Wildlife – Page 20 – Earthwatcher

Green Heron

May 31, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Photography, Wildlife

This week, I was blessed to be able to observe and photograph a green heron for 10 minutes. I see green herons from time to time but only one other time did I see one long enough to take a photo and one shot was all he gave me. This colorful bird is much smaller than its more familiar cousin, the Great Blue Heron. Why it is called the green heron, I do not know. I only see gray, blue, chestnut red and yellow. Regardless, they are beautiful. I hope you enjoy these images.

Regards,

Larry.

Note: Click on caption to see image at larger size and greater resolution

Note: These and other images are available to purchase at my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us.

Visitors to the Saguaro

May 5, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Birds, desert, Photography, Wildlife

Image of a Gila Woodpecker perched atop a saguaro cactus — Gila Woodpecker

I visited Phoenix, AZ recently. I stayed at a beautiful place at the foot of South Mountain. The place had a patio that overlooked the city and at the corner of that patio was a large saguaro cactus. The mornings were beautiful, so I sat on the deck and watched the birds as they visited the cactus. Here is some of what I saw.

The starling was not taken on the same cactus. It was sitting outside its nesting hole on a cactus at another location.

Note: Click on caption to see image at a larger size.

Image of a Cactus Wren perched atop a saguaro cactus — Cactus Wren

Image of a European Collared Dove perched atop a saguaro cactus — Eurasian Collared Dove

Image of an Anna's Hummingbird hovering alongside a saguaro cactus — Anna’s Hummingbird

Image of a Gilded Flicker perched atop a saguaro cactus — Gilded Flicker

Image of a Gila Woodpecker hidden among the arms of a saguaro cactus — Gila Woodpecker

Image of a European Starling standing by its nesting hole in a saguaro cactus — European Starling

The Magnificent Wood Duck

April 17, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Photography, Waterfowl, Wildlife

Image of a male wood duck perched in a tree — Male Wood Duck

Ducks swim in lakes, ponds, rivers and oceans. They waddle around on the ground. Many display beautiful coloring. One of my favorites is the strikingly colored wood duck. They are a bit of an oddity among ducks; they perch and nest in trees. When the young have developed enough, the parents make them jump to the ground, without help, and waddle to the water to begin their life as a duck.

Note: Click on caption to see image in larger size.

Image of a pair of wood ducks. — Pair of Wood Ducks

Image of a male wood duck in a pond. — Male Wood Duck

Note: These and other images are available for purchase by visiting my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting: larry@earthwatcher.us.

More Common Views from Sacramento and Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

January 21, 2018 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Colusa National Wildlife Reserve, Duck, Fujifilm Cameras, Photography, Sacramento National Wildlife Reserve, Wildlife

Snow Geese, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, JAN 2018

A few days ago, I shared some images of the less common sightings at these 2 major refuges on the Pacific Flyway. But, the usual suspects were there also. Today, I will share a few images from this set.

Regards,

Larry

Note: Please click on caption to see image in larger size.

Western Pond Turtle, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge; JAN 2018

Western Meadowlark, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge; JAN 2018

Great Blue Heron, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge; JAN 2018

Whte Fronted Goose — White Fronted Geese, Colusa National Wildlife Refuge; JAN 2018

American Wigeon, Colusa National Wildlife Refuge; JAN 2018

An American Coot in High Key — American Coot in High Key, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge; JAN 2018

Killdeer, Colusa National Wildlife Refuge; JAN 2018

Note: These and other images are available to purchase on my website, www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us.

Birds and Flying Bugs

June 10, 2017 by Earthwatcher, posted in American River Parkway, Birds, Butterfly, Eagle, Fujifilm Cameras, Photography, Sacramento, Wildlife

Image of an Eaglet - Bald Eagle Chick, American River Parkway, Folsom, CA, MAY 2017 — Bald Eagle Eaglet

I want to share a few images from some recent walks around the American River Parkway near Folsom, CA. I’ve also included one from Oak Alley Plantation near New Orleans. Nature provides some beautiful creatures for us to appreciate. I hope you enjoy these few.

Regards,

Larry

Note: Click on caption to see image at larger size.

Image of a Female Eastern or Common Pondhawk Dragonfly, Oak Alley Plantation, LA, APR 2017 — Eastern or Common Pondhawk

Image of a California Quail, American River Parkway, Folsom, CA, JUN 2017 — California Quail

Image of a Northern Mockingbird, American River Parkway, Folsom, CA, JUN 2017 — Northern Mockingbird

Image of an Ash-throated Flycatcher, American River Parkway, FOlsom, CA, JUN 2017 — Ash-throated Flycatcher

Image of a Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly, American River Parkway, Folsom, CA, JUN 2017 — Spicebush Swallowtail

IMage of a Spanish Swallowtailbutterfly, American River Parkway, Folsom, CA, JUN 2017 — Spanish Swallowtail

Image of a pair of Tree Swallows, American River Parkway, FOlsom, CA, JUN 2017 — Tree Swallows

Image of a California Towhee, American River Parkway, Folsom, CA, JUN 2017 — California Towhee

Note: These and other images are available for purchase on my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us

Sad Elephant

February 27, 2017 by Earthwatcher, posted in Elephant, Fujifilm Cameras, Photography, Wildlife

I took this image of an elephant at Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa. This beautiful but sad face tugged at my heart strings a bit.

