Wildlife

Outstretched Osprey

~ laura lecce ~ 4 Comments
Outstretched Osprey – Photograph by Laura Lecce

To my absolute delight, the moment I arrived on the small island of South Water Caye in Belize, I spotted an osprey nest. I had previously stalked out osprey nests (each with a baby inside) in Yellowstone National Park hoping to get a glimpse of a parent returning, but having no luck at all. This time, the ospreys and I were stranded on an island together and I was determined to get my photograph… and I got several! These large beautiful birds mate for life, and I got to watch a gorgeous couple of ospreys ‘baby making’ on several occasions. I don’t think it would be very pleasant at all having your male partner dive onto your back with huge sharp talons, I hope the feathers provide some cushioning. Ospreys live near water, either a river or the ocean where it can hunt for fish, so you may get to see some dive bombing. They inhabit all continents on earth except Antarctica, which means they are in Australia too!

Too close for comfort

~ laura lecce ~ 2 Comments
Too close for comfort – Photograph by Laura Lecce

By that I mean my comfort! This chipmunk was way too curious for my liking and I was worried he was going to jump on my head! He kept getting so close my camera couldn’t focus and I had to keep backing up to take a photo. As a general rule I prefer not to interact with wildlife so that I can photograph them behaving naturally in their environment, but sometimes wildlife can’t help but get a little too curious!

Two Glorious Geese

~ laura lecce ~ 4 Comments
Two glorious geese – Photograph by Laura Lecce

I did not see these Canadian geese in Canada but in Yellowstone National Park. It seems the name is misleading as I have seen a lot of these geese in the US! They even nest in Central Park in Manhattan, and in the Spring you will see chicken-sized, fluffy babies following their parents around. These two posed so perfectly that they deserved to have their photo taken.

For other posts from Yellowstone National Park, please click here. This post is dedicated to my Canadian friends.

A grizzly and her cubs in a field of flowers

~ laura lecce ~ 7 Comments
A grizzly and her cubs in a field of flowers – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Life doesn’t get much better than this. Watching a mamma grizzly make her way slowly through a field of yellow wildflowers while her two cubs run around her. This picture was taken in Spring in Teton National Park. There were quite a few female grizzlies each with two beautiful and bouncy cubs. Predictably they took the same route every day, so on each day you could catch a glimpse of them making their way through this field. I learned that a grizzly can be distinguished from other bears because of the hump on it’s back above the shoulders. They are so much bigger than I imagined, and every time I saw a bear on this trip I would forget to breathe. You really feel like you are in the presence of a magnificent and truly special animal. What a truly wonderful experience.

Dinner with a Canadian Beaver

~ laura lecce ~ 3 Comments
Canadian Beaver – Photograph by Laura Lecce

I never felt so humbled as I was on this day when a Canadian beaver swam past me down the river dragging his dinner, and instead decided to swim back towards me, plant himself at the edge of the river bank and enjoy his dinner with me. This beaver sat so close to me that I could hear the branches being crunched by his strong beaver teeth as he fed them into his mouth like a straw. Then when he got to the end of the branch he would try to shove all the leaves into his mouth at once, cheeks bulging and continued chewing. The whole time he was watching me watching him and seemed just as curious about me as I was about him. I managed to get many good photos of him in the waning light as the sun was setting. My trip to Parc national de la Jaques-Cartier was the highlight of my trip thanks to this beaver, although I also loved the old part of Quebec City. Eating a beaver tail was the second highlight, and for those of us who aren’t Canadian, don’t worry, its not a real beaver tail but a yummy, fried, flat dough covered in whatever deliciously sweet toppings you desire.

For other Canadian posts please click here.

