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My Favorite Bird
Great Blue Heron at Sunrise, Anhinga Trail, Everglades National Park
View him large on black.
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This is a White-Tailed Jackrabbit, on full alert and ready to bound away.
This was a fun game between photographer and jackrabbit - to see how close I could get before he made his getaway. In short grass, with no cover, it is impossible to sneak up on a jackrabbit (imagine their sense of hearing with those ears!).
Pacific Ring-necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus amabilis), this ring-necked snake from our backyard was very cooperative for a few photos, and even raised its head seemingly curious about what I was doing.
The sun was setting in the background, and this lioness was enjoying the last sun of the day. She was very alert, but I guess that is normal when some guy is sticking his tele almost up your nose!
More info on this park can be found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarangire_National_Park
Not sure what species. Took it at a falconry display. To be honest I don't like any form of captive bird. I consider falconry as just that. Sorry if that offends anyone. We had an interesting discussion some months back. Perhaps if it's a rescue animal and hand reared, but otherwise it seems rather unkind to deny a wild animal of such high intelligence it's freedom. Nice photo opportunity and these birds are beautiful.
African Wild Dog, South Luangwa Valley, Zambia
I just love these animals. Build to survive. Excellent hunters, caring for family members.
All rights reserved. © Thomas Retterath 2011
Stinging Nettle Slug Caterpillar (Cup Moth, Setora baibarana, Limacodidae) "The Clown"
The stinging spines of the stinging nettle caterpillar unfurl when threatened. At other times, they are neatly folded away like a well-gelled hair-do or (appropriately) a Chinese calligraphy brush (see comments for image).
Pu'er, Yunnan, China
On Alert. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.
A flock of Ross’s geese raises their heads in response to a distraction
A group of us started 2018 the same way we started 2017 and several years before that — with a New Year's Day visit to wetlands to photograph migratory birds and engage in a few other fun activities. Among these were: arising hours before dawn, driving long distances in pre-dawn darkness, sharing a champagne toast to the New Year well before noon, and much more. To be honest, I've had been photography days out there at this time of year... but I haven't had a better time.
This photograph shows a behavior that I've learned to watch for when photographing Ross's and snow geese. Much of the time when they are settled in on a field on in a shallow pond they are fairly passive, perhaps with their heads down to feed. But when anything worthy of attention happens — a raptor flies over, a plane passes by too low, someone gets too close or starts a vehicle engine — the flock's sound changes and all of the heads rise with necks vertical. If the threat passes or is deemed unimportant the heads quickly drop. But if it is seen as serious, this might be an indication that the entire flock is about to dramatically take flight.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, "California's Fall Color: A Photographer's Guide to Autumn in the Sierra" is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
Dill, the African Spotted Eagle Owl (Bubo africanus), doing his bit to raise funds for the Swan Rescue Sanctuary in Wimborne, Dorset.
anticipating food. Bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) get their name from the "beard" like scales under their chins. They are native to Australia. Photo by Frank. .
It is always interesting to see how much more alert a cheetah is after a kill and being with its prey. They normally are extremely exhausted after a chase, and thus very vulnerable, but also have to be on the lookout for other predators that just might be interested in the prey. Not that they normally defend the prey, except for jackal, but hyaenas, leopards and lions might threaten their lives.
Kgalagadi, South Africa