Note: These and other images are available for purchase on my website: http://www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us

Hornbills

November 5, 2016 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Fujifilm Cameras, Photography, South Africa, Wildlife

Image of Southern Ground Hornbill - Perspective 2 — Southern Ground Hornbill

One of the many species of birds we saw while in South Africa were hornbills. They are beautiful birds that cast a striking pose even when flying. I hope you enjoy these images I am sharing.

Regards,

Larry

Click on image to view in larger size.

Image of Yellow Billed Hornbill - Perspective 2 — Pair of Yellow Billed Hornbills

Image of Red Billed Hornbill — Red Billed Hornbill

Image of Southern Ground Hornbill - Perspective 1 — Pair of Southern Ground Hornbills

Image of Yellow Billed Hornbill - Perspective 1 — Yellow Billed Hornbill

These and other images are available to purchase on my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting larry@earthwatcher.us

African Penguin

October 8, 2016 by Earthwatcher, posted in Earthwatcher, Fujifilm Cameras, Penguin, Photography, South Africa, Wildlife

The African Penguin is a species of penguin found in the waters surrounding southern Africa. It is also known as the jackass penguin because of its donkey like bray. Its numbers are declining and it is considered endangered.

South Africa has created a reserve for these penguins on Boulder Beach near Simon’s Town. There is a nice boardwalk down to the beach and an observation platform for viewing. The penguins meander around and come very close to you. They were a lot of fun to watch.

I hope you enjoy these images.

Regards,

Larry

Note: Click on individual images to see in larger size.

African Penguin - Perspective 6 — African Penguin – Perspective 6

African Penguin - Perspective 5 — African Penguin – Perspective 3

African Penguin - Perspective 1 — African Penguin – Perspective 1

African Penguin - Perspective 4 — African Penguin – Perspective 4

African Penguin - Perspective 3 — African Penguin – Perspective 3

These and other images are available for purchase at my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting me.

Antelope

October 7, 2016 by Earthwatcher, posted in Antelope, images, Photography, South Africa, Wildlife

Waterbuck - Perspective 2 — Waterbuck – Perspective 2, Elephant Plains Game Lodge, Sabi Sands, South Africa

I learned on my trip that South Africa has no deer, only antelope. I had never been curious enough to find out what the really is the difference between deer and antelope; they look mostly the same. I learned that deer, as well as elk and moose, have antlers made of bone and are shed and regrown every year. Antelope have horns which have a bony core covered by keratin. Horns are not shed and regrown. I did know that there were different varieties of antelope but, though I only saw a sample, I was really surprised at how many varieties there are.

A few weeks ago I published pictures of the beautiful kudu. Today I am rounding out my collection with the tiny duiker and steenbok, the klipspringer (rock jumper), the ubiquitous impala, the bontebok, the hartebeest and the big, beautiful waterbuck.

I hope you enjoy these images.

Regards,

Larry

Note: the images can be seen in a larger size at: https://larryklink.smugmug.com/South-African-Adventure-2016 in the Antelope and Waterbuck Galleries

Duiker, Elephant Plains Game Lodge, Sabi Sands, South Africa

Impala Herd, Kruger National Park, South Africa, AUG 2016

Waterbuck - Perspective 3 — Waterbuck – Perspective 3, Kruger National Park, South Africa, AUG 2016

Steenbok - Perspective 1 — Steenbok- Perspective 1, Kruger National Park, South Africa, AUG 2016

Steenbok - Perspective 2 — Steenbok, Perspective 2, Kruger National Park, South Africa, AUG 2016

Klipspringer (Rock Jumper), Kruger National Park, South Africa, AUG 2016

Bontebuck — Bontebuk, South Africa, August 2016

Hartebeast — Hartebeest, Addo Elephant Park, South Africa, AUG 2016

These and other images are available for purchase at my website: www.earthwatcher.us or by contacting me.

The African Fish Eagle

October 4, 2016 by Earthwatcher, posted in Bird Photography, Birds, Eagle, Fujifilm Cameras, images, Photography, South Africa, Wildlife

African Fish Eagle in Flight - Perspective 1 — African Fish Eagle In Flight – Kruger National Park, South Africa, AUG 2016

The African Fish Eagle was the most common large raptor we saw on our trip to South Africa. It is a beautiful bird that is a cousin to our American Bald Eagle. I learned from my friend Kevin that both the African Fish Eagle and the Bald Eagle belong to the family of fish eagles. They are distinguished from the family of booted or true eagles by their legs. True eagles have feathers on their lower legs. I am a novice birder and never realized there were different types of eagles. By the way, our Golden Eagle is a snake eagle; yet another type.

Our most interesting encounter was watching a fish eagle being chased by a Blacksmith Lapwing. I guess the eagle was too close to a nest. It was fun watching it fend off numerous attacks.

I hope you enjoy these images of these magnificent birds,

Regards,

Larry