Nature Photography

[snolly50]

Anolis carolinensis...

 

[JohnJ]

3 hours ago, snolly50 said:

Anolis carolinensis...

 

Tiny terrestrial Tylosaur....

[snolly50]

On my morning walk, I encountered this creature. Unfortunately, he has been rendered inert by a passing car.

 

 

I transferred his remains to a more suitable place of rest and in doing so revealed the underside with its uniform pale yellow coloration.

 

 

This slender animal was about 14 inches in length. It is not a critter I routinely see. Does anyone recognize this reptile?  Legless glass lizard came to mind and I looked up the SC representative. What do you think?

Edited July 13, 2022 by snolly50

[Ludwigia]

@snolly50  I think it could be a blind snake, like this one. "Blindschleiche" are quite common over here, which is why I think I recognized it.

[Top Trilo]

Hi @snolly50. As a fan of snakes I'm also a fan of legless lizards. A search of which species are in your state turned up the Slender Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus). This link, https://scparc.org/lizards-of-south-carolina/slender-glass-lizard/ has a description and pictures that seem to match yours. 

[JohnJ]

Eastern Glass Lizard

 

Rare sighting.  

[Top Trilo]

It looks like I'm wrong again. I found this image which points to John being correct.

 

[snolly50]

Thanks for the quick replies. I don't recall ever seeing one of these, even though they are native to my locale. I enjoyed seeing this animal, only wishing he had not been killed.

[snolly50]

Glass lizard redux....

 

Glass, indeed, aptly named,

 

The snollywife, today, free from her reckless gadding accompanied me on a walk. The previously espied lizard was a topic of discussion and we stopped at its open air tomb. I immediately was surprised to note that the rearmost section of the creature had separated from the rest. Upon moving the animal to better show the snollywife the lizard's typical head shape; more tail sections separated from the body. Even in death, the animal's remarkable adaptation to thwart predators was manifest. 

 

Silently viewing the creature's body in the gloom of a misty rain; I was struck by the awesome complexity of its being. I was once again stuck by the profound wonder elicited by the extraordinary world around us.

 

Simply amazing.

 

 

 

[digit]

2 hours ago, snolly50 said:

I was once again stuck by the profound wonder elicited by the extraordinary world around us.

I believe all children have this world wonder in spades but most of us grow out of it as we are distracted by the details of getting by in a complicated world. Lucky are the few who can still be awed by things.

 

Our bird feeders outside the kitchen windows bring a diversity of winged nature within easy view. Still in awe of watching "Honey" our female Ruby-throated Hummingbird visit the feeder while we are eating meals just inside the screen door where the feeder hangs. We've recently spotted two females displaying their characteristic territorial ownership over the liquid energy source. We watch in fascination when one visits trying to deduce if there are idiosyncratic behavioral differences that will allow us to distinguish "Sugar" from "Honey" while supping at the feeder.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Kane]

Going through the camera roll, I thought I'd share this cute one. 

 

My friend runs a sustainable 50 acre farm just south of me, and I owed him a day of work there to help him out (my fee was a dozen fresh eggs from his chickens). We were planting trees all day, and while out in the back nine, a lamb was born. In this picture, I am cradling this adorable 2 week old lamb I dubbed "Mounty" (because he kept on trying to mount his sister). These sheep are a "classic" blend of Scotland and Icelandic. The mother gave birth to a girl and a boy, but rejected the female. So, my friend has to use a "jugging" method, but also the use of a stanchion to trick the mother into allowing the rejected one to nurse. We trick the mother into the food and place the stanchion while I hold the "favoured" offspring so she can smell him and assume he is also nursing. This allows the rejected one to feed. I can't convey how this moment of holding Mounty made up for a year of powerful disappointments, deaths, and overall sorrow. If you have not held a baby lamb in your arms, it is to my mind the best therapy in the world. I'm sure @minnbuckeye is more than familiar with this scenario of how to deal with rejected offspring, given his professional experience. 

 

Mounty already has horns growing. A good day in the field finding great fossils is wonderful, but moments like these are sublime.  

[minnbuckeye]

2 hours ago, Kane said:

I'm sure @minnbuckeye is more than familiar with this scenario of how to deal with rejected offspring, given his professional experience. 

Find a family that has young children. Let them bottle feed the lamb once and then offer it immediately to the child. Problem solved!!! Mom and Dad can't say no to this learning experience for their offspring. So the child takes the lamb home. 8 to 12 weeks later the fun is gone, the head butting starts  and you get the lamb back ready to wean without exerting any work yourself. 

