Be sure to send in your good wildlife photos for possible posting here. The level in the tank is okay, but its drop has made me a bit nervous.
Today we have some photographs taken by reader Damon Williford and sent to me on November 23. His notes:
Attached are some photos that I took this weekend. The first batch are from Estero Llano Grande State Park in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Two are tyrant flycatchers, Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melanocholicus), and a Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus, male). The other photos are a sleepy Yellow-crowned Night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea), Long-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma longirostre), and spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera),
These photos are from the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas-Mexico border, including a roseate skimmer (Orthemis ferruginea), rosebelly lizard (Sceloporus variabilis), and Texas indigo snakes (Drymarchon melanurus erebenus). I saw more indigo snakes on that refuge last Sunday than I have seen any where else. I found a total of 4. The head shot was of a small individual (2-3 ft). The second photo is the last indigo snake I came across that day and looked like it was 4-5 feet long. These snakes come across as very camera shy.
great photos!
Fine shots. Good lighting.
I had not heard of the Indigo snake so I checked with Wikipedia. They are large, beautiful snakes which are capable of eating rattlers – so are liked by farmers. They are threatened though:
“The Texas Indigo Snake is listed as a threatened species by the state of Texas. Its primary threat is from habitat loss due to human development. Each snake requires a large home range to forage, and urban sprawl is shrinking their usable habitat. Roads bisect their territory, and many snakes each year are run over by cars.”
Indigos are indeed big beautiful snakes. They are sort of cranky though and should be approached with caution. I wouldn’t classify them as dangerous to humans, they aren’t venomous, but a bite might hurt a bit as they are big, strong snakes.
Back in the eighties a couple of friends and I came across an Indigo that measured right at 8′ (~2.5 meters). He was very stout too. One of my friends decided to keep him. We unanimously named him “Darth” because whenever anyone moved to within about 5 feet of him he would start hissing very sinisterly, sounding very much like Darth Vader. He was a gorgeous snake, no flaws or scars, and his color was as deep, complex and mesmerizing as the best high end custom automotive paint job I’d ever seen.
I convinced my friend to let Darth go after about a week.
I’m glad to hear she was returned to the wild. Her decedents might be out there now helping to keep the species alive.
Exactly. Though it was almost certainly a he given its size, but the point is still the same. Out of the ordinary for snakes, male Indigos are larger then the females.
Beautiful pictures of very interesting species. I really like the pix of the herps. We would occasionally come across softshell turtles, and found them very bizarre, even for turtles which are really weird once you get down to it.
Also great depth of field on that dragonfly! I would be pumped to get one like that.
Indigo snakes are really beautiful. I had heard, anecdotally, that they are especially valued as pets since they get very large, and they are docile in captivity.
Very nice set of pictures. The Yellow Crowned Night Heron is a stand out.
Terrific lighting on those birds! Herps (esp. turtles) are always a welcome sight, and these are real stand-outs. The rose-belly lizard looks well fed and healthy. Lizards are naturally photogenic. Perhaps it’s because they often seem to be looking at the photographer with intent.
I think the lizards are looking at the photographer with the intention of skittering away just as the trigger finger is cocked.
Damon was just plane lucky. 😎