Phil Lanoue Photography

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.

More Of The Fleet

Here are some closer views of members of the invasion fleet from yesterday.

These guys are big!

The Invasion Has Begun!

This morning an armada of American White Pelicans suddenly came swooping into the salt marsh area and did a couple of high circles above us.

It looked like a huge group of heavy bombers had just arrived!

Standing Guard

Yesterday afternoon this bald eagle was spotted standing on an observation platform keeping a close watch on the marsh area.

After a short while he took off, did one looping circle around, then headed back to the nest area after confirming all was as it should be for the time being.

Hoodie

I always love seeing the hooded mergansers, and this one from yesterday afternoon in the salt marsh was no exception.

The male of the species is especially striking with his white head crest, and I always find them to be entertaining and often comical. They male hoodie reminds me of some cartoon version of what a duck from another planet might look like. 🙂

Keeping A Watchful Eye

This morning I found one of our local bald eagles sitting in a pine tree along the edge of the salt marsh. I don’t know if it’s the same duck hunter from yesterday, but it could be.

Now that they have one or two chicks, food for the babies is not the only concern for the eagle parents. Watching out for predators or other birds which they may determine are invaders to their territory is also a full time job.

After keeping a close eye on this one section of the marsh area, the eagle left the tree and doing an airborne reconnaissance, it flew across to the other side where it sat in another tree and kept watch there for a bit. It soon left that tree as well and patrolled further along the far edge which is a tactic that will hopefully allow for views from every possible direction. Good safety procedures are certainly being followed by the new parents.

Baby Food

It seems that our local pair of mated bald eagles have one if not two chicks now in their nest at the far edge of the salt marsh.

One sign of new mouths to feed is the increased hunting action we have seen taking place around the area.

This afternoon I saw one of the eagles swoop down and hit the water and it sat there for a few seconds and I knew it was trying to get something secured in it’s talons. The eagle suddenly burst up out of the water with a fresh caught duck, and I suspect our unfortunate victim was a ruddy duck.

The eagle flew off toward the nest with baby’s evening meal and I couldn’t believe it when the eagle looked right back at the duck and stared into it’s eyes as the poor little guy was being carried away.