A new experience for me

 New experience for me

We aren't travelling much, so I have to look for my natural history observations at a different scale around my home. Lately, I have been watching the diversity of bees attracted to the flowers in our containers. I also had a chance to see the next generation being provisioned as I watched a solitary bee create its nest and cap it over the course of several days. It would fly up with loafs of pollen and take them in to the top of a bamboo stake. It came and went quickly, but at the end, when it was capping its next, I was able to get a few photos.

The bee flew up with piece of leaf which it appeared to chew into a paste and used it to plug the end of the nest. I hope I have a new set of pollinators in the spring

World Photography Day 2021

Flickr is holding a World Photography Day Contest 2021 so I sorted through my images and submitted a few of my favorites:

In the spotlight

Wild Ride

Ballston

Midland painted turtle hatching

Sunset in Spruce

In Spruce Wisconsin, near my wife's family farm on Christmas Eve 2012.

Our neighbor

This American toad has taken up residence in one of the small pools in our back yard. He's so busy singing that he is ignoring me. If you look closely, you can see the vibrations of his call in the water. This was from 2013. In 2014 we also have a toad calling from the pool, but it is not clear if it is him returning, or another guy. Here's to his luck with attracting lady toads.

Palm Wabler

Palm Wabler, a photo by alumroot on Flickr.

Anhinga Trail Everglades National Park. I'll confess to not being good with small birds. I am wondering whether this might be a palm warbler? This one of the few times I have been around a warbler here it was not perturbed by humans walking by. If you have walked around Anhinga Trail, you know there are a lot of people.

Key deer fawn and doe

Key deer fawn and doe, a photo by alumroot on Flickr.

Key deer are very tolerant on human presence and you often get to see their behavior close up. It was amazing to spend time watching them.

Urchin shell on the beach

Urchin shell on the beach, a photo by alumroot on Flickr.

This was such a lovely mix of colors and textures. It brings back the smell of the sea, not that is all good