View allAll Photos Tagged YBS23Nature
It is only a little blue tit - but this one took a long time to capture it because they are so fast…
Dedicated to Ian@NZFlickr
After heavy rain in the garden... ;-))
Nach heftigem Regen im Garten... ;-))
Hauhechel-Bläuling auf Agapanthus-Knospe
There was a surprise in store for me today, previously i had only seen one Canada goose swimming about for the last 3 weeks. I went today and there was a full family, the female must have been on the nest that I was unaware of. It was a joy to see.:))
This male newt is enjoying a relaxed swim during a warm spring afternoon on my North Carolina property. He’s seeking neither food nor a mate, but rather engaging in a few moments of peaceful recreation.
The red and orange colors come from fallen leaves that are now part of the substrate. The blue is reflections of sky piercing the canopy.
Evening light in the surf. Today it was rainy. I'm waiting for good conditions for sunrise and sunsets.
Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides Podalirius), 05-2022, Ticino, Switzerland
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili... (the website exists in ESPAÑOL, FRANÇAIS, ITALIANO, ENGLISH, DEUTSCH)
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (warning, it's a bit shocking): www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2-Xszz7FI
ABOUT THE PHOTO:
Before I get to the photo, I want to apologize sincerely that I haven't reacted to most of the comments I got since January, and I promise I will catch up on that in the weeks to come, and I want everyone to know I'm extremely grateful for all the kind and generous support my photos have received here, and I will never take that for granted. I haven't been very active on Flickr these past few months, and there's two reasons for that.
The first reason is a very positive one, because I've been busy working on my photo website about western green lizards (Lacerta bilineata) and the fauna Ticinese, which is now finally in a place where I'm quite happy with it. The other reason is a bit less positive; I suffer from a condition called "Dupuytren's contracture" which affects my hands. Typing becomes increasingly difficult for me, as the fingers of my left hand have a hard time hitting the correct keys.
This disease (which both my parents have, so there seems to be a genetic component), is not dangerous and especially older people are often affected by it, but it is very annoying, as it slowly makes your fingers contract inwards and eventually turns your hands into "claws" unless you have surgery. I'm a bit unlucky as I already got it in my early thirties; I'm now 45, and sadly it is progressing very rapidly, which makes writing a bit of a chore, especially during the colder months.
I love writing, and I'm still determined to react to every comment, but it will probably take me a bit longer in the future to reply, so I just wanted you to know that this is not due to my natural laziness and tendency for procrastination (or at least not ONLY due to those factors 😉)
With that out of the way, let's talk briefly about the photo ;-)
The scarce swallowtail is a very rare butterfly in Switzerland, but in Ticino it is thankfully still relatively common in the sense that while you won't see it every day, you still do come across it occasionally. Ever since I was a kid and started taking photos with my dad's old Pentax Spotmatic, I wanted to photograph a scarce swallowtail, because I always thought it was one of the most beautiful and exotic looking butterflies (next to the equally rare old world swallowtail it's the only species of swallowtail we have in Switzerland), but I never managed to capture one.
They are not only scarce, but they're also a very nervous bunch and flat-out refuse to sit still on a flower and pose for the desperate photographer who's close to a nervous breakdown. But last year I finally got lucky. I was just preparing lunch, when out of the corner of my eye I detected a fluttering movement in the garden through the kitchen window.
The fluttering was near the lavender (which I had only recently planted after a very unfortunate "sod incident"; a SHOCKING tale you can read all about here: www.flickr.com/photos/191055893@N07/52177556047/in/datepo... ), and I realized right away that this was something bigger than a cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae) or a common brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni), which are usually my most frequent guests.
Camera always at the ready, I stormed out of the house and into the garden (and I was probably lucky that I hadn't yet turned the stove on, as I'm sure I would have forgotten all about it and my house would have burned down right behind me without me even noticing it - which would have been quite embarrassing, though not as embarrassing as "death-by-selfie" which I hear is rather popular among millennials 😉 ), and to my great joy it really was my elusive, scarce friend!
And the fella nearly drove me insane: I shot the heck out of Mr Swallowtail who JUST NEVER WOULD SIT STILL! Lemmie tell ya: it was nerve-wrecking! In the olden days of film (remember: 36 photos was usually all you could shoot) I wouldn't have managed to produce a single usable photo. I believe I shot around 400 photos of this scarce beauty, under the bemused eyes of my neighbor, a retired construction worker, who was curious to learn what exactly I was photographing as if my life depended on it.
When I excitedly told him: "This butterfly!" he just said "Oh" with such unconcealed disappointment that it was almost insulting; he gave me a pitiful look and went back into the house (I find I get this reaction quite a lot from my neighbors; in fact, it's mostly the only reaction I get for my photographic endeavors 😂 )
Out of those roughly 400 photos, I ended up with only two usable ones (the other one you find on my website). But I still count myself lucky; there have been many times when I tried to shoot some lovely critter in my garden and out of several hundred photos not even one was of acceptable quality.
Anyway; as always, many greetings to all of you and have a lovely week ahead, and please let me know what you think in the comments below, even if it might take a while until you hear back from me (but I promise you will!!! 🙏 😊 👍❤)
Vista y fotografiada en Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, México.
Muchas gracias por vuestras visitas, comentarios y favoritos.
Thank you very much for your visits, comments and favorites.
While Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (bird flu in plain English) has had devastating effects on bird colonies in general; recent evidence suggests that Northern Gannets can make a recovery and a distinctive black iris highlights the previous infection. This couple (Gannets mate for life) suggest that hope is not lost after all and the species will hopefully have a bright future ahead.
Atlanta, Georgia garden
I have enjoyed these beautiful flowers found in one of my neighbor's garden. A rainy morning made them even more lovely.
A small wild cat found in the woody areas, forests and wetlands and places with vast amounts of dense vegetation. They are - I think - more common than we see them. Wikipedia says they are common across parts of Asia.
These animals are almost twice the size of a domestic cat and is often sighted hunting in the wild. They hunt rodents, quails, small ground birds, reptiles and maybe smaller raptors as well. I have seen this cat many times, but this time, spent 45 minutes with it. It didn't mind our presence and let us get close, but the light was poor and I had difficulty holding the heavy lens for long at low shutter speed.
Many thanks in advance for your views and kind feedback.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=glmSXRWsosw
in Memoriam Sinéad O'Connor
Thank you very much for all your nice visits, comments and favourites! ❤
RKO_3372.
Another image of Craig, one of the few remaining big tuskers! This time in colour!
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