Mother Raccoon Coping with Her Two Rambunctious Kits
⭐This is one of my favorite observations from several years ago. I didn't take photos, only shot a Video.
The 4 still photos are snapshots created from the video.
(The GIF animates on a PC browser but displays as a still image on both Android and iPhone.)
I spooked it while doing my survey and it flew from the tree smack into the glass of the building..
NO PHOTO FOR METADATA PURPOSE
I literally said out loud to nobody, "Holy crap, what IS that??" when I saw this majestic thing. The blossom was at least 3 inches across. Seen at roughly 9000 feet elevation.
Observation #100000!!!!! I figured this species would be appropriate for this milestone observation!
Moon at upper left. Cropped one second exposure with low intensity flash every 20 milliseconds, 52mm, f2.8, ISO 1000. Distance 30-40 feet.
I picked up loud audible bat calls directly overhead. It essentially sounded like an angry rodent chirping an chattering at the same time. The bat appeared to travel fast and direct while continuously calling. Possibly LACI given the flight? Possibly an aggressive interaction? The sonograms: 1 - unfiltered, 2 - 15 kHz cutoff, 3 - 25 kHz anti-katydid, 4 - 30 kHz anti-katydid. No orthopterans were recorded throughout the duration of the visit. The "noise" was generated during the call. All other calls recorded that night were relatively clean. The TE playback is interesting. This is call 1 of 2. Call 2 is at: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/131306199. Call 2 was recoded directly after call 1.
Bat found on side of building, taken into care and eventually released by bat rehabilitator D. Wilkins
Big mahalo to @damontighe for shining his UV light on this beauty. The round things are likely diverticula of the digestive system, being pushed against its exoskeleton by a load of eggs.
Kudos to @nmcnear for finding this explanation on BugGuide.
In Davis Mountains State Park. See 3rd photos for evidence of roosting, lots of poop below
This is about the 6th melanistic Eastern Chipmunk I have heard of in MA. It was in very good condition, so it was donated to a state mammal research collection.
Florida Bluet riding a sandwich through the inky void. This is not an altered photo, nor was this my sandwich.
Visiting Trichostema parishii at the California Botanic Garden
A California Ground Squirrel foraging a fallen orange in the historic orange grove.
Chomp.
I haven’t ever tried to find out what kind of bats these are. The population is thick though and all the shafts are full of them.
I watched it stalk and hunt several pocket gophers. It was too full to eat the last one, which it cachEd in some soft soil. (Last photos)
Being eaten alive by a Puget Sound Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis ssp. pickeringii). It was originally struggling, but once the snake got the head in its mouth, it stopped.
This leucistic robin has been loitering in the yard searching for food, fighting/mating with other robins for the past several days (5/10/21-current). Striking contrast to other traditionally-marked robins. Beautiful specimen!
Appendage-like growth out of the throat of this toad. Very odd. Was rigid and sturdily attached.
This bat was foraging over the Feather River and over the road during mid-day. It then landed on a rock low on a road cut and hung upside down on the rock (in the sun). When we returned later, it was gone.
A life species for me! This little squirrel was digging seeds out of the snow under the bird feeder. I've thought we might have flying squirrels here because sometimes late at night, we hear the typical sounds of red or gray squirrels racing along the outside of our log cabin walls, but likely not either of those diurnal species.
Photos taken through window glass and screen (left on to prevent window hits).
I was taking photos and scared it. It ran into to me and bit me on the nipple and wouldn’t let go. Here’s the news article https://www.the-sun.com/news/2169452/snorkeler-attacked-nurse-shark-nipple/
Big shoutout to Rich, Chris, and Billy at Caloosa Marina for getting it off of me.
Hurt a lot.
These are very grumpy meat balls on 4 legs: spending most of their lives underground, then emerging to feast on swarming termites with the first heavy rains before going underground again (well, with a little reproductive activity in-between).
We first discovered 2 frogs on a sandy dirt road, but a few metres onwards there were dozens of them!