A flame in Florida

Here are some pictures of one of my favorite butterflies, the Gulf Fritillary. This orange beauty isn't found in Delaware, but it can be found in parts of North Carolina.

In this case, April and I were in Orlando at Meade Park, the same day we had our dolphin experience at Discovery Cove. I'd say that seeing a Gulf Fritillary was a great way to end the day!

PS: I haven't mentioned this before, but in case you didn't know, by clicking on any of these pictures you can see them in their entirety! (I would highly recommend it for the first Gulf Fritillary picture.)

Gulf Fritillary, Meade Park, July 2009

Brought to you because of popular demand

Well, after April told me that the folks at Ashland Nature Center were interested in seeing pictures from our Florida honeymoon, I'm skipping ahead a bit to highlight the birds and butterflies of the sunny state. Early in our trip we visited the Disney Wildlife Preserve, which is on the outskirts of Orlando. Near the entrance, a Red-Shouldered Hawk sat on a fencepost, almost posing for the camera (and this wouldn't be the last photogenic Red-Shouldered Hawk on the trip).

Red-Shouldered Hawk, Disney Wildlife Preserve, July 2009

A flash of blue

Here's a particularly small, but very beautiful butterfly known as the Eastern Tailed-Blue. They are pretty common, and easily found in fields, along roadsides, etc. I photographed these two individuals at the Middle Run Natural Area near Tri-State Bird Rescue in Newark, DE. The first photo shows the markings on a set of closed wings, while the second picture gives a taste of why this butterfly is so aptly named. Look closely for the small 'tails' extending from the bottom margin of the hindwing (more easily seen in the second picture).

Eastern Tailed-Blue, Middle Run Natural Area, July 2007

Gone fishing

Here is a picture of a pair of Black Skimmers at Bombay Hook NWR. April and I were looking out at one of the impoundments when the two started doing a flight pattern right across our field of vision. They would swoop down and skim the water for food, pull up, and then loop around and do it all over again. It was an excellent chance to see why they're called skimmers!

Black Skimmers, Bombay Hook NWR, June 2006

One of my first butterfly pictures

After having been an avid birder for a few years, I started chasing butterflies in July, 2007. April had been talking about the butterflies they were seeing on Ashland programs, so I decided to go find some for myself. Luckily for me, my first day included getting some nice snapshots of a Great Spangled Fritillary at White Clay Creek State Park in Newark, DE.

Great Spangled Fritillary, White Clay Creek SP, July 2007

From the beginning...

Hello all,

After watching April create her own blogs to share her love for nature, I've finally decided to take the opportunity to post some of my favorite nature photos. While 'nature photos' can cover a lot of territory, I'll mostly stick with birds and butterflies.

For my first post I'll go back to May 2006, when I first visited Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge near Smyrna, DE. While walking on one of the trails through the marsh, I had the luck of capturing a picture of a diminutive Marsh Wren hiding in the reeds.

Marsh Wren, Bombay Hook NWR, May 2006

I'll be back with more soon!