The big Spoonbills did not intimidate this smaller Heron at all. I watched him spot something and weave his way between the Spoonbills.
The other birds ignored him too.
He was focused on some movement on the other side of this group.
And he was correct, there was something.
He never hesitated, just reached out and grabbed something so small I couldn’t see it. They hunt the tiny fish as if they were a trophy.
This was an unusually large bowl of Spoonbills for around these marshes. This year they were also much more tolerant of us.
With luck they will be around for awhile longer.
Keeping an eye on me.
Pelicans are one of those big birds that just don’t get up in the air easily. Their big wings work hard, but the bird almost runs along the surface to get enough momentum to fly.
This Pelican was almost bouncing on the water.
I photographed the start to finish take off because if you’ve never witnessed it you’ll find it fairly amusing.
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I’m not sure who was following who here.
The Spoonbill didn’t seemed at all interested in the jumping and flapping fishing technique of the Snowy Egret.
He watched him once or twice, but for the most part ignored all the thrashing around.
Spoonbills can be pushy and snapping their bills like castanets gets loud. For all that I rarely see anything physical happen. However, this must have hurt.
On the old pile of branches one adult wanted the top spot.
When a younger bird didn’t move fast enough he forced the issue.
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This is one of the more ‘challenging’ birds to photograph in flight. When they fish low and in the surf like this one though it’s much easier.
In the past I only tried to follow these birds in the marshes. They shift and turn at full speed following the small fish out there so good images are rare.
On the shore you can focus on the water line and know the bird will likely follow that path.
Some photographers just look and instinctively see images like this. Not me, which is why I appreciate these photographs when I am able to recognize them.
