Monday in Nature Feb. 29, 2016

[Laura Weishaupt]

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<p><strong>Basic Guidelines</strong>: Nature based subject matter. Please, declare captive subjects. Keep your image at/under 700 pixels on the long axis for in-line viewing and try to keep file size under 300kb. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site at Flicker, Photobucket, your own site, etc. Feel free to link your image to a larger version. <strong><em>In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include hand of man elements. Please refrain from images with obvious buildings or large man made structures like roads, fences, walls. Minimize man made features and keep the focus on nature. </em></strong><br>

<strong><em> </em></strong><br>

<strong><em>Are you new to this thread? We post one image per week. For more <a href="/nature-photography-forum/00cgtY">details on guidelines please read</a> this helpful information. </em></strong></p>

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<p>Good Morning,<br>

We spend a lot of time in parks. No matter what country we call home, we have this in common. When we travel to another region or country, as nature photographers, we seek out these places. Here, within the photo.net community, we answer questions about visiting this or that park. Where's the best place or when is the best time? Are you lucky enough to live near a National Park? If you spend any time in one, you know that they don't run themselves. People do everything from answer questions in the park headquarters to rangers doing a slew of things, and someone takes out the trash. Many of them are pretty good photographers.</p>

<p>This is the centennial year for the National Park Service here in the U.S.. Some parks had already been established by the time the Service was created. Many have come since then. They are our national treasures. In honor of the centennial we'll celebrate parks throughout the year. Glacier NP is the American half of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. It is a vast landscape of rugged mountains, lakes, and of course, glaciers, which are now receding. It is also a place of beauty on a small scale. These yellow columbines, <em>Aguilegia chrysantha</em>, were growing in profusion along a trail in the Two Medicine area of the park.</p>

<p>On any continent parks pull us in and we go, eager, with cameras in hand. Monday in Nature is the place to "park" you favorite nature image.</p><div></div>

[Bill J Boyd]

<p><strong>Yellow-Rumped Warbler</strong> seen in Austin, Texas.</p><div></div>

[johnfarrar]

<p>National Parks - I can see the Snowdonia National Park from our house, and many of my photos are taken in it. Compared with Parks in many countries, though, it's a bit of a joke - populated, roads, rail, towns, mostly agricultural, and even with a (decommissioned) nuclear power station.<br>

So a retreat to details - a small moss (<em>Eurhychium</em>?) with an even smaller insect. Anyone any idea about the insect? </p><div></div>

[dcstep]

<p><strong>The Catch</strong></p>

<p><a title="The Catch" href=" data-flickr-embed="true"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1521/25284086346_06183a0a23_c.jpg" alt="The Catch" width="800" height="640" /></a></p>

[Matthew Currie]

<p>I spent some time at a pretty special park, Half Moon Caye in Belize. It's run by the Belize Audubon Society, with a small camp on an island to which some tour groups come. On one end of the island is a lighthouse on which Ospreys nest. On the other end is a large colony of red footed boobies and magnificent frigatebirds. On the ground are iguanas and crabs and geckos and a few other birds, and surrounding it a gorgeous healthy reef filled with fishes, turtles, squid and octopi. If you are looking to get away from the Vermont winter for a while, this is about as good as it gets.<br /> So anyway, here's a booby!</p><div></div>

[Member69643]

<p>I ran (So Far Away)</p><div></div>

[Edwin Barkdoll]

John, I can't tell the scale from the photo accurately, however, I'd guess a male mosquito of some sort.

[Edwin Barkdoll]

Acadia National Park fresh snowfall. This was an iPhone "test" shot before taking it with my DSLR. Those images are,

hopefully, safe and sound on my backup disks while doing s clean install of the OS on my computer.<div></div>

[Glenn McCreery]

<p>Green sea turtle near Diamond Head, Oahu.</p><div></div>

[Miha]

<p>Hello,<br /> the spring is almost here. The early flowers are fighting for light, pushing through old leaves. The days are becoming longer and there is much more sunlight than a few weeks before. Soon everywhere you will see colors...<br>

Edit: on the second thought this may be an early stage of crocus.</p><div></div>

[sallymack]

My stomping grounds aren't parks but a couple of wetlands restoration sites near my home.  One of them, maybe both, is slated to become part of the National Wildlife Refuge system.<br><br>

I think this picture is <i>Archaea</i>, the orange color and location are right.  It's under a few inches of water in this photo. Other areas where <i>Archaea</i> thrived are under a few feet of water which will probably dry up this summer.<br><br>

<i>Archaea</i>'s a primitive, three-billon-year-old life form which grows under extremely saline conditions and, in some cases, takes solid form when it's hot and dry.  Since discovering the weird growths last summer, I'm now keeping an eye on the area.<div></div>

[RickDB]

<p>As well as National Parks we have many smaller State Parks. White ibis are a common sight in my back yard, right next to the San Felasco Hammock State Park.</p><div></div>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Coyote Hills, Fremont, California</p><div></div>

[GlennS]

<p>Where I live on Vancouver Island is a short walk from a marine bird sanctuary but this shot was only a few feet from my back door. Like last year an Anna's Hummingbird has built a nest in one of my pear trees. Is this something they've learned from partridges? I only discovered the nest a few days ago during spring pruning. There are two babies in the nest so I guess that tree won't get pruned or sprayed this year.</p><div></div>

[User_6667263]

<p>Roadrunner.</p><div></div>

[bing_huey1]

<p>fetid adder's tongue with mosquito-like visitor</p><div></div>

[colin carron]

<p>A nuthatch I spotted high up in a beech tree in my local park. It is about 5 inches long and was about 40 feet up so quality is not as good as I would like. But in between looking for food it was peeking out from behind the branches at me.<br>

Terrific shots from all as ever - love that hummingbird!</p><div></div>

[johnfarrar]

<p>Edwin, thanks, looks likely - though it seems hard to find pictures of all 32 UK mosquitoes. It was about 3-4 mm long I guess.</p>

[User_6502147]

<p>Contact! Although I've been to 40 natl parks (plus several outside the country) and have images of epic/iconic beauty....most often, however, I prefer wild spaces that are less overrun by tourists. This was taken in a buffer park....few blocks from my residence.</p>

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

[Laura Weishaupt]

<p>Leszek,<br>

Do you have a National Parks Passport filled with stamps from those parks? They are fun.<br>

Yes, you're right about parks being overrun by tourists. The big western parks seem like parking lots in the summer. But, Yellowstone is something to behold in the off season. I had the entire Norris Geyser Basin all to myself one time. It seemed a shame to leave the only set of human foot prints behind in the snow, but I got over it. It was before snow mobiles were permitted, and very few people were camping at Mammoth. It was very cold, but silent There weren't very many people on the east side of Glacier when we visited, even though it was the height of summer. Fortunately friends who live in the area were our guides. </p>

[dcstep]

<p>BTW, anyone over 62 can get a lifetime pass to all national parks for $10!</p>

[Rick Bortnick]

<p>Corkscrew pistils on a Begonia</p><div></div>

[tholte]

<p>A few weeks ago when there was some ice.</p><div></div>

[Mary Doo]

<p>Wow, many extra-special shots! I went to a butterfly conservatory on Saturday (instead of a park). It was a lot of fun. Think I'd show this shot - but I am not able to identify this butterfly. Perhaps some of you know.</p><div></div>

[Laura Weishaupt]

<p>I'm going to form a band so I can use Tim Holte's image as an album cover. ;-)</p>