Photos: Burying Beetle

posted by Andy

During my last weekend walk and I noticed some beetles nosing around a roadkill garter snake. Usually these are nocturnal bugs which haul smaller carcases off to bury them for their babies. I think this one was a female - there was another one with orange markings that had apparently also been mortally wounded by a car.

This one has mites that I'd read about when looking up the identity of the first burying beetle I'd found last year. The mites jump off and eat fly eggs on the carcase, ensuring the survival of the beetle's offspring.

Photos: Dove and Wren

posted by Andy

Took an early morning walk through the William Finley wetland refuge on Friday. Not too many cooperative birds, but I did spot a pileated woodpecker, some flickers, stellers jay, bunch of chickadees squawking at me (probably black-capped, not positive), some grebes and mallard ducks.

The mourning dove in the first image was right beside the road. Photo taken out the car window with a 200mm zoom. The Winter Wren was one of several bopping about the path, pretty oblivious to my presence.

Photos: Garter Snake

posted by Andy

This little guy was trying to cross a gravel road, but having no where to go he decided to curl up and sniff with his tongue until I went away. His head is only about 1/2 inch long - a pretty tiny garter snake.

The first shot was taken with a 50mm lens plus some stacked macro filters +1, +2, +4. Speed 1/250, aperture f22, ISO 100. The extreme close-up was taken with a zoom lens with a reversed 35mm lens (attached backwards via reverse mount ring) and a diffused fill flash. Speed 1/125, aperture f32, ISO 200.

Photo: Dumb Bunny

posted by Andy

A not-so-bright rabbit that stayed around striking cute poses while his friends ran into the bushes, leaving him as bait. Colors have been edited - removed the greens to give it a bit of a sepia toned effect.

Photos: Finley Wildlife

posted by Andy

To decompress from a long working weekend I took an early morning hike yesterday before going into the office. I had heard that the elk were in the area and the bulls were fighting. I didn't see the males, but while looking at a woolly bear caterpillar crossing the path I noticed several fresh drops of blood and could hear the elks bugling within a few hundred yards off in the woods. I did run across a mother elk and her large calf.

Also, spotted a downy woodpecker and a brown creeper near the Finley quarry.