This Mourning Cloak butterfly stops to rest and feed in a patch of tiny, purple wild flowers. I encountered it while hiking with a friend this spring in the Great Dismal Swamp near Suffolk, VA.
White Breasted Nuthatch II
White Breasted Nuthatches have the odd habit of creeping down tree trunks. This one stopped to survey it’s surrounding. In the process it showed off it’s flexibility by craning it’s neck more than 90 degrees to assess the scene. This photo was taken on a rainy day and you can see a tiny drop of water clinging to the bird’s belly.
Unlikely Fisherman
Five of the eight legs of this spider were on the surface of a small pool of water. The other three were resting on a leaf floating on the surface. At first I thought this spider had been stranded on the leaf but I later realized it was probably waiting there for lunch to come along.
Like all the photos on my blog, you can click on the image above to see a larger, high resolution image of this photo.
Landing Zone
Animal tracks always catch my attention but they aren’t always very photogenic. These bird prints were on a beach along the James River. It would be impossible to identify the type of bird that left them but the deeper, wider prints in the foreground indicate the bird landed here and then hopped along the beach before taking flight. The early morning sun provided enough shade within the prints to make them stand out in the photo.
Weekly Photo Challege: Up
I watched these tundra swans paddle around in the water for a while and hoped they would take flight. When they finally did I was able to capture a few photos.
American Coots
The American Coot is a rather funny looking bird. They break the old rule that says “if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it must be a duck”. They are actually more closely related to rails and cranes. When you get a good look at their feet, which are not webbed, you realize they must not be ducks.
King of the Mud Puddle
Walking in a park near the James River on spring afternoon, I stopped to see if there might be anything interesting in a large puddle adjacent to a small pond. Sitting, quietly a few feet from the trail was this red toad. It remained so motionless as I photographed it, I began to think it might be a toy frog somebody put there as a joke.
River Cairns
During a walk along the James River I noticed these cairns out among the natural rock formations. Perhaps they were put their by a paddler as a way to mark their take out point?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Color
A Zebra Swallowtail butterfly feeds on henbit and buttercups along the Washington Ditch in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge near Suffolk, Virginia.
Yellow Breasted Chat
This little Yellow Breasted Chat and I met up along a rather unscenic part of a hike. I didn’t have my camera ready when I first spotted the bird but it was gracious enough to hang around and let me snap a few pictures of it. It almost seemed to pose for me a couple of times.