This bobcat was my most unexpected wildlife encounter of the month. It explored my property, marked a few shrubs, pounced when it heard rodents rustling around in the long grass, and eventually wandered on. As always, my photographs show wild animals. I use a long lens and crop for composition.
I’m also sharing this photo, because it shows how excellent the bobcat’s camouflage can be.
For something a little different, here’s a seascape taken on a cloudy day with a pinhole camera.
A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird rests in southern Texas on his way north for the breeding season. This photo was taken a few years ago in April.
This is one of my favorite photos of 2023. Some species of ants guard planthoppers (and their eggs). In return, the ants get to eat the sweet honeydew excreted by the planthoppers as they feed. Here is a planthopper, her eggs, and their ant guard, all on some goldenrod.
The white-tailed deer is the most common deer species in the United States. This individual was one of several behind my house on an 18-degree morning this month.
Hermit Thrushes (Catharus guttatus) are the last of their genus to migrate south in the winter. This individual is one of several that have been feasting on pokeberries in my yard for the past couple of days.
A cabbage white (Pieris rapae), a member of the family known as the whites-and-yellows, feeds on smooth blue asters (Symphyotrichum laeve) at sunset.
A black swallowtail caterpillar sits on some dill. The dill is glistening with raindrops which appear as soft circles in the background. Black swallowtail caterpillars feed on dill and its relatives, including Queen Anne’s Lace, fennel, carrot, and fennel.
Here’s a paper wasp working on its nest. Paper wasps make small nests that are not fully closed off, as can be seen here. Some species of paper wasp can recognize other individuals of their species using facial recognition.
A male Eastern Bluebird sings aggressively and waves his wings while perching on a cattail. When I took this photo four or five male bluebirds were chasing each other all around my yard, sometimes making contact with each other in midair. This individual only stayed on the cattail for a few seconds before he was chased off by a rival.