Nature Photography (Formally Spring is in the Air)

[Gwangi]

Love those redbelly snakes Doug, great shot. Since my herping success in the spring the only snakes I've been able to turn up have been garter and northern brown. And a dead on road milk snake that I don't think I shared. They say fall is better for snake hunting than summer, we'll see what I can turn up!

Actually since I saw the success you had this past spring with the Smooth Green Snakes, DeKay's etc I am determined to try and get out to this spot when love is in the air next spring.  I just have to figure out when that will be. It will probably be a bit later than you but sometime in May. Problem is a few days either way and you can miss them completely. My Rat Snake sightings were definitely more common at that time of year, I haven't seen one since the heat of the summer. A couple I met on the trail mentioned that they witnessed the emergence of garter snakes from a hibernaculum on that trail so that would be neat to see, but again it's timing and luck. I did catch mass matings of Water Snakes on multiple years I'll have to see if the original dates are still with the shots I took. Good luck with your fall hunt, I will try and get out again.

Yeah, you pretty much have to go out everyday if you want to catch the good action. I spent nearly everyday I could in March/April bouncing around from pond to pond, snake site to snake site, swamp to swamp etc. I've checked back at my smooth green site a few times more this summer, nothing there. Not even a garter snake. Hopefully I'll catch them on their return back. But timing is everything! Good luck to you too, I hope you find your snakes. I hate the thought of going through another winter without finding the milk and black rat snakes I long to find!

[laticauda]

I have seen plenty of garter and Northern redbellies this summer, but only one Northern Watersnake.  I saw a lot of frogs and toads, this year, so I hope that's a good sign of cleaner water, and more food for the snakes.

[Doug Watson]

I have seen plenty of garter and Northern redbellies this summer, but only one Northern Watersnake.  I saw a lot of frogs and toads, this year, so I hope that's a good sign of cleaner water, and more food for the snakes.

Nice shots. That's good to hear especially about the frogs. One frog I haven't seen since my teens (and that's a long time ago) is a Wood Frog. I used to see them fairly often in Quebec but I haven't seen any yet in Ontario. Plus the ones I used to see were much smaller and slimmer than the ones Gwangi posted photos of from NY State. Everything down your way looks super sized compared to ours when it comes to frogs.

[Newt]

I haven't seen wood frogs in a few years either. They're very sporadically distributed down here, and their breeding season is both brief and unpredictable. I've seen their eggs every month from December to April.

I've seen several snakes this week - garter, ribbon, brown, black racer - but didn't get photos of any. I'll be going to Reelfoot Lake in a couple weeks, and I have high hopes of getting some snake and turtle photos there. The herpetofauna there is both diverse and abundant. In the meantime, have an osprey with nest.

[Doug Watson]

I haven't seen wood frogs in a few years either. They're very sporadically distributed down here, and their breeding season is both brief and unpredictable. I've seen their eggs every month from December to April.

I've seen several snakes this week - garter, ribbon, brown, black racer - but didn't get photos of any. I'll be going to Reelfoot Lake in a couple weeks, and I have high hopes of getting some snake and turtle photos there. The herpetofauna there is both diverse and abundant. In the meantime, have an osprey with nest.

Racers are neat, I have seen several species on my trips south but I have yet to catch one, my wife discourages it I have read that they will bite repeatedly, have you ever caught one?

That's a good sized nest, in the last community before Murphy's Point the rural residents have erected platforms on top of poles for the ospreys to nest on. There are at least six pairs just off both sides of the highway as I recall. I have had lots of good looks at the adults and babies driving by but being off the highway makes it difficult to photograph.

[Newt]

Yeah, racers bite repeatedly (instead of giving up like a water snake after two or three bites), thrash so hard it seems they'll snap their own spines, and musk. I've caught plenty, and of all those, only one was calm. Maybe it was sick.

I haven't seen private individuals put up nesting platforms for ospreys, but some of the government agencies put them up in the reservoirs. There was a big osprey hacking program here in the 1980s, and it seems to have been successful, as they're fairly common now. Bald eagles are also becoming pretty common; when I was a kid they were as rare as hen's teeth.

[Doug Watson]

Yeah, racers bite repeatedly (instead of giving up like a water snake after two or three bites), thrash so hard it seems they'll snap their own spines, and musk. I've caught plenty, and of all those, only one was calm. Maybe it was sick.

Yes getting musked, especially on your clothes when you are on a Southern holiday with your wife is not a recipe for marital happiness. I guess I may have to resist the temptation to touch.

[Newt]

The raccoons have been busy:


immature female Rambur's forktail:


a very small dragonfly, the amberwing: female


and male

[Gwangi]

That amberwing dragonfly is adorable!

We have racers in NY too but I would have to travel a little further west to find any. I did turn up a garter and redbelly snake today which is better than nothing. Maybe my luck will be improving?

[Doug Watson]

Those Amberwing Dragonflies are very cute! According to some sources they are supposed to occur in my region but I have never seen one.

[Viking Spawn]

Great dragonfly photos! I've always have difficulty trying to photograph them!  They are always so elusive and difficult to focus on when trying to get a decent shot!   I found butterflies are surprisely easier. 

[Newt]

Thanks!

