Monday in Nature, 29 May 2023

[Dieter Schaefer]

Basic Guidelines: In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include "hand of man elements". Please refrain from images with buildings or human made structures like roads, fences, walls. Pets are not permitted. Captive subjects in zoos, arboretums, or aquariums are permitted, but must be declared, and must focus on the subject, not the captivity. Images with obvious human made elements will likely be deleted from the thread, with an explanation to the photographer. Guidelines are based on PSA rules governing Nature photography which also cover the Nature Forum. Keep your image at/under 1000 pixels on the long axis for in-line viewing. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site at Flicker, Photobucket, your own site, etc.

Each member please post no more than just one image to this weekly thread per week. If the information is available, many members appreciate information on your approach to making the image and the names, both common and scientific, of the subject(s). However, while encouraged, these are not required as a component of your contributions.

Double-crested cormorant

 

[ShunCheung]

Bald eagle and nest

[Dieter Schaefer]

5 minutes ago, ShunCheung said:

Bald eagle and nest

I know that there are several bald eagle nests in my area - I just don't know exactly where they are and didn't have the time to explore in depth. The additional problem around here is that they might be on private land and hence not easily accessible.

[Bill J Boyd]

The Great Horned Owlet fledged this week.  This one is a little over 7-weeks old.  

 

[ShunCheung]

23 minutes ago, Dieter Schaefer said:

I know that there are several bald eagle nests in my area - I just don't know exactly where they are and didn't have the time to explore in depth. The additional problem around here is that they might be on private land and hence not easily accessible.

Actually that was the very first time my wife and I went to that area where I took the picture of that bald eagle nest. That is by the Coyote Reservoir in southern Santa Clara County, near Gilroy, in California. It is approximately a one-hour drive from our house, depending on traffic. We have a couple of FaceBook local eagle groups. Last month, someone else posted a few images of that nest and when people asked, that photographer posted a description of the trail and the approximate area. That was sufficient information for us to locate the nest. Fortunately, the eagle was next to it. That location is in a county park. At the entrance, we talked to a ranger. She was very nice and gave us a map, but she wasn't that specific about the nest location.

Since we have seen pictures of that nest, I had an idea what type of tree it is on. Now I have been there, I have the GPS location from my camera and I also took pictures of the surroundings.

Dieter, I suppose you can get more info from local birding and/or nature photography groups, as well as potential FaceBook groups. At where I live, there is a (San Francisco) Bay Area Bird Photographers group that used to meet in Palo Alto once a month. Since the pandemic, it has become a monthly Zoom meeting.

[brian_niemi1]

Roseate Spoonbill and Snowy Egret

[Dieter Schaefer]

53 minutes ago, ShunCheung said:

Dieter, I suppose you can get more info from local birding and/or nature photography groups, as well as potential FaceBook groups.

That's what I am doing; my main issue right now is making time. Birders are quite tight-lipped when it comes to revealing nest locations - and rightfully so. The Steller's Sea Eagle that visited the 2nd year in a row for several weeks in an area about an hour drive from where I live is a prime example - people came of all areas (some even flew across the US) to get a glimpse (which is what most got - at best). Created major traffic headaches and quite a few problems for the locals.

[ShunCheung]

I am also not posting the GPS coordinates and any surrounding images of that nest to FaceBook or here either, but that nest is on a very tall tree so that there is little risk those eagles would be disturbed by photographers. I certainly would rather not reveal exact locations if there is any risk that the animals may be harmed. Personally, I am not that concerned that others may get similar images, but if one is selling nature pictures or entering competitions, it may be a different story.

[Roger G]

[dcstep]

Lark Bunting - Colorado State Bird

[Dieter Schaefer]

ebird and other locator websites provide a lot of sighting location information - just found a website that even lists bald eagle nesting sites in Maine.

[Edwin Barkdoll]

10x magnified spore capsules of interrupted fern.

 

 

[Edwin Barkdoll]

3 hours ago, Dieter Schaefer said:

ebird and other locator websites provide a lot of sighting location information - just found a website that even lists bald eagle nesting sites in Maine.

We saw a bald eagle attack a great blue heron on our pond about a month ago – interrupted the GBH's dinner (ours as well). The eagles routinely attack/harass gulls and sea ducks by our house.

[gordonjb]

Mexichromis multituberculata nudibranch. You can see some small shrimp hitching a ride.

 

Edited May 29, 2023 by gordonjb