Squirrel Appreciation Day

Western Gray Squirrel
Effie Yeaw Nature Center, Sacramento, California, USA; APR 2019

I realized that I made a grievous error; last Sunday was Squirrel Appreciation Day and I failed to do a post in their honor. So, to the members of the family Sciuridae, Belated Squirrel Appreciation Day.

Every photo in this post is of a unique type of squirrel, Chipmunks, Marmots and Prairie Dogs. I don’t have any Ground Hog pictures, but they are squirrels too.

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution!

Eastern Gray Squirrel;
Beaver Lake Bird Sanctuary. Asheville. North Carolina, USA; FEB 2023
Eastern Chipmunk;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; AUG 2022
Least Chipmunk; Schulman Grove;
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California, USA; SEP 2018
California Ground Squirrel;
Effie Yeaw Nature Center, Sacramento, California, USA; APR 2019
Columbian Ground Squirrel;
Glacier National Park, Montana, USA; MAY 2019
Juvenile Eastern Fox Squirrels;
Rollingwood Bluff, Orangevale, California, USA; APR 2021
Douglas Squirrel;
Calaveras B
ig Trees State Park, Arnold, California, USA; APR 2023
Cliff Chipmunk; Mather Point, South Rim;
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA; AUG 2019


Yellow-bellied Marmot;
Olmstead Point, Yosemite National Park, California, USA; MAY 2013
Belding’s Ground Squirrel;
Bodie State Historic Park, California, USA, JUN 2017
American Red Squirrel;
Schwabacher’s Landing, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA; SEP 2018
Rock Squirrel;
Mather Point, South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA; AUG 2019
Round-tailed Squirrel;
Phoenix, Arizona, USA; APR 2018

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

#Photography #Photographie #PhotosOfTheDay #nature #naturephotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #Squirrel

A Few Birds from the Past Few Months

Blue Jay;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; DEC 2023

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution!

Gray-cheeked Thrush;
Island Ford, Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; OCT 2023
Blue-headed Vireo;
Island Ford, Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; OCT 2023
Male House Finch;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; DEC 2023
Juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; AUG 2023

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

American Robin

American Robin
Marymoor Park, Redmond, Washington, USA; NOV 2023

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution!

The iconic bird Christmas card in the culture of the USA is “Currier and Ives” style Northern Cardinal, its bright red contrasting against a bright green holly bush capped with snow and adorned with red berries. I’ve never been anywhere that I have seen that scene in nature. A few weeks ago, I was in the Seattle area. It was a sunny day with blue skies and some American Robins were feasting on red berries from a Hawthorn tree. That’s close enough don’t you think?

To my friends and followers of the Christian faith, I wish you Merry Christmas. To my other friends and followers, I wish you Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, belated Diwali or whatever you celebrate. May we all regain peace and harmony,

Earthwatcher

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

Two Chickadees

Black-capped Chickadee;
Stanardsville, Virginia, USA; OCT 2023

Please click on caption to see images at higher resolution!

Carolina Chickadee;
Roswell, Georgia, USA; SEP 2023

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

Short-eared Owls

Short-eared Owl;
Bayview-Edison Rd, Edison, Washington, USA; NOV 2023

Some days you get lucky. My son and I were searching for birds to photograph in the state of Washington, USA. Traveling on a back road in an agricultural area, we found a group of photographers with big lenses. Of course, we had to stop. As it turned out, they were watching and photographing some Short-eared Owls that migrate into the area over winter. This was my first experience seeing Short-eared Owls and I was excited. What a blessing.

By the way, like the Long-eared Owl, it’s not the length of their actual ears that is responsible for their name. It is the length of ear-like tufts on their head.

Please click on caption to see image at higher resolution!

