Camo caterpillars and the birds that eat them
A Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) in a characteristic hunting posture. The bird is searching for its major prey, the caterpillars of moths. It has its head cocked upwards, searching the lower...
View ArticleMothing in a cave
Mothing in a cave. At our recent caterpillar safari at Highlands Nature Sanctuary, owned by the Arc of Appalachia, most of us were in the museum photographing caterpillar livestock on Sunday morning....
View ArticleA motherlode of Lincoln's Sparrows
The inaugural Headlands Birding Festival took place last weekend, based at Headlands Dunes State Park. There were a number of breakout speakers on Saturday afternoon, and keynotes Friday and Saturday...
View ArticleAmerican Copper
I was pleased to stumble into a small population of American Coppers (Lycaena phlaeas) last Thursday, September 26, in Wayne County (Ohio). This one is nectaring on white heath aster (Symphyotrichum...
View ArticleBrown-headed Nuthatch
I've been playing catch-up with photo labeling and archival - note to self: do not fall behind on this. Anyway, one positive is revisiting many cool sites and lots of interesting flora and fauna. This...
View ArticleAlder and Willow flycatchers, side by side
Back in early June, Shauna and I traveled to rural western New York, to attend the Allegany Nature Pilgrimage. It's quite the event, with hundreds of attendees, scores of field trips and other...
View ArticleShale-barren Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium), white-flowered form
As always, click the photo to enlargeLast Saturday, Shauna had to give a program on Bobcats to a group at the Arc of Appalachia's Highland Nature Sanctuary and following that we headed down to Lynx...
View ArticleA very cool moth
On July 28 of this year, I did some backyard mothing - something that I should do more of here, as I usually get cool bugs. And who doesn't like cool bugs. This uber-cool bug is a Lesser Grapevine...
View ArticleBlack-bellied Whistling-Ducks nest again in Ohio, producing scads of chicks
This rather innocuous-looking place was our destination last Sunday, October 20, 2024, and it's a spot I had been hoping to visit for a few months. Better late than never, and in this case, late was...
View ArticleAnna's Hummingbird in Ohio
A subadult male Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna) strikes a pose. The bird has been present for about a week in and around the yard of Gerry and John Brevoort, in a north Columbus neighborhood. Two...
View ArticleOhio-Erie Canal
As always, click the image to enlargeThe long-abandoned Ohio-Erie Canal, in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, on a misty morning. Shauna and I had a great time visiting various spots in Ohio's only...
View ArticleNorthern "Yellowhammer" Flicker
A male Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) comes in for a landing, showing off his golden underwings and tail. This is the former "Yellow-shafted" Flicker that ranges over the eastern two-thirds of...
View ArticlePhotographic/Watercolor conservation art exhibit
Watercolor artist Juliet Mullett and I have collaborated on an art exhibit focused on flora, fauna, and conservation. It features 51 pieces: Juliet's amazing watercolor pencil portraits, many of which...
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Over the course of prepping for tonight's talk (details HERE) about Ohio's macro habitats and the conservation thereof, I dipped deep into the archives and ran across lots of imagery I hadn't looked at...
View ArticleHawaiian Stilt
As always, click the image to enlargeA Hawaiian Stilt, or Ae'o, strikes a pose. This bird, for now, is considered a subspecies of the Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus subsp. knudseni). It is...
View ArticleGreen Sea Turtles
A highlight of our recent Hawaii trip was seeing good numbers of Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas). This is the commonest and most wide-ranging of the world's seven sea turtle species, and I've seen...
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