Okay, folks, I’m starting to get a bit desperate, so send in your good wildlife photos ASAP, lest this feature die.
Today, though, we have a diverse batch of photos from reader Ken Phelps. His captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
The first two are a sequence of a spider killing and then starting to wrap a freshly caught fly. [JAC: does anyone know the species?]
The next two are a spider returning to a previously stored meal. In the second shot I focused on the web being excreted from the spider’s stern (possibly not the exactly correct term).
La Bee en Rose.
A somewhat blase Barred Owl [Strix varia] on a telephone wire:
An abstract, derived from ice on a mud puddle.
Ice on a melting snow bank, creating a bird.
Sigh, I have never seen an owl out in the open like that. And almost never in more concealed places, either.
And that abstract is quite nice, also the spider shots!
This particular owl was a fixture on Thetis Island. (One of the Gulf Islands adjacent to Vancouver Is.) This particular spot on the wire was such a regular hangout that there was a sign on the telephone pole advising strolling boaters (Of which there are many, since it’s near a marina) that there was nothing to fear.
I like that ice bird. Pictures like that remind me that it’s always a good idea to be ready to stop and take a picture of something unexpected.
Yes, way to flip us the bird! 😉
Beautiful photos. The description of the owl almost literally made me LOL. Thank you.
Great macros, and I though I was the only one who shot macros of melting ice.
Great collection of photos!
Very good! The orb weaver is tricksy, since they vary in colors and several species look very similar. But I like to go with the patterns under the abdomen, where there seems less variation. On that, I would suggest one of the spotted orb weavers (Neoscona arabesca).
Great abstracts!
“the web being excreted from the spider’s stern (possibly not the exactly correct term)” aka spinnerets https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinneret
These were delightful. Thanks!