While hiking near the east branch of the Jemez River in New Mexico, we came across this flowering choke cherry bush that was alive with butterflies. There must have been several hundred—mostly small western whites and a few painted ladies—swirling about and lapping up the sweet smelling nectar of the flowers.
Panasonic GX8, Lumix 14-140mm lens, ISO 1600, f/10, 1/1600″ exposure
Robin & I paddled around the mouth of Lewis Creek yesterday morning. We had the pleasure of getting in close to this osprey and its mate who were camped out in a tree on one of the small (now inundated) islands out on Lake Champlain. This fellow had recently caught a fish and was enjoying a morning meal.
Panasonic GX8, Lumix 100-300mm lens @ 300mm, ISO 800, f/11, 1/500″ exposure.
No sooner had I cleaned out the nesting boxes in our front field this morning, than a male bluebird came to inspect! Welcome back!
Panasonic GX8, Lumix 100-300mm lens @ 300mm, ISO 800, f/8, 1/1300″ exposure.
This track tells the story of a coyote trotting across the meadow at Windekin Farm. Coyotes will often meander across a field sniffing and listening for prey—voles, moles, and mice hiding beneath the snow.
Back to the Florida Keys again with this shot. This green-backed heron was quitely perched near an observation platform at the Blue Hole Nature Area on Big Pine Key. I almost didn’t see him!
Key Deer are unique to the Big Pine Key region in the lower Florida Keys. This subspecies of White Tailed deer is quite small—bucks weigh in at only 55-75lbs—and were hunted to near exinction by the 1950s. We went to the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key. The young buck grooming himself was none-to-shy as I snapped a bunch of shots from about 20 yards away. The closeup doe was right by the side of the road and seemed content to pose for the glamor shot.
You can read about Key Deer here.
Panasonic GX8, Lumix 100-300mm lens at various lengths, various ISO, aperture, and shutter speed.
We watched this brown pelican for quite a while as it hunted off the shore of Bahia Honda Beach in the Florida Keys. This shot is nanoseconds before splashing in.
Panasonic GX8, Lumix 100-300mm lens @ 400mm, ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/5000″ exposure (it was bright out!)
We started the day with 2 degrees above zero and it’s been dropping since. This male purple finch was all puffed up keeping warm near the feeders.
Panasonic Lumix GM5, Lumix 100-300mm lens @ 300mm, ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/320″ exposure.
John Hadden Photography 