While I was cleaning the pool enclosure a large dragonfly flew in and perched on a pine needle dangling from the top of the screen. Despite having zero blue on its body, the white face, green eyes, and dark wing tips betray this as a great blue skimmer, an immature female.
An eastern towhee photographed in New York versus one photographed in Florida. Southeastern birds have straw-colored eyes while their counterparts elsewhere have red. #birds
Folks seem to have difficulty differentiating little blue herons from reddish egrets: the little blue is on the left, the reddish on the right. These were taken in essentially the same lighting. Note the lighter colors on the reddish. The reddish is also much larger. #birds
I had a great uncle who every spring would begin the arduous process of training a chipmunk to jump up on his porch, crawl up his leg, and remove a peanut from his front shirt pocket whenever he called out, "Hey, Shorty!"
Through the tall grass, I spotted a shape looking over its shoulder at me in the distance. I see northern bobwhites almost every day in the preserve, but this is about the best I ever do trying to photograph them. #birds
Whenever I make a trip to New York, people ask me what I'd like to photograph. They're often surprised when I respond with "chipmunks would be a nice start." We just don't have them in peninsular Florida.
