Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme) feeding on flower nectar from a Blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) flower. Interesting fact: It is also also known as the alfalfa butterfly. Historically a western species, it spread across the eastern United States in the late 1800s and early 1900s as forests were cleared and alfalfa was widely planted. It is now found from southern Canada to central Mexico, coast to coast (generally absent from the Florida peninsula).
#backyardphotography #PollinatorGarden
This juvenile Costa`s hummingbird (Calypte costae) perched on a nearby bougainvillea to observe my attempt to photograph butterflies at one of our gardens. It quickly became a hummingbird portrait session.
I was photographing butterflies when this vulture passed overhead. Built to soar, and beautiful in their wobbling flight as they maneuver the lightest of updraft air currents.
Flame Skipper (Libellula saturata). That orange pops against the blue sky. That wing structure! Beautiful. One look at me made the hair stand up on his back (see inset). 🥹
#backyardwildlife #backyardphotography
A Hairy Maggot Blow Fly (Chrysomya rufifacies) pauses on a Woolly Butterfly Bush (Buddleja marrubiifolia).
Hairy and wooly. Mmmmmm?
One of our night visitors. A Great Horned Owl. Then a few hours later, just after sunrise, seven coyotes hunting rabbits in our front yard. The largest pack we have seen in the neighborhood. This is part of the reason we love where we live.
#trailcam #backyardwildlife #backyardphotography
More monsoon rain, more butterflies. Here are three I captured visiting the backyard pollinator garden.
Pic #1: Ceraunus Blue (Hemihasargus ceraunus).
Pic #2: A Bordered Patch (Chlosyne lacinia).
Pic #3: Palmer`s Metalmark (Apodemia palmerii).
This years monsoon rains have been meager but the butterfly population "awakens" with a little moisture. Here, a Ceraunus Blue (Hemiargus ceraunus) pauses, with proboscis extended, after feeding from a Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) flower.
#arizonamonsoon #butterflies #arizonawildflowers
It`s just like sleeping on a waterbed. A sea otter captured at Morro Bay, California.
#seaotters #morrobay #pacificcoast
It is good to get my dry desert eyes into a different environment. Driving up and down the California coast, for a few months, photographing this watery world would be fun. Perhaps necessary.
#photographychallenge #photooftheday #marinephotography
Title: Pay Here
Captured with a 600mm telephoto lens. The Pacific Coast Highway was located between the camera and the beach so it was a matter of timing to release the shutter when bike riders were in the proper position and the tops of passing vehicles were not in the scene. The telephoto lens compressed the distance between the opposing bike riders creating the illusion that the riders were on a collision course. This was the keeper of nine images.
#blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhitewednesday #beachphotography
Photographed at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Is it a Savannah Sparrow or a Song Sparrow?
A Funereal duskywing (Erynnis funeralis) butterfly. The butterfly`s warm coloration was left natural and accurate. The saturation of the background color was reduced to a cool monotone, drawing the viewer`s eye to the subject.
Location: Casas Adobes, Tucson, Arizona
#butterflies #naturephotography #natureinspired
While this Anvil-wing Moth (Hemeroplanis incusalis) is not as boldly marked as some, it is still quite beautiful. Does anyone know the reason/purpose of the red mark on the moth`s body?
Location: Casas Adobes, Tucson, Arizona
#moths #mothsofarizona #lepidoptera
