Mule Deer Ever seen such big ears!? This mule deer doe must have sensed I was no threat, her fear instinct did not overtake her curiosity. But, she was cautious, only allowing one camera shot before returning to her breakfast. Even though she wasn't looking at me while grazing, her ears always pointed in my … Continue reading Big Ears
Category: Wildlife
Sheep Protector During our ATV tour of the Comstock game reserve we came across this adorable alpaca. Good natured and easily approachable, I thought he was part of a "petting zoo" application that might appeal to young families. Not exactly. The alpaca was there to protect the sheep from coyotes. Thought for the Day: As … Continue reading Alpaca
An interesting animal, the giraffe. Exotic color and markings, obscenely tall (over 15') with spindly legs, surprisingly quick and agile, gentle demeanor, and a very particular eater. Its main food source is the thorny acacia tree, consuming 100 lbs of leaves and twigs per day. This photo was taken in the in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater, … Continue reading Giraffe
Young Doe I was surprised as she was. Our eyes met simultaneously and the realization of what we saw froze us both. The young doe seemed more curious than afraid, no flight instinct was apparent. She just stood there while I took several pictures, as if modeling for the paparazzi. After a while she sauntered … Continue reading Oh! Deer Me!
Early morning in Smoky Mountains NP an elk herd was grazing on the edge of the forest. This doe was off by itself, as if being shunned by the others. She was aware of me, but didn't seem bothered by my presence. Ho hum, just another butinsky. Thought for the Day: Make someone happy today … Continue reading Doe Elk
This is the Black Swallowtail butterfly that was clinging to the railing of my deck. (click here). I just rotated the image 90 degrees to get a level front view. It reminded me of a large airplane at the end of the runway. Since then, it has snowed almost 4 inches; hope he got cleared … Continue reading Ready for Take Off
Brrr! It was cold the day I found this Black Swallowtail butterfly on the lawn, temp in the 40's and strong winds. It was motionless; I thought it was frozen ... or dead, but flapped its wings when I tried to pick it up. I placed it on my deck so it wouldn't get stepped … Continue reading Black Swallowtail
This is my second butterfly "raised" and released, DP-2. Like clockwork, it hatched on the 10th day of pupation. When the larva (caterpillar) pupates, it spins a cocoon-like shell around itself hanging from the bottom of a milkweed leaf or the top of the jar in my case. The chrysalis (cocoon) is green as I … Continue reading Monarch Hatching
Just in time for lunch. Cute little critter, huh? Thought for the Day: Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. … Continue reading Fruit Bat
I started this little science project with a Monarch larva (caterpillar) on August 11th, when DP-1 was less than 1/4" long. It grew to over 1 1/2" long before it pupated on August 29th. After ten days in the pupa stage, a magnificent female Monarch butterfly hatched around noon on September 8th. When we opened the … Continue reading DP-1 Lift Off
I see many faces in this shot. I see a grumpy old man, I see a stone-faced poker player and I see a stern judge listening to the evidence. I see a family patriarch or an elder adviser. Maybe a mind reader. Frozen, motionless; I couldn't get a read from its body language and the … Continue reading Many Faces
My current pet project is the butterfly larva I adopted a few weeks ago, named DP-1 (click here). A couple days ago, after growing to approx. 1 1/2" long, it climbed to the top of it's new home, gallon jar, and wrapped itself in a protective green shell. It is now in its final stage, … Continue reading Pupa
About a week ago, my daughter gave me a Monarch caterpillar she found in my milkweed garden. She has been raising Monarchs for 3-4 years so I thought I might give it a go. I started a journal and gave it a name, DP-1, which comes from the Monarch's scientific name, Danaus plexippups. It--no idea … Continue reading DP-1
Animals get tired, just like people. This monkey must have had a very busy day; it is obviously all tuckered out, pooped, spent, down for the count, drained, bushed, outta gas, weak, sapped, exhausted and just plain tired. His grand kids must have just gone home. Thought for the Day: On the seventh day, God … Continue reading Exhausted
Log rolling is a popular sport among lumberjacks, but what about pelicans? It looks like these two are "on a roll", so to speak. The one on the right seems satisfied with its position, but the one on the left seems unsure of its next step. This was taken in Wildlife Safari Park near Ashland, … Continue reading Log Rolling
Three years ago the grand kids painted bird house gourds on July 4th, while waiting for the fireworks. All took them home but one; the 15 year old at the time, thought he was too old to hang a hand painted gourd in his back yard. This year mother wren selected the lone gourd for … Continue reading July 4th
Pelicans are extremely flexible. I caught this one rotating his beak clockwise from 9 to 5 o'clock. I just happened to catch it at 12 o'clock. Why? I don't know, but I saw several of them doing it. It looked more like a stretching exercise than anything else, maybe keeping its gullet flexible for the … Continue reading Open Wide
On the same morning I saw my first reddish heron, I found a pelican nesting site nearby. It was in the backwaters of Sarasota Bay, near a public boat dock surrounded by mangroves. Early morning, active birds, including heron and egrets, and very noisy. Birds were everywhere. Locals told me the wild birds put up … Continue reading Posing Pelican
At the end of a quarter-mile board walk through a mangrove swamp, I found myself on a platform in shallow water with a 180 degree view of the Gulf of Mexico. Sounds of Sarasota did not penetrate this site. Dawn was breaking, and birds were noisily swarming in the sky. Gradually, the wading birds began … Continue reading Reddish Heron
I found this blue heron wading in the shallows of a manicured lake on the grounds of the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, FL. The bird was oblivious to me and others on the well-traveled foot bridge. This photo opportunity was better than any zoo shot. Just another lucky shot. Thought for the Day: Seize … Continue reading Blue Heron
