear blue sky this afternoon over at the marsh and one of the local bald eagles was out showing off his flying skills.
I watched this eagle circle and soar, and at times he seemed to effortlessly gain height without so much as a flap. All he had to do was put out those big wings and the air currents took care of the rest.
I Was Watching A Brown Pelican When Suddenly He Did…This
I was watching a brown pelican this past weekend when suddenly he did…this! You will have to ask him what he was doing because I don’t know. Maybe shaking off some water, but it sure was one of the oddest things I have ever seen a pelican do in the salt marsh.
At least they keep things interesting out there. 🙂
Phil Lanoue Photography 