Friday Flower – Pink with an Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly

~ laura lecce ~ 6 Comments
Eastern Black Swallowtail – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Ok, so this photo is not so much about a flower as it about the stunning black butterfly perched delicately on these tiny pink flowers. Those large dark wings with golden circles and a powdering of shimmery blue. The signature elongated wing tips of a swallowtale and delicate lines of white dots along the abdomen. This butterfly truly turns heads as it flutters past and really tested my patience as I waited for it to sit still long enough for a photo that was in focus. I will dearly miss the warmer months this year as the weather is already getting too cold for my liking, and we still have so much further to go into the cold abyss of winter. Have a warm weekend everyone!

For more butterflies please click here.

The eagle and the bird who hates him

~ laura lecce ~ 20 Comments
The eagle and the bird who hates him – Photograph by Laura Lecce

It’s tough to be so loved and admired, to be an American icon and a symbol of great strength. Lucky for this eagle, his ego will be a little smaller because of a little bird (well little sitting next to this eagle) who absolutely despises him! As I was in absolute awe that I got lucky enough to get up close and photograph this stunning bird, the bird next to him was determined to shoo him away. At one point the little bird was hanging off his tail feathers trying to yank them out with his beak and flapping around the poor eagle’s head and making a hell of a racket. I guess having a large and cunning predator so close to home must be a bit distressing. It was also spring time in Yellowstone National Park, which probably meant chicks in a nest that need protecting. Lucky for the little bird that the eagle didn’t seem on the hunt for lunch. Also lucky for me and my camera that the eagle didn’t seem at all surprised or phased to have this annoying bird bothering him, and just sat his ground looking as regal as ever. What a fantastic experience!

For other pics and posts from Yellowstone National Park – please click here.

I met a marmot

~ laura lecce ~ 2 Comments
The marmot I met – Photograph by Laura Lecce

I met a marmot for the first time in Yellowstone National Park, and these little critters are now quite possibly at the top of my favorites list (well second,  lizards still win). They are such a cute, cuddly-looking, round ball of orange-brown fur. In the case of the photo above, the fur color was a perfect blend with the rock that this marmot calls his home. Never straying far from the safety of his fortress, he went on happily munching the grass shoots in his front yard while I sat and took his photo. It took a while for me to get a good portrait as he mostly had his head down pulling up grass, then would periodically put his head up for a just a second to check that I was still watching him. Capturing a photo of a marmot is a very seasonal activity, as you wont find them around from about September to May as they happily hibernate through the colder months of the year. I wish I could do the same!

Good at spotting balls of fluff (commonly known as raccoons)

~ laura lecce ~ 9 Comments
Ball of fluff – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Isn’t this the cutest face you’ve ever seen?!

I always keep an eye out for raccoons whenever I am walking through Central Park in New York. I have become very adept in spotting them after I learned a few simple things. They are mostly in the trees and not on the ground. I had no idea that raccoons slept in trees, so look for round bundles of fur tucked into the fork of trees where the large branches leave the trunk. The hour before sunset is when these little fuzz balls are waking up and they start moving which makes them easier to see. You will find them stretching, grooming and coming down from the trees to rummage through the parks trash cans. This little youngster was quite unsure of me and so had all of its fur on end – clearly a grumpy morning person (or evening raccoon).

Nothing’s greener than a tree frog

~ laura lecce ~ 16 Comments
Nothing’s greener than a tree frog – Photograph by Laura Lecce

These green tree frogs are the masters of camouflage. They look exactly the same color and shape as new mangrove leaves, which is exactly how I would want to look too if I lived in croc infested waters in Cairns, Australia. They’re actually quite chubby and large for a frog, growing to about 4.5 inches long (11.5 cm). They are a wonderful visitor to have in your garden if you are so lucky, as they eat cockroaches, locusts, moths and spiders. They are docile creatures who are relatively unafraid of humans, and so are commonly found hanging around outdoor lights waiting for approaching food. They are incredibly vocal using calls for mating, but will also scream when attacked by predators or squeak when poked. As cute as that may be, I do not encourage you to go around poking tree frogs as any toxins on your hand will get absorbed through their skin which is also how they absorb oxygen to breathe.

For other frog posts please click here.