outdoor photography

Tufted Titmouse This morning I met a friend of mine at Mead Gardens.  We a very nice time there, though there weren't many birds to speak of there.  We saw or heard five species of warbler: Ovenbird, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, and a Black and White Warbler.  We also had fun watching a Great Egret preening, a couple Great Blue Herons were in the stream and lake shore.  A Cooper's Hawk also made an appearance by the lake shore, swooping down over a couple White Ibises. Great Egret Since there weren't a lot of birds, we turned our attention to other wildlife.  We saw a couple non-native species, including a Brown Anole and a Red-eared Slider. Brown Anole Red-eared Slider But there were also many Eastern Pondhawk dragonflies there, including this beautiful female. And a Rat Snake fell out a tree near us; I have to say, this is probably the prettiest snake I've ever seen. Eastern Pondhawk Rat Snake

Brown Anole Despite appearances from my posts, Mead Gardens has more to offer visitors than just birds.  Even though it's a small park surrounded by homes, you can still find wildlife there.  While I favor birds, when I see other wildlife, I'm quick to turn my attention to it.  There's a very nice butterfly garden there, and I need to spend more time there, not just because there's a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that frequents it, but because there's some nice butterflies that you can find there as well.  So here's just some of the wildlife I've seen at Mead Gardens over the last week or so.  No butterflies, I know; I need to remedy that. River Otters I hope you don't mind the indiscretion of these squirrels.  Some people don't like portrayals of this behavior among animals, but I figure it's natural animal behavior. I try not to think of them as hawk food.  They have value in their own right if they would just stay out of bird feeders. ...