VS - Some dragonflies are easier than others. Skimmers such as the amberwings, as well as petaltails and some darners, tend to come back to the same perch repeatedly; so, just focus on the perch and wait for the dragonfly to return. Also, when approaching the insect, bend your knees gradually (like a mime doing the going down stairs routine); apparently they judge proximity by height, so this fools them into thinking you aren't getting closer. Finally, be patient! You'll miss a lot of them, but not all.

I'm so glad I live in the era of digital cameras. I wouldn't be able to afford all the film I'd waste otherwise. I can't tell you how many of these sorts of shots I get:



I swear it was in frame and in focus when I pressed the shutter button! 

[SpittersForEver]

Newt,

Which camera lens do you use, is it a telephoto?
I was thinking of saving up for a Sigma 150-600mm lens (it would take months though since I can't get a job yet). It would be used for wolf pictures from long distance.
Your photos are amazing by the way.

[Newt]

Thanks SpittersForEver! The lens I use for most of my insect photos is a Sigma 70-300 mm telephoto with macro setting (only works at full zoom). That's about as long a lens as you can use without a tripod; if you get that 150-600, you will definitely need a good tripod as well. Good luck!

[Viking Spawn]

Thanks for the Dragonfly tips Newt!  The next time I visit the marsh, I will do the crouching trick.  As for patience, it will depend upon the mosquitoes.   

[Doug Watson]

Autumn was definitely in the air today at Murphy's Point. Looks like all the Ospreys have headed south. Trees are starting to change colour and it is a little nippy in the morning

Still some life left at the lake.

Great Blue Heron posing for a lawn ornament.



Carpenter Bee I beelieve  There were a bunch of these on this Aster which seemed to be one of the last flowers still in bloom. The larger Humble or Bumble or is it Dumbledore Bees were sticking with the clover. Couldn't get a decent shot of them.



Couple Map Turtles



Close up



Larger Map Turtle sunning and stretching.



Close up.



Three Painted Turtles. These guys were easily spooked today and hard to get shots of.



Leopard Frog



Smaller Leopard frog. This little guy gave me a good chase in the grass. I just had to hold something today.



Bullfrog



Water Snake. This one emerged from under the water.



Close up



A little out of focus but I spotted this Mink hunting the shoreline.

[Halichoeres]

Great shots as always! Particularly impressive that you got the mink before it made itself scarce.

My contribution is a little more morbid:



Before I bent down and turned it over, I thought this looked like a lubber, but that would be a pretty weird thing to find on the south side of Chicago. When I flipped it I realized it was a crayfish. Also, when I flipped it, the yellowjackets emerged from inside. The main reason this picture is so bad is that after disturbing them sufficiently to make them emerge, I didn't want to get close enough with my cell phone to take a nice crisp macro shot. There were ants here too, all on what is now the underside of this crayfish husk. If anyone wants to take a crack at identifying the crayfish, knock yourself out. I have no hope of identifying a carcass in this condition. I think the yellowjackets are Vespula maculifrons, but I could certainly be wrong.

[Doug Watson]

Great shots as always! Particularly impressive that you got the mink before it made itself scarce.

My contribution is a little more morbid:

Before I bent down and turned it over, I thought this looked like a lubber, but that would be a pretty weird thing to find on the south side of Chicago. When I flipped it I realized it was a crayfish. Also, when I flipped it, the yellowjackets emerged from inside. The main reason this picture is so bad is that after disturbing them sufficiently to make them emerge, I didn't want to get close enough with my cell phone to take a nice crisp macro shot. There were ants here too, all on what is now the underside of this crayfish husk. If anyone wants to take a crack at identifying the crayfish, knock yourself out. I have no hope of identifying a carcass in this condition. I think the yellowjackets are Vespula maculifrons, but I could certainly be wrong.

Nothing goes to waste in nature, I don't blame you for not getting close I was stung way to many times by wasps and hornets in my youth mostly the result of my own stupidity and being the youngest of six I was usually the one told "go ahead hit the nest with a stick, its safe now".
Yesterday I slid into some water lilies and disturbed and whole mess of yellow jackets that had been resting or feeding on the pads. They all rose up around me but did not attack thankfully. In another patch of Water Lilies the same thing happened but this time it was honey bees. I don't know what the attraction was for them.

[Newt]

Great stuff! I love those map turtle shots, Doug. Do you just have G. geographica up there? I know G. pseudogeographica gets pretty far north too. Halichoeres - My gut feeling is that that's a red swamp cray, Procambarus clarkii. I think you have an introduced population there (most places do - I saw some in an irrigation ditch in rural Japan!)

I just went to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. Highly recommended, and well-populated with turtles (including several species of map turtles).  And no, if anyone's wondering, they don't have those awesome salamander toys anymore. They do, however, have a number of actual salamanders. Photos to come!

[Doug Watson]

Great stuff! I love those map turtle shots, Doug. Do you just have G. geographica up there? I know G. pseudogeographica gets pretty far north too. Halichoeres - My gut feeling is that that's a red swamp cray, Procambarus clarkii. I think you have an introduced population there (most places do - I saw some in an irrigation ditch in rural Japan!)

I just went to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga. Highly recommended, and well-populated with turtles (including several species of map turtles).  And no, if anyone's wondering, they don't have those awesome salamander toys anymore. They do, however, have a number of actual salamanders. Photos to come!

I was taking a break from the DTF because my opinions were getting me in trouble again but I guess I am safe on this thread. I have never seen G. pseudogeographica and according to a publication by CMN, The Turtles Of Canada all we get is the Northern Map Turtle  G. geographica