Nature Photography (Formally Spring is in the Air)

[Doug Watson]

Much as I love animals, however, I can understand someone's reasons for giving up a pet. I once had two Dutch rabbits as a kid, as there was a fad for them going round my primary school, but the fact is that rabbits are actually very high maintenance - in some ways more so than a dog - and they're not all that suitable for kids. Looking after them was just too much of a handful for me and the whole family, and they didn't get a very good quality of life stuck in their tiny hutch all day.

In the end, I gave them away to a very nice lady who'd had experience of rabbits previously and who was obviously going to love them. So I can understand that people might want to - or indeed have to - give up a pet if they haven't fully understood what they-re undertaking (a very sad occurrence - we should do our research before getting any animal) or if their circumstances change, but abandoning any animal is just wrong. The right way to do it is to find a local shelter or someone who you know will give that animal a good home.

Yes what I was thinking but didn't express very well was if you have done your homework before buying I can't understand giving the pet up unless there has been a change in your situation like health or financial. Easter was a bad time around here when I was a kid because parents would buy baby chicks, geese or rabbits for their kids. I think many didn't make it to maturity but the ones that did especially geese could wear out their welcome fast.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Much as I love animals, however, I can understand someone's reasons for giving up a pet. I once had two Dutch rabbits as a kid, as there was a fad for them going round my primary school, but the fact is that rabbits are actually very high maintenance - in some ways more so than a dog - and they're not all that suitable for kids. Looking after them was just too much of a handful for me and the whole family, and they didn't get a very good quality of life stuck in their tiny hutch all day.

In the end, I gave them away to a very nice lady who'd had experience of rabbits previously and who was obviously going to love them. So I can understand that people might want to - or indeed have to - give up a pet if they haven't fully understood what they-re undertaking (a very sad occurrence - we should do our research before getting any animal) or if their circumstances change, but abandoning any animal is just wrong. The right way to do it is to find a local shelter or someone who you know will give that animal a good home.

Yes what I was thinking but didn't express very well was if you have done your homework before buying I can't understand giving the pet up unless there has been a change in your situation like health or financial. Easter was a bad time around here when I was a kid because parents would buy baby chicks, geese or rabbits for their kids. I think many didn't make it to maturity but the ones that did especially geese could wear out their welcome fast.

I understand. In the UK, the worst time for animal presents is Christmas. This is actually a very bad time as often the house the animal is coming into is in upheaval with visiting family, celebrations, moving decorations etc., so the animal has on time to settle in. For these reasons, most reputable breeders of commonly kept pets such as cats, dogs and rabbits make sure potential buyers really want the animal and will ask about their reasons for getting one. If it's Christmas, they will often withhold from letting the new owners taking the animal home until everything has settled down again.

I feel bad for rabbits especially - everyone thinks that smaller than dogs must automatically mean lower maintenance than dogs, which isn't the case with rabbits. They're also small and cute and furry, so kids love them. If the parents don't do their homework, that inevitably means yet another unwanted rabbit put to one side in a tiny hutch in freezing corner of the garden and forgotten. What pet rabbits really need is to live in the house like cats do, but that means you have to adapt your home for their safety - for example covering electric wires so they don't chew on them and cause a hazard. Also, people tend to get rabbits singly, when really it's better to have at least two as they're group-living animals and feel safer that way.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Just over a week ago, I sat my last exam and came home from Uni for the summer, but here are some spring pictures of the campus that I kept forgetting to upload! 


Mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), a female and two males.


A bluetit (Parus caeruleus). In my opinion, they're one of the prettiest of Britain's garden birds. They're also great acrobats and can easily swing upside down from tiny twigs. This little guy allowed me to take several shots of him.


A moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)



A family of coot (Fulicula atra)


Another coot nesting.


A European robin (Erithacus rubecula) - very different from the American bird with the some name, but also a member of the thrush family.

And now, the cutest ever dinosaur babies: ducklings! 








A pair of mute swans (Cygnus olor) getting ready to raise this year's cygnets. Swans mate for life. The ones on my campus are amazingly bold and tolerant of humans considering how many rowdy drunks there are at night - it helps that load of people come and feed them.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Fitting in some more spam before spring's over!

Spam of Bonnie, who is turning out to be a great model as long as I stay inside and take him/her through the window:




(He/she seems to have been learning from my Avaceratops!)



Local insects:

Seven-spot ladybird (Coccinella 7-punctata)


Male small white butterfly (Pieris rapae)


Green-veined white butterflies (Pieris napi)...er, at it!


Peacock (Inachis io) (top) and small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) (bottom)



A less common sight, very specific to this time of year: the orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines), in this case a male - females have no orange.

[Arul]

Cute bunny 

[Takama]

Found this guy Hoping across the Highway, so i gave him a lift

[Doug Watson]

Found this guy Hoping across the Highway, so i gave him a lift

Great job Takama! I don't think I have ever helped a toad or frog across the road but I wish I had because we see a lot of road kill up here. I have helped lots of turtles and a couple snakes. If you ever want to see traffic stop, help a big snapping turtle, just don't use the tail like they used to tell us, that can hurt the vertebrae, use the back of the carapace behind the rear legs so it can't get you.

