outdoor photography

Scarlet Skimmer (m) This morning I dropped by Wirz Park to see what kinds of birds and bugs I might find before work. Last time I visited this park I saw several Scarlet Skimmers, which are one of the few (and possibly the only) invasive dragonfly species. My understanding is that they are native to Japan. But they are very pretty, and the males are so brilliantly red that I can pick them out against a green back ground, even with my red-green colorblindness. I was surprised to see several other species here too, including several Pin-tailed Pondhawks, which were new to me this far north.  Several of these dragonflies posed quite nicely for photos, so I thought I'd share them. I'm somewhat amazed that I've made two blog posts in a row with not a single bird or landscape photo. So weird. Scarlet Skimmer (f) Eastern Pondhawk (f) Pin-tailed Pondhawk Blue Dasher

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

Florida Red Belly Turtle Yesterday afternoon I dropped by Secret Lake Park for a few minutes to check on breeding birds.  The last time I was here the place was hopping with activity, and I was able to log breeding evidence for Brown Thrashers, Common Grackles, Osprey, and Common Gallinules.  Yesterday was much quieter, though the begging Ospreys and Common Grackles were still making a racket.  It was fun to find other types of animals, though.  A Florida Redbelly Turtle posed for me, as did a couple species of dragonfly.  I don't know my dragonflies well at all.  I'm pretty sure one was a male Eastern Pondhawk; the other I was unable to identify, but the great people at BugGuide.net identified it as a Slaty Skimmer. Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) Slaty Skimmer (Libellula incesta) Ospreys are there in abundance.  I confess I get pretty tired of photographing them, and often I just ignore them, but it was a slow birding d...