mthew
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Poor Fish
Fishes, actually, because this Great Egret was a remarkably effective hunter. Plucking them out of the water. This pond, by the way, has also been feeding the Belted Kingfisher who has been around since the fall. Missed this toss…but caught it on the way down. *** Some “endangered” species may be extinct. When do you…
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Lake Larvae
Larval… …something, or other. Many of them, in fact. I think these might be lake midges, in the family Chironomidae. And most of them seem to be just the larval husks, the exuviae, of the larval form. The westerly breeze pushed them all to one part of the Sylvan Water. There were a heck of…
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Raptor Wednesday
A Red-tail on the roof. Same building. We call it the solar building because of the solar panels on the roof. The female American Kestrel, on the left, is vocalizing. She’s noisy. In real life (vision), they’re tiny on this drain pipe housing. Even this is telephoto and cropped. A little closer, across the street.
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Eggs & Memories
Slug eggs! I think. Quite small. I didn’t notice them at first, as I was photographing this beetle under a log. Some beetles are shy. Only later did I see the spheres in the photograph. I’ve been delving into the archives to see what else has turned up in early Aprils past: 2018: Brooklyn Kestrels!…
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Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Sapsucker sap-sucking. Previously tapped holes. And even more previously tapped ones seen further to right on this old yew. And this yellow belly we hear tell of? Subtle, and not shown to advantage in this under-tree light. The bird was named with corpse in hand, as used to typically be the case. Sharp-shinned Hawk, anyone?…
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Excursions
I’m not getting out much here in isolation/lock-down/quarantine — all these words are inexact. And is it ever a bummer! For this is a profoundly rich time of year, with life-forms a-popping up all over, just waiting to be ogled. But even in limited excursion mode lately, some of my nature jones is being met.…
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Like Buttah
Jelly fungus on downed tree limbs. Exidia genus-mates here, I believe. On the left, Amber Jelly Fungus, E. recisa. On the right, Black Witches’ Butter Fungus, E. glandulosa. Genus Tremella. I first thought Witches’ Butter, but there are a couple of similar ones in this genus. More Black Witches’ Butter. This downed stick had a…
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More Flies!
February 23 March 1 March 5 March 8 March 14 March 15 (two views of this one). April 1, and one I can actually ID: Black-shouldered Dronefly. Note the pollen on this specimen. Flower flies pollinate, too. Two more from yesterday. The mysteries of Diptera! PS: the answer to yesterday’s mystery photo: it’s the toe…
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Backyard and Beyond 