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Sharp-shinned Hawk
As always, click the photo to enlargeA juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) wafts overhead. Given its tiny size, the bird is almost certainly a male. Indeed, when I spotted it far out, my...
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Nature: Distinctive singers, a variety of tiny wrens found in Ohio boast bold...
A marsh wren does the splits while peeking from cattails at Battelle Darby Metro Park/Jim McCormacNature: Distinctive singers, a variety of tiny wrens found in Ohio boast bold voicesColumbus...
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American Pipit
Tis the season for pipits. October is a big month for southbound American Pipits, and I was on foot in a good spot to hear/see them last Friday. I heard at least 75-100 pass overhead - they are...
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Acorn-toting blue jays much like Johnny Appleseed
A blue jay hauls five pin oak acorns/Jim McCormacAcorn-toting blue jays much like Johnny AppleseedColumbus DispatchNovember 6, 2022NATUREJim McCormacThis is the 408th column I’ve written for The...
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Juvenile Cooper's Hawk
A juvenile male Cooper's Hawk sits on my backyard fence yesterday. I routinely receive visits from several different individuals, and it's not hard to tell when one is around. The songbirds make...
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Black-bellied Whistling-Duck nesting update
Four of Ohio's now famous Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks loaf along the shoreline of the small pond where the state's first apparently wild nesting record of this species occurred. I visited the Wayne...
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Bobcat, with kittens
BLOG NOTE: About every week of late, someone asks me 1) why I stopped making blog posts, or 2) why the email notifications for new posts went away. The two are related, as #1 is from people who...
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Frost Flowers
This is a showy little mint known as Dittany (Cunila origanoides). It is a southern species, and Ohio is at the northern limits of its range. Dittany ranges across the southeastern and eastern portion...
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Orchid program - next Monday evening
I'm giving a program on orchids, and the photography thereof, for the Westbridge Camera Club next Monday evening, December 5, at 7 pm. All are welcome. It's at Midwest Photo, 2887 Silver Dr, Columbus,...
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Two showy creatures at Kankakee Sands
A Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) atop a particularly showy hunting perch. The beautiful predatory insect chose this equally beautiful flowering spike of Hoary Vervain (Verbena stricta) as a...
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Northern Gannet on Lake Erie!
Last Sunday, December 4, I took a trip to one of my favorite Lake Erie hotspots, the municipal pier at Huron, Ohio, in Erie County. I was undecided about any trip until late the night before, due to...
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American Mistletoe
A Silver Maple, liberally festooned with large orbicular clumps of American Mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum). This is the same plant that is often used as Xmas decor around now, and that people like...
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Two owls - one shot. Almost!
A Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) hunts from atop a kestrel nest box. Our team stopped to watch this box because we spotted a red morph Eastern Screech-Owl looking out of the hole. The owl popped back...
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Brown Rats, in the "wild"
While shooting eagles at the Conowingo Dam in Maryland back on December 14 (2022), I noticed a glimmer of fur flash through the rock riprap behind me. Weasel? A minute later the suspect revealed...
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BWD Magazine
BWD Magazine (formerly Bird Watcher's Digest) always features artwork on the cover, often original. The current issue sports a wonderful rendition of a Red-shouldered Hawk in habitat, by Michael...
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Herring Gulls, mussel-bombing
An adult Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) loafs on rocky riprap where the Barnegat River meets the Atlantic Ocean. I made this image on an epic December 13 (2022) trip to Barnegat Light, New Jersey,...
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The Gadwall, an underappreciated beauty
A pair of Gadwall (Mareca strepera, hen L, drake R) forage for chara (a type of aquatic algae). In the photo below, a drake shows off his ornate plumage, which is rich in ornate vermiculations,...
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Nature: Delicate frost flowers are Nature's answer to ice sculptures
A frost flower formed on a dittany plant/Jim McCormacNature: Delicate frost flowers are Nature's answer to ice sculpturesColumbus DispatchJanuary 1, 2022NATUREJim McCormacSaturday, Nov. 19 dawned crisp...
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A tale of two hawks
As always, click the photo to enlargeAn adult Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) sits on a wire in the little village of Limerick, in Jackson County, Ohio. I was here on December 29 to cover my turf...
View ArticleSpeaking and Guiding gigs: 2023
I had to change the format of this listing, thanks to Blogger's (my platform) unfortunate decision to require html coding to do even formerly simple tasks like add a sidebar of speaking engagements....
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