We just got back from 10 days in Florida and I have a few wildlife shots I'll add later including 7 alligators that we saw while kayaking.

[Takama]

Found this guy Hoping across the Highway, so i gave him a lift

Great job Takama! I don't think I have ever helped a toad or frog across the road but I wish I had because we see a lot of road kill up here. I have helped lots of turtles and a couple snakes. If you ever want to see traffic stop, help a big snapping turtle, just don't use the tail like they used to tell us, that can hurt the vertebrae, use the back of the carapace behind the rear legs so it can't get you.

We just got back from 10 days in Florida and I have a few wildlife shots I'll add later including 7 alligators that we saw while kayaking.

Well when my Dad was alive, we used to drive to local lakes and river fronts, to catch Frogs and Turtles, only to let them go.  Sometimes we find Turtles crossing the highway, and we take them home for a little bit before we let the go in the river(Dont worry, we know what can and cannot swim)  One time we were on our way home, and we saw this Huge Turtle Crossing. So we naturally wanted to catch it.   When we stopped we saw it was a Snapper. It was the biggest Turtle i ever seen as a kid. and my dad was wondering how we can take it home.      He Grabbed it by the tail...    At the time I did not know it was harmful to them. But we took it home for a little bit only to se my mom become furious because we boght this huge creture that can nip a finger off if it wanted too. Eventually, we set it free, and my dad used a snow shovel to pick it up.

That was one of my most fond memorys of the times i spent outdoors with my dad. He Died in 2009 on Thanksgiving day. and i never been to the wetlands of Iowa ever since that year.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Sorry to hear about your dad, Takama. I used to try and raise tadpoles as a kid, but they normally either died or it got impractical for me the carry on looking after them so I let them go in the garden pond. We sometimes find toads in our garden, hiding under rocks. We even found one in the house one summer, living under an old pair of Wellington boots! I let it go in our 'wild patch' where it had plenty of rocks and log piles to choose from and wouldn't be disturbed.

No alligator snappers in the wild here in Scotland, but I have seen one in an aquarium - a very impressive, prehistoric looking beast.

[Doug Watson]

Well when my Dad was alive, we used to drive to local lakes and river fronts, to catch Frogs and Turtles, only to let them go.  Sometimes we find Turtles crossing the highway, and we take them home for a little bit before we let the go in the river(Dont worry, we know what can and cannot swim)  One time we were on our way home, and we saw this Huge Turtle Crossing. So we naturally wanted to catch it.   When we stopped we saw it was a Snapper. It was the biggest Turtle i ever seen as a kid. and my dad was wondering how we can take it home.      He Grabbed it by the tail...    At the time I did not know it was harmful to them. But we took it home for a little bit only to se my mom become furious because we boght this huge creture that can nip a finger off if it wanted too. Eventually, we set it free, and my dad used a snow shovel to pick it up.

That was one of my most fond memorys of the times i spent outdoors with my dad. He Died in 2009 on Thanksgiving day. and i never been to the wetlands of Iowa ever since that year.

I am also sorry to hear about your dad Takama, he sounds like he was a great guy and I am glad you have those fond memories to cherish. Yes I grabbed plenty of Common Snappers by the tail as well because that was the prescribed method at the time. I only learned of the vertebrae concern in the last year or so. None of the turtles I helped ever looked like it affected them however, still plenty of whip in the tail.

[Takama]

My dad also caught a Softshell Turtle and a Box Turtle at two points in our life time.  We kept both in a kiddy pool (Dont worry, we did not fill it up for the Box turtle)   I dont know what happen to them but they both disappeared on us.    I always assumed that the Box Turtle climbed out of the pool and escaped our yard, and i think my dad may have took the softshell turtle back to the river. but i wonder if that Box Turtle really escaped, or if my dad decided to let him go without my knowledge.

We also caught Frogs and Toads, and we even surprised my mom with a Crayfish saying it was cheaper then Red Lobster. (We did not eat it, we let it go just like a lot of the animals we catch)

[Tyto_Theropod]

I would have like to have seen your mum's reaction! XD

[Gwangi]

Those are great stories Takama, sounds like you have some great memories of your father and that's good to hear. My father is still alive but I never had a meaningful relationship with him. Haven't even seen him in about 15 years or so. But I don't wanna take this thread into that kind of territory. Hopefully you eventually get back out there and enjoy your local wildlife. I never grew out of exploring the outdoors and I'm grateful for it. I can't wait to experience nature with my daughter the way you got to with your father. Hopefully some day you have a young person in your life to experience these things with. As it is I try to get my nephew outdoors and looking for local critters but the opportunities are few and far between.

