Nature Photography (Formally Spring is in the Air)

[Lanthanotus]

Thousands of young toads (Bufo bufo) just entered dry land during the last threee weeks


Another male sand lizard,... you know I cannot resits to get a pic of each of those


Tragopogon pratensis, a giant dandelion somewhat


Just right next to my working place, where I park my bicycle, sun spot for a subadult sand lizard



Papilio machaon, quite rare where I live.


... and just last week I surprisingly encountered a kingfisher 400 metres away from where I work... could not shoot it unfortunately (photographically speaking for sure )

[Ravonium]

OK, I finally got the time to post some photos of what I've seen today in my local nature reserve:


First off, here's a picture just showing off the area's general terrain and flora:




Secondly, various pictures of common plant species in the area (that don't contain any other subject):

Spoiler

This isn't every single species, but it is what I could capture within the time I was at the nature reserve. Here are some identifications for these flowers:

1st photo: Harebell
2nd photo: Apiaceae/Umbelliferae sp.
3rd photo: Bramble/Wild Blackberry
4th photo: Hawkbit sp.
5th photo Top: Rosebay Willow Herb, Bottom: Thistle sp.
6th photo: Hawthorn

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After that, the photos that contain any form of animal (or creations by animals)

Spoiler

I have no clue whatsoever what species of spider this is. The only lead I have is that it spins a funnel shaped web (the web I've posted doesn't belong to the spider I've posted, but they were photographed near each other, so it was likely made by the same species).




EDIT: This is actually likely some sort of hoverfly, albeit one that was a very convincing honeybee disguise. As there are hundreds of hoverfly species in the UK, I can't precisley identify it.




This is a Cinnabar moth caterpillar on the same plant (Ragwort). They really love this stuff for some reason 


Now for the butterflies: Including Large and Small whites, Meadow browns, Small heaths, Common blues, Small skippers, Ringlets, Walls, Gatekeepers and even a few Dark green fritillaries, I saw many species, but I only managed to capture two of these on camera:




First off, a Small skipper.




This was probably the highlight of the trip for me: A Dark green fritillary. This is the first time I've ever seen this species (or any fritillary for that matter ).

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Finally, two photos that don't really fit in to either category:

Spoiler

I suspect this is some sort of plant gall. The plant this was on was a Bramble.




About a month ago, this would have been the site of a lake. Now, thanks to the fairly dry summer my area has had this year, it's now a marsh that still manages to stand out from everywhere else. Nationally, this nature reserve has a large proportion of habitats like this.

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[Halichoeres]

Thank Lanthanotus and Ravonium for showing these photos! Great to be able to experience other people's biomes vicariously.

[Newt]

This thread's been dormant too long. Hibernation's over!


February in Tennessee means wildly fluctuating temperatures, abundant rain, and breeding amphibians! I followed the sound of calling Upland Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris feriarum) to a large puddle in a fallow field. I was unable to spot any frogs - not that I expected to, they're astonishingly cryptic - but I did locate a trio of Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) beneath a section of plastic drain pipe at the edge of the puddle. This was the most photogenic individual, with her curly tail:

[Halichoeres]

Owing to her curly tail, I shall call her Piglet.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

This time of year is a good time to go out and see bird migrations. There's a place not far from me where waterfowl will congregate on their way through. Snow geese are the most numerous, with over 150,000 when I was there last. It's quite a spectacle.




Also out on the lake are Tundra Swans, often overlooked because of the sheer number of snow geese.


Canada geese are scattered around the surrounding fields


Cardinals and other birds at the feeders


I was lucky enough to see a hawk and bald eagle as well.

[Halichoeres]

Wow, those snow geese are quite a sight! I imagine they're passing close to me as well (upstate NY); I should get out there while the getting is good.

[Gwangi]

Wow, those snow geese are quite a sight! I imagine they're passing close to me as well (upstate NY); I should get out there while the getting is good.

You need to go to Montezuma Wildlife Refuge.