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B

Edited July 15, 2022 by minnbuckeye

[Kane]

7 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said:

Find a family that has young children. Let them bottle feed the lamb once and then offer it immediately to the child. Problem solved!!! Mom and Dad can't say no to this learning experience for their offspring. So the child takes the lamb home. 8 to 12 weeks later the fun is gone, the head butting starts  and you get the lamb back ready to wean without exerting any work yourself. 

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B

Fortunately, this family has three young kids. My friend is trying to use alternate methods, but I will pass that good advice along!

 

My thanks: I knew I could count on an old vet hand on this issue. And this is as close as I get. I want a goat farm, but the missus says no.  (she is wise: they take a lot of work!).

[FossilNerd]

59 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said:

Find a family that has young children. Let them bottle feed the lamb once and then offer it immediately to the child. Problem solved!!!

Ha! I’ve been tricked into bottle feeding a calf or two more than once in my younger years! 

[Coco]

Hi,

 

On 7/14/2022 at 10:56 PM, digit said:

We watch in fascination when one visits trying to deduce if there are idiosyncratic behavioral differences that will allow us to distinguish "Sugar" from "Honey" while supping at the feeder.

I have a manger suspended on my balcony in which I put sunflower seeds, the most common birds are the Parus major and Cyanistes caeruleus. They are very playful birds, and I noticed that some individuals literally throw away fifteen seeds overboard before taking one and leaving with it! I never understood the reason for this behavior !

 

And when I was young, a long time ago, I was maybe 14, I helped give birth to two twin calves, it was a great moment in my life !

 

Coco

Edited July 16, 2022 by Coco

[expatspain]

Managed to image this beauty after hearing it rustling the foliage. A chameleon, which is a protected species in the region of Andalucia, South Spain. Centre of first image, perfect imitation of it's surroundings, Second image as it dropped to the ground still supporting the colors of the branch it was on,

 

[FossilNerd]

The sunflowers that my 7 year old planted are in bloom. Much to his and Mr. Bumblebee’s delight.

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2022 by FossilNerd

[Top Trilo]

WARNING! If images of insects creep you out, don’t scroll down.  I took this picture yesterday and decided it was worth sharing. Yesterday, I had noticed a green insect on my wall. I thought it would be a unique challenge to try to photograph it under my microscope. I needed some container to make sure it doesn’t escape, and I’m not a fan of handling most insects, grasshoppers and praying mantises are about the only exception. I took the lid of one of my Riker display cases and with a sheet of paper got the insect to climb into his (or her) temporary container. It would have been easier to just kill the bug but I would rather not harm this innocent insect. After waiting a long time it stopped at a place in the box where I could view it with the scope. I quickly snapped these pictures and then released it outside. I’m glad to say no insects were harmed in the making of these images. 

It was small, about 2cm long, and after taking the images I could measure the eyes which were only 0.5mm in diameter! That means each lens is about 25 micrometers across, that’s tiny! That’s about the width of a human hair. This is one of my most detailed images I’ve ever taken as far as being able to see tiny stuff.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Top Trilo

[FossilNerd]

I spotted this “Velvet Ant” crawling across a brick wall today. I have always been fascinated by these insects.
 

Fun fact… I was a little too curious as a child and got myself stung by this type of “ant”. Which for those who don’t know is actually a type of wasp. Very painful if memory serves. I’m a little more cautious these days. Admiring them from afar.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutillidae

 

[Lone Hunter]

One unhappy Maine toad. .     Photo courtesy of @Rockwood

Edited August 18, 2022 by Lone Hunter

[Fossildude19]

On 7/27/2022 at 7:43 PM, FossilNerd said:

I spotted this “Velvet Ant” crawling across a brick wall today. I have always been fascinated by these insects.
 

Fun fact… I was a little too curious as a child and got myself stung by this type of “ant”. Which for those who don’t know is actually a type of wasp. Very painful if memory serves. I’m a little more cautious these days. Admiring them from afar.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutillidae

 

 

They don't call them "Cowkillers" for nothing! 

[fifbrindacier]

The blue tit is insectivore and the goldfinch eats seeds

Edited August 20, 2022 by fifbrindacier

[digit]

C'est magnifique!!

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Coco]

Bravo Sophie, goldfinch isn't an easily approachable bird.

 

Coco

[fifbrindacier]

19 hours ago, digit said:

C'est magnifique!!

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Yes, they both have so bright colors !