Favoritos de oksanaetal

On a hunch, I flipped a rock over to look for red-backed salamanders. Lo and behold, I found 3! After carrying them to safety (away from the chickens) I flipped over another rock and found a fourth salamander. This one was carried to the same mossy puddle as the other ones.

Aquí hay una importante población de Bisontes desde hace más de 50 años, cabe mencionar que este lugar fue parte de su distribución natural por lo que puede considerarse como una especie nativa al lugar.

I feel like I should post one of those warnings you see on some TV shows...."Viewer Discretion is Advised; some images may be disturbing to some viewers". After some of the road kill images that are posted on iNat perhaps this is not too bad. At least it was completely natural, unlike the slaughter caused by vehicles on our wildlife.

Between 1996-2005, I was a bird guide on 13 trips to Antarctica. During those trips I saw lots of Leopard Seal attacks on penguins, but none stands out in my mind more than this one. This adult Chinstrap Penguin had somehow escaped from the jaws of a Leopard Seal, but was mortally injured. The penguin was virtually "de-gloved" whereby its skin was almost removed from its body. The penguin struggled ashore where it stood still for 10 or 15 minutes, much to the distress of several tour participants I had with me. As the penguin stood there, several Brown Skuas began to gather about, waiting for the inevitable to happen. Slowly the penguin walked farther away and out of immediate view, with 4 or 5 skuas walking along behind it. I did not follow, but rather decided to allow the scene to unfold without my observation and intrusion. It was a reminder that nature can be tough and brutal.

Image 4 shows a small portion of the Chinstrap Penguin colony at this location.

image scanned from 35 mm slides
Bailey Head,
Deception Island,
Antarctica
29 January 2002

A green chiton attached to a half crab. We observed this alien looking commensal beast while undertaking an intertidal survey on the reefs off Hawera. It made us jump when we first turned over the rock.

Li vedevo danzare in volo, e mi sembrava un corteggiamento. Vedendoli però poi scontrarsi su quella foglia di rovo, posso solo dedurre che ci siano stati dei dissapori.

Sequenza animata della discussione (56 fotogrammi; alla fine uno rinuncia e se ne va, lasciando quello che ha la macchia bianca sulla punta dell'ala anteriore più pronunciata e la peluria più chiara a godersi la sua vittoria):

Sequence of the two butterflies arguing (56 frames; in the end one gives up and takes off, leaving the one with the wider white band at the tip of the forewing and the lighter 'fur' to enjoy victory):

This was a unforgettable experience. I got to observe this bat flying around and catching insects in full sunlight. Then I was able to observe them as they landed on a tree to rest for a while before taking off again. Their behavior seemed very normal, however the fact that they where so active during mid-day makes me suspect that this individual has rabies unfortunately.