I nearly started the month with a misstep as I admired this placid early morning scene just after sunrise in our local south Florida wetlands:
Striving to get another view, I walked a short ways out on the muddy path, not noticing a critter nearly underfoot in the grasses just to my right.
[WARNING: Anni and other ophidiophobics may wish to skip the next few photos] My peripheral vision detected a slight movement and I forgot about taking any more landscape photos. My intrusion triggered a venomous Cottonmouth Water Moccasin to adopt a threat posture:
I backed off and the snake swam away:
A juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk roosted on a power pole:
Back home, my first backyard yard "critters" of the month were a Tricolored Heron and a pair of White Ibises, foraging at the edge of our lake:
The next day a Tawny-edged Skipper sipped nectar from Ligustrum blossoms:
A male Julia heliconian began unfurling his proboscis to join in the feast:
The Julia opened his wings to display their beauty:
We migrated to our second home in Illinois on August 9th, to see American Goldfinches...
...and a molting Field Sparrow on a sunflower:
A Northern Cardinal lent color to our daughter's back yard:
A photo of the creek in Bliss Woods did contain a weak reflection, but my earlier lakescapes performed double-duty by including skies and reflections:
Still looking for fences, but I cannot pass up this image of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail...
...nor can I neglect a Red-headed Woodpecker, on August 20:
On August 28th I finally captured a fence, along with a well-kept barn at Hannaford Woods:
Well, once more I passed the test. As usual, finding a fence among my photos proved to be the most difficult task.
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa).
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to I Heart Macro by Laura
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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a nice barn scene to finish off. :) glad you didn't get any closer to that critter. fine shots of it, though! love the goldfinch and the tri-color.
ReplyDelete(and maybe you can sneak in a feeder to see those painted buntings.) :)
Hello, cool capture of the Cottonmouth snake. I love the birds and the butterflies. Pretty sky captures. Happy Thursday, enjoy your day!
ReplyDeleteoh, so many lovely shots. Loved the landscape. The common sparrow is a favorite of mine. Love to watch them.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised you backed away from that snake but glad it swam off. All your bird photography is excellent but I really loved the Goldfinch
ReplyDeleteFantastic shots of the snake!
ReplyDeleteAnother glorious series, Kenneth! I never tire of your photos. And in case I haven't mentioned this before, I love your header! :)
ReplyDeleteNice sunrise
ReplyDeleteWonderful post. Oh my gosh you were that close to a Cottonmouth Snake, I would have been scared to photograph it but it sure was a cool thing to see. Great bird sightings and a very nice barn/fence scene.
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos.
ReplyDeleteYou always get such great photographs!
ReplyDeleteAnother great series of shots, and my favs are the cottonmouth shots!! Great captures.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely gorgeous captures you got there! How lucky that you live amidst such a rich treasure house of nature!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous series of shots.
ReplyDeleteWow, beautiful shots, thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteNice shots,at times it can be dangerous in the wilderness
ReplyDeleteGreat shots Thanks for sharing and have a super weekend!
ReplyDeleteGreat color in those sunset reflections.
ReplyDeleteLove the reflection photo and the butterflies.
ReplyDeleteLovely sky but there are some wonderful wildlife shots in there too...Great photos, love them.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures of the birds and phantastic reflections!
ReplyDeleteOh Wow, you have the most amazing coloured critters in your part of the World. I loved seeing them all and such beautiful photography. The first image would make a wonderful watercolour painting.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend :)
Hello, beautiful bird and gorgeous butterflies. I love the pretty Julia?
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!
Another marvellous collection, Kenneth.
ReplyDeleteI'm walking with you and loving every moment
ReplyDeleteYour photos are amazing Kenneth. I loved looking at the birds and the flutters, and even the cottonmouth as they are a good educational tool in id’ing them in case we come across them one of these days, and to steer clear :) I personally have always found his kind fascinating ever since I was a little girl. Thank you so much for linking with Today’s Flowers also, especially after my break. Very much appreciated. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteYou've got much better Goldfinch pics than I, KCS.
ReplyDeleteI'm truly envious of your water moccasin. I never got anything more than regular water snakes.
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Nice post - I am about to head north, into the warmer parts of Australia - apart from birds I hope that I may get some reptile shots as well!
ReplyDeleteCheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Oh good lord....nightmares of cottonmouths tonight.
ReplyDeleteExcellent image ...the very first one. It's so beautiful, and tranquil. Your birds and butterflies, exceptional. I especially thought the one of the Goldfinch was prime realty for an enlargement and frame! Wow.
Thanks, Ken, for sharing your post link this weekend at I'd Rather B Birdin'. [I like seeing that nasty critter swimming AWAY from us...yay]
Oh-oh, Anni, you looked! Can't say I didn't warn you!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to stay cool for snake photos! I took a few from inside my house this week...but it was a 'good' snake. Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteA really beautiful series of images, Ken! I'm jealous of that Julia photo. I can't find one. I'm NOT jealous of the Cottonmouth. They seem to find me without any problem. As the man said: "I'm not afraid of snakes, but I sure do respect them"! And since the Cottonmouth can be unpredictable, I respect them more than most!
ReplyDeleteHope you and your family are enjoying the "northern home"!
So much beauty here Ken as always, that Julia with her/his wings spread is exquisite! Thanks so much for sharing the love up-close with I Heart Macro.
ReplyDeleteSuch beauty!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and colorful birds. You are very brave enough to shoot the snake.
ReplyDeleteVersatile amazing images!
ReplyDeleteWonderfully colorful.
Wonderful photos - even the snake!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you shared at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/08/a-little-dab-of-color.html
Hello Ken!:) Your archive is full of wonderful images. Love the shots of the American Goldfinch, and Red-headed Woodpecker. The two butterflies are so beautiful. I had never heard of a Julia before but with it's wings open,it's stunning. The snake incident added drama to your already fabulous post, so glad you saw it in time to back away. Great shots of everything.:)
ReplyDeleteAmazing images as always. I will post an image of our badlands at http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.ca/ shortly. I remembered yours from last week!
ReplyDeleteFun memories -- you're definitely a winner!! Scrolled back since I Haven't been here for a while and really enjoyed the South Dakota tour -- those posts brought back memories for me!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! We've been away in the city, and I've seen few critters close up. Happy to view yours.
ReplyDeleteWow! Nice and scary meetings...
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful series!
ReplyDeleteGreat shots. Love the Woodpecker!