Now, that was a surprise. Took me a while to figure out what I was looking at with these mantis-like fore legs.
Very sweet female found crossing the sidewalk at Newport Beach.
I believe both are Barn Swallows
Nice surprise at 08:45. Seen earlier on dead mustard stem and it flew down the trail. Caught up with it and took a series of shots. Abdomen jutted out shortly after landing. Twig mimic?
22nd burrow. 4 baby burrowing owls and 1 adult.
Singing
June 24, 2024, 10:07 AM, I returned to my office to a loud vireo singing from a small oak tree. After a few minutes, I was able to photograph it and believe it is a Yellow-green Vireo. It's in a restricted area across the road from the Elephant Care Complex, but you might be able to see/hear it from across the road. Please do not cross the bus road to view the bird.
Eating meat put out by nearby businesses. Natural, unedited background (exterior wall of a Target).
Kings pool
Cw human blood on slide 5
I was constantly bitten by these flies while photographing pupfish at salt creek. I would strongly recommend wearing thicker clothing if anyone plans to walk to the location, as they are more than capable of biting through fabric. Given that the road to salt creek is currently closed to vehicles and unmarked, prospective visitors will likely be the only available human host(s) for a radius of multiple miles.
Slide 5 shows spots where these bites bled through my t-shirt. I experienced no negative effects (aside from the immediate prick of flies’ mouthparts) from the 50 or so bites I experienced over the course of about 1.5 hours at the location. All things considered, well worth the opportunity to explore salt creek (and the ruins of the flood-destroyed boardwalk) uninterrupted.
Carrizo Plain
For the smaller bee
I'm assuming two different species as I don't think there would be this great dimorphism but I could be wrong
Established population
Infrared (supposedly 750nm) on unmodified fujifilm XP 140
Infrared (supposedly 750nm) on unmodified fujifilm XP 140
Field illustration scan
a field sketch which I "completed" later using my own photos of the subject as refrence
graphite and watercolor
Chinese mantis eating a Ruby throated hummingbird in butterfly bush
Eating chicken food out of my bird feeder in Shelter Valley, CA
(Exact coordinates hidden because it’s all private property and my neighbors didn’t like people coming down the private road, sorry everyone)
Taking a picture of a northern mockingbird when the bee flew by. Observing a northern mockingbird, observing a western honey bee.
Palm Springs, Coachella Valley, Riverside County, California
Cold (immobile) & stuck in broken sand / mud or got caught up in flood waters. *Moved close by to sunny, warm rock with areas for escape, retreat.
Photo 5 is the action shot!
dry desert ravine, under small stones, no moon
Leucistic Red Tail Hawk
Update:
I found several of these at Cedar Bog again this year. The last one might be Hexatoma brevicornis, so if you have expertise, please D.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/172420801
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/172420799
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/172420798
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/175243975
Note: I have photographed this Hexatomini at Cedar Bog in Champaign County, Ohio for at least 17 years. Always in the same area.
I've added two other observations; one from back in 2004.
Links to those observations:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/88273567
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/84762884
Here's an observation this year (2022) with better pics of wing venation. Same location.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/124010854
Female golden hairstreak on its hostplant, tanbark oak (Lithocarpus densiflorus), in Santa Barbara County, California
My African Leopard Tortoise laid an egg today!
I bought her from a pet store in Austin, when she was a newly hatched tortoise. She was the size of my palm. I think she is 14 or 16 years old now. She is so big and heavy, I could barely pick her up.
She lays eggs every summer, usually after a good soaking rain, when the soil is wet enough.
She lives in my backyard. Leopard Tortoise is good digger, she escaped 3 times by digging a hole by the fence. I had put out reward in our neighborhood to get her back. Now she is bigger and I secured the fence in my backyard so she couldn't escape.
The lighter of the two snakes was the winner.
Between 60 - 75 ft depth
Juvenile California toads.
First time sighting, found it in my backyard, I can't believe it !