Bird/Wildlife photography

Aaaaagh, that is so cute...I love owls.

The white stripe mason wasp

Early morning I went out and caught a pheasant. With my hands probably 11 yrs old in pic. I used to catch a lot of birds. A barn swallow is the toughest. There sooo quick. I used to bring some birds into the farm house. And set them free. It was fun watching them fly around. 

Can you give some context on how you happened upon these pups?

I ride my bicycle regularly in some vineyards near my house. I see coyotes quite often along with an occasional bobcat and other wildlife. On this particular evening I was riding along my regular route when I came around a corner along a river and there they were just sitting there (pic # 1). I always carry my camera with me, so I stopped and started taking pictures. They were facing the opposite direction when I first came upon them and they didn't know I was there. When they turned around and saw me, two of them ran back into the river bed, but the one actually came towards me and was checking me out before running away too. That's the one in the picture looking right at me (pic # 3), he actually came up pretty close to me.

I have actually encountered these pups about 5-6 times total and managed to get pictures on two separate occasions. I have a short video that I would like to post, but I am not sure how to do it. They run as soon as they see me now. I have never seen an adult with them either. 

Thats so cool you had this unique encounter that 99% of regular folks don't.

Is that a burrowing owl?

Yes indeed.

Idk what kind of Owl it was, but when I was a kid my Dad had one fly inside his truck. He knew no one would believe him so he drove home so he could show us. He hung out for a while and just left.

Something we are proud of is hatching our first Galapagos tortoise. Only one had been born in the wild in 100 years and they are critically endangered and only a few zoos and only a few private owners have successfully bred the giant tortoises. They have to be around 15 years old to become fertile and usually don't even try unless 25 plus years old which is the age of the pair. We have some females tortoises up to 45 years old but males are hard to find because eggs hatch male or female on incubation temperature, The saying is Males are cooler and females are hotter and because the animals thrive in warm climates the  females out number the males.  Only one hatched so far out of 15 eggs 3 different clutches or nests so fingers crossed but been dreaming about this for most my life and should be consistent now that they are definitely fertile. Combined weight of this pair is close to 700 lbs. 

It could be a Galapagos. It could also be an Aldabra tortoise. I have a large group of Aldabra as well. The picture is a little hard to tell but on its shell right in the middle above the head if there is a single tiny center scute between those two big scutes it's Aldabra but if it's just two big scutesthat meet above head Galapagos. Also Aldabra have a pointy head and Galapagos more square so it's pretty hard to tell by the picture. Aldabra are usually more friendly but there are plenty of exceptions. My first thought was Yes Galapagos but has some possible Aldabra traits as well. Great pic.

My dog weirded out today at something off trail.

A badger just hanging out. 

Here's a Great Blue Heron I took in Florida this summer. This was shot on film.

These 4 Sandhill Cranes think they are cows. They are here every day acting like part of the heard. Its a pair and their 2 offspring. 

I thought I had posted some of this from years ago but couldnt find it;  the wife wanted to go to the lake and shoot some roseate spoonbills at first light.

Got this destructive little SOB on camera . Pretty cool to see.

Those are cool AF! I’ve seen a few in my backyard from time to time. They’re like feathered pterodactyls

Good stuff Tony,  good to see you on here.