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Red-tailed Hawk eats Gray Squirrel!
Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, the Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is abundant throughout much of Ohio - certainly in central Ohio, where I made this shot. They are often amusing this time of year,...
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Nature: Crafty herring gull impresses with problem-solving skills
A herring gull drops a blue mussel onto the roadbed below/Jim McCormacNature: Crafty herring gull impresses with problem-solving skillsColumbus DispatchJanuary 15, 2023NATUREJim McCormacA point of...
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Gardening for Moths: A Regional Guide
My coauthor, Chelsea Gottfried, and I have been hard at work on the above title (screen capture from its Amazon page) for several years. The book is now at the printer and should be out by late...
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A hodgepodge of pics
I haven't had a lot of time for blogging of late, nor have I been afield much. A number of tasks have gotten in the way, but that will all change soon, with a trip to Delaware Bay. Seals are a primary...
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A snowy wonderland
Last Sunday, January 22, 2023, dawned cool and crisp, with the world covered in a gorgeous veneer of soft fluffy snow. Such scenes are not to be missed, especially around here when pure winter days...
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A fox at Cape Henlopen
I'm in Delaware and vicinity for about a week, staying in Lewes. It's a great base camp for a number of interesting places and I haven't been letting the grass grow under my feet. Yesterday, my first...
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King Rail, swimming
A King Rail steams across a canal in Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. Rails, obviously, swim quite well. I had heard one or two off in the marsh and was surprised when this bird...
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Once near extinction, gray seals are a frequent sight in Delaware Bay
Gray seals hauled out on rocks off Lewes, Delaware/Jim McCormacNature: Once near extinction, gray seals are a frequent sight in Delaware BayColumbus DispatchFebruary 5, 2023NATUREJim McCormacIn this...
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Gardening for Moths: Free Zoom presentation! Wednesday, February 15 at 2 pm
The Western Reserve Land Conservancy has organized a very successful virtual symposium entitled Inviting Biodiversity into Our Gardens. The 4th session is next Wednesday, February 15, and features...
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A Brown Creeper works fungus
A Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) works the plated bark of a Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda). My last day of my recent foray to the Delmarva Peninsula was epic, both for the length of the "workday" and...
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Brown-headed Nuthatches gathering pine seeds
While working my way from the Delmarva Peninsula back on January 30, I stopped at Blackwater Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. From my last visit here, I learned at least two things: try to avoid weekends...
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Northern Pintails
A drake Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) in golden post-dawn light. It was one of many pintails at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge on January 27, 2023. It was a frosty morning and a crust of ice...
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Sorry, folks. Zombie fungus is real, and it exists in Ohio
A Carolina leafroller cricket bristles with fungal fruiting bodies/Jim McCormacSorry, folks. Zombie fungus is real, and it exists in OhioColumbus DispatchFebruary 19, 2023NATUREJim McCormacThe HBO...
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Gardening for Moths - the book is out!
I and my coauthor, Chelsea Gottfried, were pleased indeed to receive our first copies of Gardening for Moths: A Regional Guide, a week or so ago. Ohio University Press did a magnificent job weaving...
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Tiny bird, big voice: Carolina wren sings a distinctive tune
A Carolina wren investigates orange mock oyster mushrooms/Jim McCormacTiny bird, big voice: Carolina wren sings a distinctive tuneColumbus DispatchMarch 5, 2023NATUREJim McCormacIt is only early March,...
View ArticlePhotography talk: Thursday, March 9, Worthington
I'm giving a talk this Thursday evening (March 9) to the Worthington Area Art League, about photography. It's entitled Conservation Photography, and isn't so much about the technicalities of...
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Goldenstar already in flower
A sun-soaked hillside erupts with the colorful flowers of one of Ohio's rarest lilies, the amazing Goldenstar (Erythronium rostratum). I was down in western Scioto County yesterday (March 9) with the...
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Some spring wildflowers, and thoughts on the photography thereof
f/9, ISO 250, 1/100 - 100mm macro lensA Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) grows before our eyes - or at least mine, at the time. I shot this poppy family member back on February 26 - a very early...
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Some more spring wildflowers, and thoughts on composition
f/7.1, ISO 400, 1/100, 100mm macro lensA Goldenstar (Erythronium rostratum) in its full glory. This is one of Ohio's rarest plants and is essentially known from only one giant population in the Rocky...
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Mild winter triggers early blooming of spring wildflowers
Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)/Jim McCormacMild winter triggers early blooming of spring wildflowersColumbus DispatchMarch 19, 2023NATUREJim McCormacTomorrow is the official first day of...
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