[Halichoeres]

Wow, those snow geese are quite a sight! I imagine they're passing close to me as well (upstate NY); I should get out there while the getting is good.

You need to go to Montezuma Wildlife Refuge.

Thanks for the tip! It's a bit of a hike from where I am, but I might be able to get a trip together in the next week or so...

[Gwangi]

Wow, those snow geese are quite a sight! I imagine they're passing close to me as well (upstate NY); I should get out there while the getting is good.

You need to go to Montezuma Wildlife Refuge.

Thanks for the tip! It's a bit of a hike from where I am, but I might be able to get a trip together in the next week or so...

It's worth the trip if you're a birder, you'll see vast flocks of snow geese as well as other migrating waterfowl, eagles, osprey, etc. I'm sure I have some pictures somewhere in this thread.

[Halichoeres]

Found a few red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) while some of my students were collecting invertebrates from a stream.



These are so different from the salamanders that lived where I grew up, which were all Ambystoma.

[Gwangi]

Red-backed salamanders are exceptionally abundant in the northeast, I've found them every month of the year in New York including December, January, and February.

[Pachyrhinosaurus]

I could find some in my backyard under logs. Unfortunately I don't see them as often as I used to.

[Halichoeres]

Ha ha, this is my first time living in the Northeast so I was very excited. I suppose these guys are for you guys what, say, Sceloporus lizards are for me.

[stargatedalek]

I see these precious little things everywhere, largest one I saw was pushing 3-4 inches.

Nova Scotia doesn't have a single lizard though, and only one common snake.

[Gwangi]

Ha ha, this is my first time living in the Northeast so I was very excited. I suppose these guys are for you guys what, say, Sceloporus lizards are for me.

Yeah, you might get bored of them pretty quickly. With that said it's always fun to roll a log and see one when you haven't seen anything else, or it's the middle of January. And you'll start to miss those Sceloporus, there are lizards in parts of the northeast but not many and they're hard to find. Living in Maryland now I get to see hordes of Plestiodon skinks but I haven't gotten tired of them yet, in over 30 years I never saw a wild lizard in New York so they're as exciting to me as the red-backs are for you.

[Halichoeres]

Ha ha, this is my first time living in the Northeast so I was very excited. I suppose these guys are for you guys what, say, Sceloporus lizards are for me.

Yeah, you might get bored of them pretty quickly. With that said it's always fun to roll a log and see one when you haven't seen anything else, or it's the middle of January. And you'll start to miss those Sceloporus, there are lizards in parts of the northeast but not many and they're hard to find. Living in Maryland now I get to see hordes of Plestiodon skinks but I haven't gotten tired of them yet, in over 30 years I never saw a wild lizard in New York so they're as exciting to me as the red-backs are for you.

The ones I miss are the horned lizards.

I see these precious little things everywhere, largest one I saw was pushing 3-4 inches.

Nova Scotia doesn't have a single lizard though, and only one common snake.

Give it 20 years, it'll get warm enough for some lizards.

[Halichoeres]

Here's something a little more exotic for upstate New York. One of my students found this lizardfish stuffed in the mantle cavity of a squid they were dissecting. I'm guessing it wriggled in there on a fishing boat as the nets were pulled up.

[Halichoeres]

I don't really approve of suburban college campuses on principle, but I can't get enough of magnolias. I'm probably moving away from upstate NY after this summer, so I'm trying to enjoy the heck out of the northeastern spring while I can.

[Newt]

Magnolias are the best! Here in Middle Tennessee, we are currently in the "magnolia gap"; the oriental magnolias like the one you've photographed are done, but the native magnolias have not quite begun (I've seen a few blossoms opening on M. grandiflora, but they're not in full swing yet). On the plus side, the tulip trees are blooming, so we do have some magnoliacean action.



I've got several months worth of photos I have yet to sort, process, and identify. For now, here's a baby Black Kingsnake (Lampropeltis nigra) that I narrowly avoided mowing in my yard this past Wednesday. Note brachiopod fossils in background.