East Bay opportunist and survivor!

This little guy lives at Half Dome eating the trash tourists left there.



And some capricorns from Switzerland.

Edited by SabineFunk on 02/02/2012 10:59:18 MST.

Nearly completely black morph timber rattlesnake. Otter Creek Wilderness, WV. I stepped over a large log and it was extended along the side of the trail. Both the head and tail rose up and I some how teleported about 6 feet in the opposite direction:


Bumblebee attempting to get nectar from a purple fringeless orchid (Platanthera peramoena) in Fayette County, PA. I doubt it was successful as this species has long nectaries and is generally pollinated by skipper butterflies.

Edited by Spiranthes on 03/23/2012 10:04:57 MDT.

Waste not,



want not.

Cheers,

Rick

Australian Tawny Frogmouth

We were collecting sawn firewood from a dropped branch at the edge of our farm. We had driven the small tractor and trailer to the tree which had dropped the branch. Loaded the trailer up. Then I looked up and he was sitting there, head pointed upwards pretending to be a dead branch. They do this in the daytime to avoid being seen, and hunt at night. Very silent flight: the mice have no chance. Anyhow, he was about an arm's length away.

So we took our trailer load of firewood and departed. Then we came back for another load, and he was still there. He cracked an eye open when I started the tractor to leave, but otherwise did not move. So I came back later with the camera, and he was still there, still pretending to be a dead branch. He will fly away tonight to hunt.

Cheers

Roger that is one awesome piece of creation!

I've never heard of the Tawny Frogmouth but I love it! Some really interesting pics show up when I search.

Todd

My daughter took these two pictures of a bobcat that was just hanging out in the driveway. It was about 40 yards away. Before it turned and walked away, showing his bobbed tail, we thought it was a small cougar.
This was probably the largest bobcat I have seen. I would guess an older male, from the long white "sideburns".

I got about 2 feet from this little one before even seeing it.

Edited by ojaason on 05/10/2012 23:22:24 MDT.

Tuesday hike with boy with lizards and snakes in Mt. Diablo State Park.

A Heron and a peacock on the Lamprey River in Southern NH



Backyard butterfly



Winged creatures of Pawtuckaway State Park



Spruce grouse, White Mountain National Forest

Bear Brook State Park

Desert Tortoise at Joshua Tree Nat'l Park


A Newt in West Fork San Gabriel River - Angeles Nat'l Forest


San Rafael Wilderness


Marmot at Sequoia Nat'l Park


Frog at Bear Creek, Angeles Nat'l Forest

Pine Sawyer Beetle, Pecos Wilderness, NM.



Moth, Headwaters of the Pecos River, NM



Random fly. Pecos River.

A trip through the jungle in Tikal Nat'l Park, Guatemala

A Lemur


A Macaw couple


Local borracho welcoming guests


An Agouti


An idea what kind of lizard this is?


Grey-necked Wood Rail

Edited by jhamhb on 06/09/2012 19:57:00 MDT.

I took this shot this morning with my latest camera upgrade; a Ricoh GXR with an S10 lens unit.



I photographed this handsome fellow a couple of weeks ago with my previous Ricoh GX200

Edited by tallbloke on 06/20/2012 08:28:58 MDT.

@ Jay, cool reptile shots.

On your third shot, the one of the close-up of the lizard in your hands, I noticed the lizard has what appears to be an engorged tick attached to its side.

I recall reading that ticks in CA have a significantly lower incidence of carrying lyme disease, partially because the two most common lyme disease carrying ticks in CA are considered to be three-host ticks (which means they feed on three different hosts during their individual life cycles). In their early stages of life (i.e. first host), these two species ticks mostly feed on lizards and rodents.

If the lizard the ticks feeds on during it's first host stage is a Western Fence lizard, the tick will lose all of its lyme disease-causing bacteria. Apparently there is something in the blood of Western Fence Lizards that kills the lyme disease but allows the tick to survive and continue on otherwise unharmed.

Anyway, I saw your photo and thought I'd share that interesting bit of info. Seems we have reptiles to thank, at least partially, for our lower rate of lyme disease in CA compared to other parts of the U.S.

Very Large Orange Alligator Lizard

Garter Snake, Morris Meadows, Trinity Alps

Edited by Creachen on 06/21/2012 20:26:34 MDT.