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Nature: Short-eared Owls wing it to Ohio in larger numbers this winter
A short-eared owl hunts from a perch/Jim McCormacNature: Short-eared Owls wing it to Ohio in larger numbers this winterColumbus DispatchJanuary 7, 2024NATUREJim McCormacOhio’s six species of regularly...
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Brown-headed Nuthatch
This Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) was part of a small troupe occupying pines in a park in Hickory, North Carolina. Shauna Weyrauch and I recently took a week to visit southern Georgia and a...
View ArticleSpeaking & Guiding Gigs 2024
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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Scores of English name changes to birds are apparently coming
A male Kirtland's Warbler sings from a jack pine. One of the rarest warblers, its population is only about 4,500 birds. I photographed this one on May 24, 2019, in northern Michigan. If the American...
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Fishing spiders in Ohio? It's true.
A female white-banded fishing spider guards its nest/Jim McCormacFishing spiders in Ohio? It's true.Columbus DispatchFebruary 4, 2024NATUREJim McCormacArachnophobia, the irrational fear of spiders, is...
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Bird photography talk: The Art and Science of Shooting Birds
I'm giving a talk on bird photography - The Art and Science of Shooting Birds - tomorrow evening, February 21, at 6:30 pm at the Cincinnati Nature Center. It's for the center's camera club, but guests...
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Nature/Opinion: American Ornithological Society set to rename honorific birds
A juvenile Cooper's hawk, perhaps upset that its name is changing/Jim McCormac Nature/Opinion: American Ornithological Society set to rename honorific birdsColumbus DispatchFebruary 18, 2024NOTES: The...
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The first wildflowers erupt
Ivy-leaved Speedwell (Veronica hederifolia) was in full bloom on south-facing slopes of the Ohio River last Saturday, February 24. Shauna Weyrauch and I visited the deep south of Ohio last weekend...
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Bewick's Swan: An Ohio First
A quintet of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) prepares for landing.I attended the annual Ohio Bluebird Society's annual meeting last Saturday, March 2, to speak about moths. Little known fact: The...
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Eastern Red Bats, moths, and leaf litter
Hi all, and thanks as always for reading! Sorry for the long (for me) lapse in posts. Things have been a bit busy of late, and it's been tough to carve time out to sit down and craft a new piece. But...
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Spring Botany Blast! New River Gorge, West Virginia, April 11 - 14
The inaugural Spring Botany Blast! takes place this April 11 - 14 in and around the incredible New River Gorge in West Virginia. This region is a plant aficionado's paradise. A diversity of habitats,...
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Yellow Trillium, and lots of it!
An amazing stand of Yellow Trillium (Trillium luteum) blankets a rich forest in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. This morning.I'm working my way back north following a...
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A white Eastern Gray Squirrel
One of the white (leucistic) Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) that can be locally common in parts of SW North Carolina. While the town of Brevard is famous for their white squirrels,...
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Northern Flicker, violets, and ants
This male Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) spent much time foraging in my lawn yesterday afternoon, April 10. Ground-bound flickers are often hunting ants. It may have been no coincidence that he...
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Blue-eyed Mary, en masse, with pink-flowered variant
As always, click the image to enlargeThe weekend past, Shauna and I visited Washington and Monroe counties (Ohio), primarily to engage in fish work. I'll hope to post some of our piscine captures...
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Barred Owl, with a dash of milkwort
A Barred Owl looks at the photographer from atop a broken-off tree. I spotted the owl as it flew through the forest with a squirrel, then plunged into this snag. After a few minutes it popped up, sans...
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Green Salamander
A Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus) descends a vertical cliff face, making for an interesting photo perspective.I returned yesterday from the New River Birding & Nature Festival in Fayetteville,...
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Kentucky Lady's-slipper
A trio of Kentucky Lady's-slippers (Cypripedium kentuckiense) grow along a small stream in rural northern Kentucky. This site is only about five miles from Ohio - on the other side of the mighty Ohio...
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Black-necked Stilts at Howard Marsh
A Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) totters about on its impossibly long bubblegum-pink legs. This is one of two stilts that I saw at Howard Marsh MetroparkHoward Marsh Metropark in Lucas...
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Mothapalooza 2024: July 19 - 21
The quirky but infinitely fun and thoroughly educational Mothapalooza rolls around in less than two months and it's time to register. And register you should. This is a great event in one of the most...
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