Monday in Nature May 9, 2016

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<p>Good Morning,<br>

I'd like to take the opportunity here, in the Nature forum, to salute and celebrate long time <a href="/photodb/user?user_id=689679">photo.net member Stephen Penland</a>. His passing was brought to light in a thread in Casual Photo Conversations.</p>

<p>Many of you are familiar with Stephen from his participation in many of the forums here. His was a voice of reason. He was gracious, considerate, and gave insightful critiques. He was a wonderful nature photographer. He was a biologist and understood nature from an intellectual point of view. He was also incredibly sensitive to his environment, and his awareness comes across in his photography. His nature photography is elegant and is a source of inspiration. To those unfamiliar with Penlands work, please, take the time to visit his portfolio here on photo,net as well as <a href="http://www.stephenpenland.com/news/">his own site here</a>.</p>

<p>I was pleasantly surprised when Stephen left a comment on one of my snow flake photographs. I was honored then and now that I see he left the comment just a few months prior to his passing, they take on a special meaning.</p>

<p>Please, if you care to, take the time and share any special memories you have of Stephens photography, or of the man himself. He will be missed, but his photography will endure, and through it, so will his memory. It's a special Monday in Nature, dedicated to Stephen Penland.</p><div></div>

<p><strong>Hawk</strong> seen at White Rock Lake in Dallas.</p><div></div>

<p>Houstonia</p><div></div>

Tulip.<div></div>

<p>Rufous Nightjar (Caprimulgus rufus)<br>

<a href="/photo/18230413&size=lg"><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18230413-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="392" /></a></p>

<p><strong>Willet Gets A Morsel</strong></p>

<p><a title="Willet With Morsel" href=" data-flickr-embed="true"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1477/26178458343_9401161847_c.jpg" alt="Willet With Morsel" width="800" height="800" /></a></p>

<p>Dinosaur like</p><div></div>

<p>Nature for me was mowing the yard and Mother's Day activities, so not much. Captured these pink wildflowers on a hike with the dog.</p>

<p><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=689679" rel="nofollow">Stephen Penland</a> was not someone I came across in my p.net endeavors but I am glad he touched so many others. Always sad when a member passes on, but his photos speak volumes of the man.</p><div></div>

<p>Patrick, those are wild geraniums. They are lovely flowers that line trail sides around here. They don't seem to be too picky about soil and seem to grow equally well in good or poor conditions.</p>

<p>Best scum day EVER out at the wetlands yesterday!</p><div></div>

<p>Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon)</p><div></div>

<p>Finally captured the moment a swallow-tailed kite takes a drink on the wing. From all the attempts I now understand how they achieve this without the benefit of a long beak. Unlike the black skimmer, the kites get wet; They come in feet trailing and wings high, the feet slows them down to almost a stall and then they pivot forward until the beak is in the water. Then with a powerful down thrust of the wings and a kick of the feet they take off leaving a trail of water drops falling from their wet undersides. Quite a spectacular show.</p><div></div>

<p>Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) with breakfast.<br /> Nikon D750 with 200-500mm/f5.6 AF-S VR lens<br>

We witness the heron struggling with the fish for quite a while, but the fish was perhaps too big to swallow. Eventually the heron dropped the fish back into the water and flew away. Meanwhile, the fish had been pierced by the bill. Not sure it could survive with a punchered body.</p><div></div>

<p>Many wonderful photos thus far.</p>

<p>My contribution for the week...</p>

<p>Tri-colored Heron (17 March 2016, Ding Darling NWR, Sanibel Island, Florida)</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>The second nest of Anna's hummingbirds in my backyard had the babies fledge a few days ago. It appeared that mom was keeping the babies fueled up while they were learning to fly and find food. <br>

Nikon D800E , 70-300mm Tamron @ 300mm</p><div></div>

<p>bumblebee in flight between cherry blossoms.</p><div></div>

<p>Shun,<br>

The fish looks like it might be a catfish of some kind. If so, they have seriously sharp hooks on the ends of the pectoral fins. That may have been a factor in the struggle. </p>

<p>Have a seat!</p><div></div>

<p>Hi Laura, below is another image moments later, right before the heron dropped the fish back into the water. The heron was never able to manipulate the fish to open its bill to swallow. We were on a boat tour and where at that spot for a couple of minutes, but the heron already had the fish when we arrived.<br>

http://www.photo.net/photo/18230445</p>

<p><img src="/photo/18229778" alt="" />I dug into my archives for this one. </p><div></div>

<p>Shun, wow, that's mouthful. No wonder the heron struggled. That fish is a gonner, that's for sure. It doesn't look like a catfish, but those fins are something.</p>

<p>Red or Nodding Trillium</p><div></div>

<p>Our trilliums are white</p><div></div>

<p>Sorry, I did not know Stephen Penland. Regardless I wish his family and friends my best as they work their way through his loss.<br>

I bringing this week forward my first decent image of a Blue-Winged Warbler. I make it a point each year to try and photograph at least one new species of warbler as they are very challenging birds to photograph; they are small, active, and many species are high up in the canopy. This year I have a special one, at least from my perspective.<br>

`<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/18229978-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="471" /> <strong>Blue-Winged Warbler, Starling Nature Center, Indianapolis, IN. Pentax K3, 150-450.</strong></p>

<p>Rick,</p>

<p>Wonderful image. Without a doubt my favorite bird to watch fly are Swallow-Tailed Kites, I've only seen them in Costa Rica. Amazing to learn that a bird that graceful in the air can be such a sloppy drinker!</p>

<p>Much appreciate the image.</p>