Short-eared Owl in Flight;
Bayview-Edison Rd, Edison, Washington, USA; NOV 2023
Short-eared Owl in Flight;
Bayview-Edison Rd, Edison, Washington, USA; NOV 2023

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

Red-eyed Vireo

Photograph of a bird, a Red-eyed Vireo, perched on a tree branch. The background is mostly yellow-green leaves with small patches of blue sky. The bird is perched on a dark colored branch that extends from top to bottom at the right side of the picture. The bird is viewed from below, so its underparts and side are visible. Its underparts are white. Beneath its eye and flowing back are its neck, wings and tail feathers, all olive green. The tail feathers are tipped in black. Its eye is red but appears dark in the picture. It has a dark eye stripe. Above its eye is a white stripe topped by a black crown. The bottom of its beak is white, the top is black.
Red-eyed Vireo;
Island Ford, Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; MAY 2023;

Please click on caption to see images at higher resolution!

Photograph of a bird, a Red-eyed Vireo, perched on a tree branch, with one end of a dark colored worm in its beak; the other end of the worm is wrapped around the tree branch. The background is a mix of yellow-green leaves and blue sky. The bird is perched on a dark colored branch that extends from left to right near the bottom of the picture. The bird is viewed from below, so its underparts and side are visible. Its underparts are white. Beneath its eye and flowing back are its neck, wings and tail feathers, all olive green. The tail feathers are tipped in black. The wings have black and green stripes. Its eye is red but appears dark. It has a dark eye stripe. Above its eye is a white stripe topped by a black crown; only the edge of the crown is visible. The bottom of its beak is white, the top is black.
Red-eyed Vireo; Island Ford,
Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; MAY 2023
Photograph of a bird, a Red-eyed Vireo, perched on a tree branch, with a fly in the tip of its beak. The background is mostly yellow-green leaves with a small patch of blue sky. The bird is perched on a dark colored branch that extends from top to bottom at the right side of the picture. The bird is viewed from below, so its underparts and side are visible. Its underparts are white. Beneath its eye and flowing back are its neck, wings and tail feathers, all olive green. The tail feathers are tipped in black. Its eye is red. Above its eye is a white stripe topped by a black crown; only the edge of the crown is visible. The bottom of its beak is white, the top is black. The object at the tip of its beak is an insect it captured.
Red-eyed Vireo;
Island Ford, Chattahoochee NRA, Roswell, Georgia, USA; MAY 2023

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

If anyone would like a copy of almost any picture in my library, for educational or research use, please contact me and I will happily share a digital copy with you.

Green Heron Hunting

Green Heron (Butorides virescens) – 1
Sailor Bar, American River Parkway, Fair Oaks, CA; JUL 2020

There are a lot of pictures in this post that, at first glance, appear nearly the same but, they are not the same; they are a sequence of a Green Heron stalking, capturing, and devouring it prey. I see Green Herons from time to time but mostly they are perched. On this day one gave me the opportunity to watch it hunt and eat. Though I see Egrets and other Herons stalk frequently, this is only the second time I saw one stalk and the first I saw one catch and eat. So, please step through these images, in order, one at time and enjoy this opportunity with me.

Please click on caption to see images in higher resolution.

The entire sequence can be seen in higher resolution at: https://larryklink.smugmug.com/Birds/Shore-Birds/Herons-1/

Green Heron (Butorides virescens) – 2
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) – 3
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) – 4
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) – 5
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) – 6
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) – 7
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) – 8
Green Heron (Butorides virescens) – 9

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.

The Wood Stork

Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, FL; FEB 2020

The Wood Stork (Mycteria Americana) is a large bird that is found in the swamps and wetlands of coastal Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. It can also be found in Cuba and Mexico. It hunts for fish and crustaceans while walking slowly with its beak in the shallow water. I watched one hunt. It had its beak submerged but used its feet to stir up the muddy bottom.

We found these beautiful creatures during a recent visit to Florida. I watched some fly overhead but I didn’t see any delivering babies.

Note: Please click on caption to see image in higher resolution.

Juvenile Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, FL; FEB 2020
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) in Flight
They remind me a bit of a pterodactyl while in flight. I particulaly like the appearance of bones on the underside of the wing.
Sanibel Island, FL; FEB 2020
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)
Lakes Park, Fort Meyers, FL; FEB 2020
Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) and Little Blue Heron (egretta caerulea)
Lakes Park, Fort Meyers, FL; FEB 2020

Please visit my website, www.earthwatcher.us to see my collection of landscapes and wildlife.

These and other images are available to purchase by contacting larry.klink@earthwatcher.us.