Archive for May 2010
May 21, 2010 | 
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I visit my gardens often, but have to admit that I was completely blown away by the tadpole explosion in the smaller of my two ponds. You’d think I would know if I was about to have hundreds of frog babies in my pond, but I never saw the eggs. Clearly, they were well-hidden – just look at this! Read the rest of this entry »
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Finally. I captured a Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) in a photo, while actually showing the feathers for which he is named. Heck, I see these birds buzzing around my native plant gardens often enough, but it seems like I rarely see a full-on red throat. The iridescence of these feathers often show black, pink, or even a golden color. Narrowing the odds even further – only the males have the ruby throat, and then that is only during breeding season.
I think that smudge of yellow on his bill might be pollen. Usually I see pollen on their foreheads, but I think that must come from visiting plants with longer tubular flowers.
That this photo is focused well enough to make out detail of the bird’s face is reason to celebrate. I shot this photo with my shutter speed set to 2500 (One 2500th of a second), yet his wings were beating so fast that they still came out blurry. A far more typical shot (for me) of these tiny little birds looks more like this: Read the rest of this entry »
As a naturalist who has a fondness for birds, I tend to look at the world with long-ranging gazes. I carry a big honkin’ lens on my camera so that I can get shots of small birds in distant places. On weekend mornings, my favorite way to spend the first hour is with a cup of coffee and binoculars, sitting by one of my favorite windows, watching the birds and squirrels.
My precious-as-gold “outside time” has been severely limited of late, so I’ve taken full advantage of my own gardens around my home to get my nature fix. My limited time outdoors prompted me to “go light” and only take my short lens (18-55mm, f 3.5-5.6). Perfect time to look around for something to contribute to An Inordinate Fondness (AIF), the blog carnival dedicated to beetles. Those “dang beetles” who have evaded my camera for months, have caused me to mumble incoherently to myself every time I step outside. Thank you very much, Ted (Ted MacRae, founder of AIF).
I offer this preamble as a backdrop for the announcement of an important discovery: my Macro Vision. It was almost an epiphany, truly sublime. With a little time and a mission, I began crawling around the edge of my pond on my knees, camera in-hand. At first, it was hard for me to focus on anything directly in front of me. I had to force myself to look at 12 inches instead of 12 feet. When I was finally able to to lock in at a 12-18 inch range…bang! I started seeing things in big, bold colors, and previously unnoticed microcosms opened up in 3-D.
The following images are presented in full-frame, or nearly so, followed by cropped images zoomed in at 100%. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you…my Macro Vision!
Syrphid Fly, probably Toxomerus geminatus-full frame
Syrphid Fly, probably Toxomerus geminatus-closeup
Look! This Syrphid Fly (probably Toxomerus geminatus) has a fine pattern of black and gold to rival the most ornately gilded furniture. And that wildflower – the color!
This post is mostly just photo-sharing, and I can’t even tell you the name of this bird (because it would give away one of the answers to this month’s contest). This is one of the Challenge for Charity birds, so enjoy a few more looks. Read the rest of this entry »
This is the first tree frog I have ever seen in person! Or should I say, this is the first time I have ever seen a frog in a tree. I’m not convinced that it is necessarily the same thing. I’ll admit right now that after a few minutes of bleary-eyed study of my Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians, I’ve given up trying to identify this frog species. I’m saving my late night hour for a story and a mystery. 
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