Readers’ wildlife photos

Today I’m assembling photos from readers who sent in a small number.  Their captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.  I’m assuming all ducks are mallards (Anas platyrhynchos).

DUCKS from Peter Fisher:

I came across this family of ducks in a rather lovely setting in Rydal Water in the English Lake District. Mum is clearly keeping watch. There were six ducklings, (one must have escaped the frame).

From Christopher Moss:

Some more for your stash. I received the 2x teleconverter today, so these were taken with the full frame equivalent of a 1200mm lens! I need to practice some more with it, as it is prone to camera shake, but there is promise there.

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) and a damselfly (probably an Eastern Red Damsel, Amphiagrion saucium)

From Richard Kleinknecht:

THE HUNGRY AMERICAN BULLFROG (Lithobates catesbeianus)

 The California Department of Fish and Wildlife writes (click here)

“Adult American bullfrogs have voracious appetites and will eat anything they can fit into their mouths, including invertebrates, birds, bats, rodents, frogs, newts, lizards, snakes, and turtles.  Bullfrog tadpoles mainly eat algae, aquatic plant material, and invertebrates, but they will also eat the tadpoles of other frog species.  As a result of these feeding behaviors, all life stages of bullfrogs prey upon and are able to out-compete native frogs and other aquatic species.  Additionally, bullfrogs are a known carrier of chytrid fungus, which causes the potentially fatal skin disease in frogs called chytridiomycosis.  Chytridomycosis is believed to be a leading cause of the decline of native amphibian populations all over the world and responsible for the extinction of over 100 species since the 1970s.”.

Apparently, the American bullfrog will, or will try to, eat anything that won’t eat it first.  My extended family member, Eleanor, knew that bullfrogs had exterminated her singing chorus frogs, (genus Pseudacris, multiple species) and was not terribly surprised when she came upon this bullfrog attempting to swallow a pre-deceased adult bird, one that ultimately proved to be too large for consumption – but the frog came very close to swallowing something nearly as large as itself!

From Sharon Diehl:

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) pair atop Transform Tower #199, Wally Toevs Pond, Walden Wildlife Habitat, Boulder, Colorado. I have photographed this mated pair for years at Walden Wildlife Habitat, where they hang out atop the transform towers that overlook Wally Toevs Pond. They aren’t always successful breeders, but they keep at it, together year after year.

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) hunting at my backyard bird feeders–where, alas, it caught a bird–at least it was a Starling. I know the raptors have to eat, too:

Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens), on the Hornbeam tree I believe, waiting for the flicker to leave the suet feeder–my backyard, Boulder, Colorado.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in a tree, overlooking a lake in East Boulder Community Park, Boulder Colorado.

. . . and more DUCKS from reader A. C. Harper:

Two ducks making the most of pondweed on water at Fairhaven near the Norfolk Broads. Pictures taken on holiday at South Walsham July 2025.