Today we’re finishing up the fine batch of photos sent by reader Colin Franks not long ago (his website here, Facebook page here). And as lagniappe we’ll have two nice photos from one of our regulars.
From Colin:
Belted Kingfisher, Megaceryle alcyon. Look at that little guy! (PCC loves kingfishers.)
Double Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus:
Common Mergansers (male & female – about to copulate), Mergus merganser:
Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus:
American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos:
American Crow:
Finally, two photos from reader Stephen Barnard in Idaho. This first one may be the most adorable animal he’s ever sent me:
This cute little rabbit is living under my deck. I’m not sure, but it may be a Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). It’s much smaller than the Desert Cottontails I usually see here.
He later got confirmation of this ID from a biologist at Idaho Fish and Game. I didn’t know Pygmy rabbits even existed!
More about this lovely bunny from Wikipedia:
The pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) is a North American rabbit, and is one of only two rabbit species in America to dig its own burrow. The pygmy rabbit differs significantly from species within either the Lepus (hare) or Sylvilagus (cottontail) genera and is generally considered to be within the monotypic genusBrachylagus. . . The pygmy rabbit is the world’s smallest leporid, with mean adult weights from 375 to about 500 grams (0.827 to about 1.102 lb), and a body length from 23.5 to 29.5 centimeters (9.3 to 11.6 in); females are slightly larger than males.
And a landscape from yesterday, titled “Another Maxfield Parrish homage,” with Stephen’s notes: “Sunset tonight. HDR”. Click to enlarge:
Beautiful photos!
Aw, he’s just a wittoh bunny wabbit!
He’s got razor-sharp teeth a mile long!
Great site Gerry. How do I submit wildlife photographs to the site?
Find my university email address (easy by Googling my name and university), and send pix there.
And it’s Jerry, not Gerry. 🙂
…yea, and they kick like crazy with their hind legs so the nails on their hind feet will tear up flesh! Cute as the dickens though…
All in all, really great photos!
Wow. What a beautiful place you live in Stephen.
That Kingfisher is indeed a cute little guy. It looks like a cartoon caricature of a bird.
Once, in a dorm room I shared with a couple of other guys, we decided to get a dwarf rabbit for a pet. It was a cute little thing that looked just like this pygmy rabbit, except that it was cream colored. It was easy maintenance, used a litter box, and easy to keep fed. It like to sleep with me. If it decided it needed my attention it would stick its ever twitching, whiskery nose in my ear and tickle me awake.
Agreed. Go to bed every night feeling part of the universe. Peaceful.
How sweet, darrelle. 🙂
Awww I’d love to have a bunny but doesn’t really work out with my dog who would want to put it in her mouth all the time.
Break out the holy handgranades!
Great photographs, as always on this site.
Another fine set of images. Nature rocks!
beeyoootifulll
Wow! Nice photos today. The Colin Franks photos have been a pleasure to see.
Mr. Cormorant has quite the overbite. Doesn’t it get caught on things?
You mean, like fish? Yes, but, when the fish do get caught on the beak, they’re in a convenient location to be subsequently swallowed….
b&
A very handsome set of pix, once again (well, as always, right?)
Awwww what a cute bunny. He’d better watch out for all those raptors! I love the kingfisher too as they are such interesting looking birds with their long beaks and stout bodies.
Wow – love that landscape shot. Just beautiful.
The bunny is not in danger from Deets? I guess herding doesn’t translate to hunting. We have a couple German Shorthair Pointers: bunnies beware (or any other small animal or bird). They aren’t trained as hunting d*gs, but boy do they love to hunt.
Amazing birds, just like yesterday’s. Colin’s photos can even elevate the common Crow to grandeur.
Oh, Border Collies love to hunt! At least every one that my friends have had (they live in a similarly rural area).
Deets will kill anything he can catch. He’s already killed a Desert Cottontail. He kills several voles a day. (This is a big vole year.)
Sounds like Deets is surely a hunter. We have a lot of moles this year. I don’t know what’s worse, the mole hills or the massive holes that are dug to catch them. The hills do less grass damage, that’s for sure.
Pygmy Rabbit! Wow. That’s what we have under our shed, going by what I’ve witnessed vs this photo. I thought at first they were simply very young, but I have never seen rabbits with such small ears before. I will strive to get photographic evidence for verification that my new neighbors are pygmies.
Love all Colin’s photos, but my very favorite is that last crow! Crows are amazing birds, very intelligent, and that shot just makes one wonder, “what’s on his (or her) mind?”
Cute bunny, Stephen, and that sunset is breathtaking! Exactly the sort of scene for HDR!
Thanks Diane. If you like that crow image, you’ll like this B&W one even more. It’s in album #11 on my Facebook page.
That is a fascinating picture–such a difference in not just expression but facial physiognomy as well!
But the one here is still my favorite. 🙂
I love, love, love the one of the Caspian Terns facing in opposite directions!
Yes, when it comes to birding, sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve missed many killer images by having the bird fly off a nano second before I was ready to push the trigger. Gah.