wildlife – A Thousand Acres of Silphiums

White-tailed Deer

Until this autumn, I never considered targeting our abundant white-tailed deer as a photo subject. When my friend, Miguel, brought up the idea along with a place with a lot of potential, I asked him to lead the way. We set up in a copse of trees located near the center of a scrub field in an area that does not allow hunting and Miguel’s predictions of worry-free males still on the hunt came to fruition.

Although I cam ill-prepared, leaving my tripod and any other means of support at home, the light was just sweet enough to allow for proper hand-holding the big 500mm. Once I took off the unnecessary teleconverter, it worked even better.

We counted at least two larger bucks that patrolled the area, but found this young spike buck as well. He was not quite as confident as the other two.

Females walked the area as well, but were more skittish. The bucks were more curious when they first heard the sounds of our shutters slapping and picked up our sent in the light morning breeze. The does, however, tended to trot away at first sign that something different lurked in our copse.

This spot turned out to be quite nice. With the rising sun to our backs, the trees at the far edge of the field provides for a nice backdrop for that warm light to hit against. These guys have probably, or will soon be dropping these nice racks. With any luck we can try more of this next year.

Thanks for paying a visit!

-OZB

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Nest – Part One

wildlife, wildlife photography

I was busy for several weeks this summer observing and photographing a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and her nest. I collected a lot of behavioral data and took way too many photos and video. Here is part one of what will likely be a three to four part video that summarizes the experience.

Birds of Australia – Black Kite

Australia 2017, birds, wildlife

Considered by some to be the most abundant member of the family Accipitridae, the Black Kite is found throughout the old world. Populations of this species winter in the tropics and spend their summers in northern Europe, Asia and in Australia. Their diet is varied and consists of whatever they can catch, including carrion. This was one of the first Australian species I came to know. One morning I watched a group of at least 15 of these birds roosting in freshly plowed fields within the Monsanto research station we were visiting. I assume they were attracted to this area due to the mice and other rodents that were finding food and shelter among the large dirt clods.

Council Bluff Lake Insects – Part One

macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

Elderberry Borer – Cerambycidae – Desmocerus palliatus

Members of WGNSS Entomology and Nature Photography Groups met on June 24th, 2017 to see what interesting insects could be found. In this post I am sharing a few of the more interesting that I was able to get photographs of during the day. The find of the day had to be the Cerambycid pictured above that was, by no surprise, found by Ted MacRae.

We found that blooms were a great way to find beetles. It is easy to see how the delta flower scarab (Trigonopeltastes delta) got its name.

Cerambicids like this flower longhorn can readily be found on blooms.

The banded netwing beetle (Calopteron reticulatum) are easy to find, often located in the open atop vegetation. They rely on aposematic coloration to advertise that they carry aboard chemical compounds that make them a distasteful meal.

The Hymenoptera were well represented on blooms of wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), Queen Ann’s lace (Daucus carota) and as pictured above, fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica). I find the native bees to be tricky to identify by photographs, but I believe this can be placed in the genus Agopostemon. These bees nest in the ground and to promote them, leave patches of soil exposed somewhere in your yard.

Cuckoo-leaf-cutter Bee – Megachilidae – Coelioxys sp

This cleptoparasitic Coelioxys exclusively parasitizes the nests of bees in the Megachile genus.

Scaly Bee Fly – Bombyliidae – Lepidophora lepidocera

Besides being a bizarre little pollinator, this scaly bee fly is a cleptoparasite of cabronid wasps.

Double-toothed Prominent – Notodontidae – Nerice bidentata

Not to leave out the Leps, this double-toothed prominent moth larvae was found. These guys have developed very effective camouflage that allows them to blend in and resemble the toothed, wavy margins of their elm (Ulmus) host plants.

Northern Fence Lizard

wildlife, wildlife photography

During our search for insects at Council Bluff Lake, the WGNSS Nature Photography Group stumbled upon this cooperative and gravid female northern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthus). She allowed our close inspection as she attempted to bask and warm herself on a rock.

Birds of South Texas – Vermilion Flycatcher

birds, South Texas Birding, wildlife, wildlife photography

Birds of South Texas – Common Black Hawk

birds, South Texas Birding, wildlife

Common Black Hawk on Nest. Big Bend National Park, TX.

One of my favorite of my lifers from our south Texas trip was the Common Black Hawk. I would have been happy for a glimpse, but finding this one on a nest was more than I could have asked for.