Phil Lanoue Photography

Little Greenie

Earlier this week I was watching this green heron fishing in the salt marsh. These little guys are such intense and determined stalkers of their prey which includes small fish, shrimp, and other aquatic species.

Although relatively small in size, the green herons have considerable appeal due to their brightly colored plumage and I always enjoy seeing one in action.

Now It’s The GBH’s Turn!

Earlier this week we had the great egret being annoyed by the alligators while he was trying to fish. Last night however, it was the great blue heron that had to deal with a pesky pair of gators that were patrolling around in the salt marsh in the same area the heron wanted to fish.

At first these two alligators were kind of teamed up as they glided around in the marsh in search of some tasty fish or crabs. But eventually they floated off in different directions but never traveled far from the same general area where the heron was already set up for the evening. So of course this totally threw the bird off his game, as he couldn’t really concentrate on fishing with the dynamic duo constantly circling back into the fishing hole. I never saw the blue heron catch a single fish. There were fish all over and he saw them, but every time he tried to concentrate on catching one, in comes Mr. Alligator once again to spoil the whole situation.

To make matters worse, the alligators were none too pleased either. The tide started coming in very fast and soon the water was too deep for them to effectively fish in the way they are most successful.

This was not at all an ideal situation for the heron, trying to fish in the same water as unhappy alligators. But… like the egret from earlier, this heron never got completely intimidated and never left his post, he was still there as it got dark. Of course the alligators were still out there as well, lurking somewhere in the dark water…

Spoonie And Snowball

This past weekend our surprise pink April visitor was out busily working the salt marsh at low tide. Then at one point he also had a friend join him when a snowy egret decided that the spoonbill must be on to some good fishing. Snowball quickly got with the program and when he spotted a small fish, he blew right past spoonie kicking up water as he marched himself along the marsh!

Sometimes It’s Best Not To Complain Too Much

Yesterday afternoon this egret was fishing in the marsh pond, but he wasn’t alone. One of our resident alligators was also looking for fish in the same area, which annoyed the egret tremendously. The bird decided to loudly let the alligator know how he felt about the intrusion and the alligator responded by lifting up his head and letting the egret know who was really in charge around here.

But to make matters even worse for the egret, the gator called over a few of his friends just in case any further discussion was required. At one point there were five alligators surrounding the bird but I couldn’t fit them all in the picture.

However…if you think this intimidated the egret into leaving you would be incorrect. This bird quite possibly might have more nerve then sense because he never left the area, he just kept right on fishing. Surprisingly, this tactic ended up being ultimately successful as the alligators eventually moved away and left him alone to continue fishing.

This scene was 100% back lit so I elected to go with a semi silhouette look on the exposures, not much else I could do.

Stilts

Yesterday afternoon we had a couple of Black-necked Stilts make a brief appearance in the marsh pond. I always love seeing these squeaky little guys with their bobble heads and long, gangly, bubble gum pink legs.

You can see how a stilt is much smaller then a great egret and of course a lazy young alligator had to be present on the scene as well.

It’s a treat to see these fun and interesting birds and we were happy they decided to drop in for a visit!

The Baby

Well…earlier this afternoon a little baby alligator was out walking around and mostly staying out of the water.

The reason for that was because there were a good dozen or so of the big guys patrolling the edge of the marsh pond looking for food.

At times like these it’s best for anything small to just stay away from the water if at all possible!

Time To Leave

Our surprise pink April visitor spent a couple of hours feeding in the salt marsh among the oyster beds yesterday afternoon. Finally he was full and decided it was time to leave, so he jumped off and flew across the marsh reeds heading for a quiet spot back in the swamp for a pleasant nap.