Saturday, December 7, 2024
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Saturday, November 23, 2024
New Book "B U G S from A-Z"
I've just finished a brand new book of wonderful macro photographs called BUGS from A-Z. It's a lot of fun. If you want to take a look just click the link: https://www.blurb.com/b/12205712-b-u-g-s
Monday, November 11, 2024
The Fields in Valley Forge Are Being Mowed
And that means you can see a bit more of the wildlife because they have no place to hide. Here's a little fox and a harrier and another hawk that posed for my camera this morning.
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
The Chipmunk
Yesterday as I was walking through Charlestown Meadows I saw a little chipmunk with a few nuts in his mouth scurry across the path, run across the leaves and down into a hole. I waited and waited and the chipmunk emerged from the hole and ran back across the leaves, jumped up on a stump, jumped off the stump and then found a few more nuts and repeated the whole process. I sat down with him for at least an hour and got a few fun shots:
Saturday, September 28, 2024
"Bird Island" The Book
Well, I finally pushed the button on the Bird Island Book. If you want to take a look, just click the link. You can preview the whole book for free, Don't buy it, it is way too expensive.https://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/10394832/2e45374a0ff3b1b6204b3dfaba72b0b2aaf6af3d
Monday, September 23, 2024
The Lovely Lacewing and Other Recent Favorites
Lacewing Beetle |
Blue Faced Dragonfly |
The Lady Praying Mantis |
Monday, August 26, 2024
Territorial Dispute
I was deep in the woods and came to a wetland where there were so many frogs hanging around. I saw a green heron in the opposite side of the pool. Walking through the high grass, I finally settled down next to the pool and waited and waited and waited. Finally the Green Heron walked away from me and started squeaking and then up in the air another one flew and I was lucky enough to catch the shot. I came back the next day and got a few more. They are such photogenic birds.
Monday, August 19, 2024
Teenage Praying Mantises Posing for her Picture
This very morning in Valley Forge. And the second one was in the field off of Ship Road in Malvern. Oh they have such wonderful faces.
Sunday, August 4, 2024
Ailanthus Webworm Moth on a Purple Headed Sneezeweed. Say that ten times real fast......
This garish little moth posed for me this morning in the rain in Valley Forge. See those little water droplets on the petals of the Sneezeweed?? And here he is turning his head and looking right at the camera!
Thursday, August 1, 2024
Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Bird Island!!!
I'm here on Bird Island in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean east of Tanzania. Truly a tropical island and a bird lover's paradise. I'm here with two of my favorite photographers, Denise Ippolito and Paul McKenzie. It is hotter than hot (at least 100 degrees most days), totally humid, bugs galore, but the photographic opportunities are incredible. Here's a few of what we've found so far.
Sooty Tern Greeting |
Sooty Tern - Tonsil Check |
Seychelles Small Day Gecko - Look at those eyes!! |
Tortoise at Sunrise on the Beach |
Tiny Hermit Crab at Dawn |
Talking to the Blue Crab |
Fairy Tern Showing me her egg!!!! |
Baby Fairy Tern waiting for Mom |
Giant Tortoise - Could be over 100 years old |
Blue Crab - My Favorite |
Momma Fairy Tern feeding a fish to her baby |
Noddy Terns in the Boudoir |
Fruit Still Life |
Tropic Bird - Look at that Tail |
Noddy Tern with Nesting Material |
Noddy Terns in Love |
Noddy Tern and Red Flower |
Another of Mom and Babe Fairy Tern |
Baby Noddy Tern |
Tuesday, July 2, 2024
"Bluebirds" win Second Place in BetterPhoto March Contest!!
Macrosiagon - Otherwise known as the Wedge Shaped Beetle - Look at those Antennae!!
Brand new bug for me. And not such a good one. I learned that they hang around flowers that wasps like. Then the female beetle lays her eggs. The eggs hatch and the larvae are carried by the wasp to their own nests. "Instead of eating both the wasp's egg and the pollen stored in the nest, the wedge-shaped beetle larva waits for the host's egg to hatch, then burrows into the wasp larva. It consumes the larva from the inside for a while, then rips its way out of its still-living host, wraps itself around the poor host's neck like a spiny collar, and proceeds to eat away at its victim from the outside, eventually killing it." (Insects Their Natural History and Diversity). Oh what a world!
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Friday, June 14, 2024
"Mommy!!!!"
Baby Orchard Oriole begging mom for a little something to eat this morning in Valley ForgeAnd here is the beautiful Willow Flycatcher who was perched near the baby Orchard Oriole. Another great morning in Valley Forge.
Thursday, June 13, 2024
A walk in the Field in Valley Forge
I got up early one morning this week and drove out to my favorite bug field in Valley Forge. Oh, it was so good. They are all young bugs for the most part. Tiny and difficult to see, but they still have all their body parts. Here's what I found: First the Ambush Bug. The ambush bug looks a little like a flower and hides on the side of a plant or on top of a flower and grabs his prey with his huge forearms.
Then next was the Jumping Spider. If you look closely you can see a reflection of my macro lens in each of his four front eyes.
Then came this imposter: The Camouflage Looper Inch Worm. He is a regular inchworm except that he bites off the flowers he is eating and using his spit, he glues the flowers onto his body to act as camouflage to his predators.
And here is a plane old regular inchworm on a little flower. Finally the fabulous Robberfly. Look at those compound eyes. He is perched on a plant where the camouflage looper inchworm had gotten his camouflage. Check it out by looking above at that looper. Oh the wonders of nature.