Wildlife

[Sheal]

That noise would drive me mad Zigs. I wonder how long they have to put up with it?

 

[Meadowlark]

A good hatch usually lasts about 4 weeks. This convergence of the 13-year cycle and the 17-year cycle is a very rare event.

I grew up in the Ozarks and that video is spot on. This noise is amazing...but strangely you get used to it and it just becomes background...or you go mad!! . East Texas is too hot or something for them.

 

[Tetters]

We heard this racket when we lived in the bush in Australia. The beetles can get so loud you can't hear yourself think, but it only seemed really bad for a few weeks, and it's true that you do get used to it. There were many many creatures in the Antipodes that needed getting used to.

 

[Zigs]

I've heard them (or something very similar) in Spain, but not all at once like that

 

[Zigs]

You know it says I like Pigeons in my profile?....

 

[Zigs]

Mullein moth catterpillar munching away on a Figwort flower.

 

[Sheal]

Hooded Crow taken through a window so a bit hazy.

 

[granjera]

Sorry, not the clearest or best of shots. I spotted this beetle yesterday about an inch long but don't know what kind it is.

According to Google Lens, it's a Meloe Violaceus (violet oil beetle).

 

[granjera]

However, we do have more than our share of woodpeckers here in the Big Thicket wildlife preserve. Pileated woodpeckers are fairly common and often mistaken for the Ivory-billed woodpecker which many believe is extinct. Personally, I do not believe it is extinct but that is a different rabbit trail. I don't have the cameras for it but will get a shot of the pileated woodpecker if I can. They are huge, beautiful birds.

I saw this gigantic bird flying overhead and it landed on a tree way above. My one and only time seeing this woodpecker. I've talked to a couple bird/nature photographers (the ones with the expensive equipment) and neither has spotted one of these, so I would say they're not at all common in this region.

 

[granjera]

In Britain we know it as a Bridge camera and has a prime lens. I couldn't afford a telephoto lens for my DSLR so bought this to fill the gap some years ago. It can take scenery shots up to 50 miles distant. It 'bridges' the gap between the two. It's only drawback is an electronic viewfinder which is slow to adjust - frustrating when trying to photograph anything moving at speed. I prefer to use the screen now as I'm aging, it's easier on the eyes

The woodpecker shot above was taken with a bridge camera, the Sony RX-10 IV.

I took the attached photo with it a couple of years ago, and honestly, I'm still stunned that I did.

 

[Meadowlark]

I saw this gigantic bird flying overhead and it landed on a tree way above. My one and only time seeing this woodpecker. I've talked to a couple bird/nature photographers (the ones with the expensive equipment) and neither has spotted one of these, so I would say they're not at all common in this region.

View attachment 462

That is a good picture of the pileated woodpecker...one of my favorite birds. Well done.

 

[Zigs]

Good Crow @Sheal

Cor @granjera

 

[Sheal]

Lovely shots @granjera

 

[Zigs]

Red Admiral Butterfly

 

[Tetters]

@Sheal - your wish was Zigs command, and there is now a camera thread with all of that clever stuff on

 

[Sheal]

Oh thanks @Zigs and @Tetters. I'll take a look tomorrow.

 

[Sheal]

Mrs Pheasant taking a dust bath in a recently dug over bed.

 

[Meadowlark]

Red Admiral Butterfly

Texas butterflys are just not that trusting or tame. How do you get a picture like that?

 

[Zigs]

Texas butterflys are just not that trusting or tame. How do you get a picture like that?

He was probaly a bit lashed up after drinking too much nectar