Readers’ wildlife photographs

October 9, 2014 • 5:22 am

Note: Readers should still continue to send wildlife photos (with explanatory text) during my absence. Thanks!

We have only a couple of photos today as the bulk of them are on my lab computer. These come from reader Stephen Barnard in Idaho, who identifies them:

Callibaetis mayfly and a rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) eating one:

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17 thoughts on “Readers’ wildlife photographs”

    1. I’m not sure whether it should be ascribed to surface tension or, more generally, viscosity, but there’s an interesting swirl around the trout’s snout that catches the light just right.

  3. I love the mayfly shot. I haven’t seen one up close (and alive) like that & this one looks very healthy!

        1. Mayflies are vulnerable to trout predation in different stages. Trout prey on the nymphs that are lurking in the weeds or the bottom detritus. When the nymphs mature and emerge they are vulnerable. These are called emergers in the language of fly fishermen. They rise to the surface, shed their nymphal shucks, transforming into the adult stage, They float on the surface drying their wings, preparing for take off. These are called duns. Once they’re airborne they’re safe to begin the mating dance. After mating and egg laying they fall helplessly into the water, spent. These are called spinners. Trout like the spinners because they’re easy.

          1. Yes, in Spring there are so many mayfly corpses at a river near me that they actually smell. Not like rotten flesh but they have a unique smell.

  4. The picture of the trout is absolutely beautiful!
    The doubled eyes of the male mayfly are intriguing. I guess the enormous upper part (the light one on the picture) are used to detect the females flying above. But I don’t know for sure.

  5. The mayfly photo was taken with a little Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot camera in macro mode. (It’s waterproof, so I use it while fishing.) I think it demonstrates that pretty decent macro shots are possible with such inexpensive cameras due to their small sensors.

    The trout photo, on the other hand, was taken with a very expensive DSLR and telephoto lens.

    1. Stephen, I have a LUMIX LX5* and it does amazingly well for macro shots. I really love that little camera; and I find myself using it more and more.

      Which model LUMIX do you have?

      * LX5: Zoom range from (35mm equiv.) 24mm – 90mm, and f/2.0 at 24mm (the newer LX7 has f/1.4.

      I want the LX7, because they salved the three issues I have with the LX5:

      1. Mode know has stops that aren’t strong enough (moves when I take it in and out of the case)

      2. F-stop ring!!!! (much better than the thumb wheel + push functionality)

      3. Apsect ratio switch moves too easily (similar to 1, above) and the “fairings” popped up almost immediately and look like bunny ears.

      1. It’s a DMC-TS2, and older model. I bought it for the waterproof feature and the bright LCD. I’ve been thinking of upgrading, but it serves my purpose well.

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