We have fish (the first time, as I recall)—plus some of Stephen Barnard’s birds.
First the fish, from reader Paul Schoekel. His notes:
I enjoy your website and the readers’ wildlife photos, so I wanted to share with you a few favorites of mine. The french angelfish (Pomacanthus paru) and green moray (Gymnothorax funebris) are from a trip to Ambergris Caye, Belize. The juvenile jewel damsel (Microspathodon chrysurus) from Caracas Baai, Curaçao.
A French angel (Pomacanthus paru):
A green moray (Gymnothorax funebris):
A juvenile jewel damsel (Microspathodon chrysurus):
And some Idaho birds from Stephen Barnard:
A Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus),
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in flight
A northern harrier (Circus cyaneus):
Stephen’s words:
“And as a lagniappe, a photo captioned ‘Size matters'”.
I’m wondering why that small bird (whose species I don’t know) wasn’t nommed.
“I’m wondering why that small bird (whose species I don’t know) wasn’t nommed.”
My guess would be foreshortening – the telephoto lens makes the birds look closer together than they really are, probably a few metres apart, rather than within snapping distance (and IANAO (I am not an ornithologist), but I doubt a bald eagle would expend the energy to try to catch a small bird like that on the wing)
Yes, I thought foreshortening as well. The small bird looks like a starling to me.
It’s either a starling or a red-winged blackbird. Foreshortening makes the distance between the birds look less than it is and makes the small bird look larger than it is. I’d guess they were about a meter apart.
Nice fish photos, especially the French Angel.
I’m guessing female or young red-winged blackbird. It’s not a starling anyway.
My inner fish would love to be in that watery environment, unless of course it’s an aquarium.
Maybe it’s a blind instead of a bald eagle? 🙂
“We have fish (the first time, as I recall)”
You forgot the fantastic rainbow trout (by S. Barnard) three days ago. OK, it was mostly a dorsal fin, but a fish nevertheless – and a quite exceptional picture.
My hammerhead nightjars weren’t really up to snuff – damned uncooperative elasmobranchs – but the absence of fish isn’t for want of trying.
And, ISTR several photos, probably from Idaho, of birds at various stages of catching an nomming fish.
The pose – neglecting foreshortening – made me think of the various “cleaner fish” around the reefs of the world. Is that a behaviour found in (natural) birds? (I know there are several species that pick parasites off the backs of larger animals ; but are there any feathered toothpicks?
As far as I can tell, bald eagles range from indifferent to hostile to other species of birds. Small, nimble, aggressive birds like blackbirds and kingbirds will mob eagles and other large raptors with impunity during breeding season. Autumn is truce time.
These eagles eat fish exclusively, I believe. Their implacable, fierce hatred is reserved for other fish-eating birds: herons and ospreys.
Oxpeckers (relatives of starlings) pick ticks off of large mammals like buffalo in Africa. And Egyptian plovers sometimes forage between the teeth of crocodiles. There are probably others, but those two spring to mind.
Head-on shots of birds in flight are rare — great job on the harrier, Stephen!
And nicely done, Paul! What kind of gear do you have that survives total immersion in the sea?
b&
Sealife DC600 with a single strobe. The jewel damsel was 12-15ft, the moray and angel were 85-90ft.
Thanks! I wasn’t familiar with that; had to look it up. Looks like a typical point-and-shoot camera bundled with a custom underwater housing and software enhancements for underwater exposure metering. I imagine its compact size is especially welcome what with all the gear you’ve got to haul just to not die….
b&
It’s a nice entry level setup. They make housings for most most DSLRs. I’m saving to get one for my Canon T2i, they’re about $1,400.
Sub
Beautiful! Stephen, love the GHO shot. Nice light!