[Doug Watson]

My dad also caught a Softshell Turtle and a Box Turtle at two points in our life time.  We kept both in a kiddy pool (Dont worry, we did not fill it up for the Box turtle)   I dont know what happen to them but they both disappeared on us.    I always assumed that the Box Turtle climbed out of the pool and escaped our yard, and i think my dad may have took the softshell turtle back to the river. but i wonder if that Box Turtle really escaped, or if my dad decided to let him go without my knowledge.

We also caught Frogs and Toads, and we even surprised my mom with a Crayfish saying it was cheaper then Red Lobster. (We did not eat it, we let it go just like a lot of the animals we catch)

Your Dad sounds like someone I would have loved to spend time with. Seeing a Softshell Turtle up here would be an event to remember and your Dad caught one!. I have read they can give a nasty bite so your Dad must have known what he was doing. I just saw my first while kayaking on the Wekiwa river in Florida. I got a photo that I will share here soon, plus some alligators, other turtles, birds etc.. I agree with Gwangi, I hope you can get out there and enjoy your wildlife again.

[Takama]

Im not sure if he knew what he was doing.     He found the Turtle While out Rock Hunting (He and his Dad Collected Large Rocks and made a decent profit off of them)   He left it in the Kiddy Pool for me to see, and of course I (being 6 years at the time) wanted to handle it. It tried to bite me and i noticed how long its neck was, Thankfully it missed so i put it back in the pool, and i never touched it again. Keep in mind this was a Small Turtle Possibly a Baby, it was around the size of a Compact Disk.

I remember one time we were out at a swamp, walking up the road looking for Animals and we found this Bullfrog sitting on the grass near a lake that you pass by on the road.   It was a pretty decent size specimen, so with quick reflexes my dad caught the frog in the fish net we had before it could hop in the water.   Like all Animals we caught, we let it go after keeping it for a little bit

[Doug Watson]

Here are some wildlife shots from our recent trip to Orlando, Florida. If there are any Floridians here feel free to correct any animal IDs I get wrong.

We spent some time kayaking and hiking at the Wekiwa Springs State Park. We saw 7 alligators on the main river and up a branch.










This one was around the bend from a private camp where vacationers were tossing their Yorkshire Terriers and Dachshunds in the river. It was around 6 to 7 feet long. It amazes me how oblivious some people are. There are fish down there big enough to eat a Yorkie! It was sharing the log with a Florida Red-Bellied Turtle.


A Peninsula Cooter, I think, from the front.


A Peninsula Cooter (bottom) and a Florida Red-Bellied Turtle (top)


This was really exciting for me, my first Softshelled turtle in the wild, a Florida Softshell in the duckweed.


A Green Heron.


A Little Blue Heron.


A Louisiana Heron


A White Ibis.


A Limpkin.


At this point this branch of the Wekiwa got so shallow we would have to get out and push so we turned back to go on a hike.


Once again I came up bupkiss for a wild venomous snake, in fact after turning over numerous palm fronds I didn't find one wild snake of any sort. Luckily at the begining of our trail a male Park interpreter had a Florida Pine Snake and a Corn Snake that he was enticing young ladies to hold. I just about had to tackle him to get a turn with them.

Here is me with a beautiful Florida Pine Snake getting photo bombed by a guy with his noodle hanging out.


This is me holding the Corn Snake the colour on these is just glowing, so beautiful! Both of these snakes are constrictors.


This is what awaits you if you decide to go off the trail. Everywhere I looked there was one of these big Orb Weaving spiders. Their webs span over 6 feet and most are at face height so if you don't see it you get a face full of web and spider. In some areas there were multiple webs behind webs like running a gauntlet. Check out the tiny male above the female.


Ant Lion traps, I wish we had these up here my lawn is full of ants.


After our hike I spotted this little girl walking near the Park store with this huge Eastern Lubber Grasshopper Nymph. I would guess the girl was around 5 years old. I asked her mother if I could take this shot and she said her daughter knows no fear when it comes to this sort of thing.


The rest are shots of native (and introduced) animals that live wild in and around the Walt Disney World properties.

Great Egrets with Cattle Egrets.


Female Anhinga drying off.


Mockingbird.


Marsh Rabbit.


Two Armadillos. In the evening you would see lots of these guys in the grassy edges of the highways.


Male Key West Anole with it's fan deployed to attract a female.


and it worked, for this guy at least.


Another Anole, not sure if its a Green or a Key West, you see these guys everywhere. Its funny I think this is our first trip where I didn't see any skinks.

[Tyto_Theropod]

Awesome shots, Doug - I love the blue heron. You're making me wish I could go to the Everglades myself!

[Halichoeres]

Gorgeous shots, Doug! I'm particularly jealous of the Limpkin, I've never seen one.

...a guy with his noodle hanging out.

I severely misinterpreted this when I first read it.

[Doug Watson]

I severely misinterpreted this when I first read it.

That's my Canadian sense of humour.

[Gwangi]

Wonderful shots Doug. Certainly the place to be if you're a reptile nut, or into extant archosaurs. The softshell turtle is a really cool find!