Phil Lanoue Photography

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. 🙂

Grabbing A Lunch

This afternoon I spotted a red throated loon paddling along in the salt marsh. Although loons can not walk on land due to their webbed feet hanging behind their back rather than under their body, they are extremely fast swimmers.

I got my exercise today trying to keep pace with this loon as it would disappear under the water in one spot, then surface 100 feet away in a matter of seconds.

I saw this guy grab several small fish and I could tell a chase was taking place just barely under the water as an occasional splash and wake would give away the action taking place.

I got lucky here when the loon came up with this fish right in front of my location, then he floated off back deeper into the marsh where I eventually lost sight of him.