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Allegheny Woodrat, a charming packrat
A sheer cliff face of dolomitic limestone thrusts upward from the forest floor in a remote area of Adams County. The rock is pockmarked with crevasses and alcoves; perfect habitat for one of the rarest...
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Nature: Wasp turns caterpillars into zombified protectors
A Glyptapanteles wasp cocoon guarded by a parasitized saddled prominent caterpillarColumbus DispatchOctober 1, 2017NATUREJim McCormacGeorge Romero, who died in July, made some of the greatest horror...
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White-haired Goldenrod, Solidago albopilosa, a major rarity back from the brink
A large sandstone overhand forms an impressive cliff deep in the Red River Gorge of Kentucky, part of the Daniel Boone National Forest. This is a beautiful area, full of stunning scenery and...
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A visit to a fen
Ohio Goldenrod, Solidago ohioensis, brightens a largely senescent prairie fen on an early October day. The goldenrod is well named. It was discovered and described to science from a prairie near Dayton...
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A cooperative Eastern Screech-Owl (with comments on low-light photography)
f/4, 1/100th, ISO 400, + 1/3rd exposure compensationAn Eastern Screech-Owl peers from its roosting hole - a cavity in a gnarled box-elder. I made this image and those that follow yesterday at a local...
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The Milky Way
As always, click on the photo to enlarge. If you're bored, try to count all of the stars.The cloudy band of stars known as the Milky Way cuts diagonally across this exposure. I made the image a week...
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Hudsonian Godwit, Franklin's Gull, and going facedown in the sand
A pair of Hudsonian Godwits rocket by at Maumee Bay State Park, hard on the shore of Lake Erie just east of Toledo. I visited this spot last Wednesday, with the big sandpiper being a primary target....
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Park in Delaware's backyard abounds with birds, beauty
Shale Hollow Park, part of Preservation Parks of Delaware County/Jim McCormacColumbus DispatchOctober 29, 2017NATUREJim McCormacWhen I was a kid, my parents regularly packaged my brothers and me into...
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Calliope Hummingbird in central Ohio!
A hatch-year male Calliope Hummingbird strikes a pose. Small but tough, the hummingbird was feeding actively yesterday in 39 F temperatures. It frequents feeders and gardens at a home in Delaware...
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Nature: Long-flying godwits make rare pit stop near Toledo
A juvenile Hudsonian godwit at Maumee Bay State ParkColumbus DispatchNovember 5, 2017NATUREJim McCormacThe average American flies about 1,500 miles per year. That figure is dwarfed by the travels of...
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Earthstar fungus
A bizarre but strangely showy earthstar fungus, Astraeus spp. (probably A. hygrometricus) graces dry sandy soil in the Oak Openings of northwest Ohio. From my experience these interesting fungi are not...
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Mink punks muskrat, scares ducks!
The tranquil waters of the pond at Char-Mar Ridge Park in Delaware County, Ohio. I made my second visit to this site yesterday, and left scratching my head as to why I've not been here more often. It's...
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Native bees do the heavy lifting
A sunny roadbank covered with a spring-blooming fleabane known as robin's-plantain, Erigeron pulchellus. The flowers of this species, and the similar Philadelphia fleabane, E. philadelphicus, lure...
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Nature: Green Lawn Cemetery’s majestic old trees leave lasting impression
Randy Rogers provides scale for the Green Lawn Cemetery tree estimated to be about 313 years oldColumbus DispatchNovember 19, 2017NATUREJim McCormacA century before Ohio became a state, a white oak...
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Beaver Valley Christmas Bird Count: December 16
Your narrator's car - several years back - sits along a rarely traveled lane in rural Jackson County, Ohio. I was searching for birds during the Beaver Valley Christmas Bird Count (CBC). This census,...
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Photography workshops and expeditions 2018!
A Baltimore oriole is nicely accentuated by the flowers of a chokecherry, Prunus virginiana.I am pleased to announce that master photographer Debbie DiCarlo and I are partnering to present a series of...
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Nature: Calliope hummingbird excites birdwatchers in central Ohio
A calliope hummingbird in Delaware County/Jim McCormacColumbus DispatchDecember 3, 2017NATUREJim McCormacThe most famous bird in Ohio right now is a tiny puffball that weighs little more than a penny....
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Epic Green Lawn Cemetery tour!
A month or so ago, I visited Columbus's famous Green Lawn Cemetery with cemetery board member Randy Rogers. Our main mission was to look at some of the massive old trees that are harbored in the...
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Snowy owls irrupt!
This winter is shaping up to be another decent-sized irruption of snowy owls in the Great Lakes region, and points east. We've had a few dozen reports here in Ohio - mostly along Lake Erie but a...
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