Blog Archives - tropicalbats.com

Costa Rican Olive Tree Frog

9/11/2013

I haven't posted as many Costa Rican frogs as I would like. This is due to the scientific renaming of so many of them that I don't feel confident that I'll get the scientific name right.

I have this frog as Scinax elaelchroa, the olive tree frog. Well, it is the Olive Tree Frog by common name, no matter how the scientific naming game goes.

The olive tree frog (Scinax elealchroa) from the Firestone Center for Restoration Ecology in Costa Rica

More frog pics to come, if I can work out the new naming stuff.

eggs

9/10/2013

Lots of things are born from eggs. Chickens are the most well-known, but insects and other things lay eggs as well.

Sure, a bird nest is a good place to look for eggs, but if you really want to find the small stuff, peering under leaves is the place to look. Here is a clutch of eggs, which I think are insect eggs, under a leaf in Bellefontaine, Ohio, US.

eggs hidden under a leaf, in Bellefontaine, Ohio

They are only 1/8th of an inch in diameter, but fascinating to look at up close.

Parks, birds, and a turtle rescue

9/8/2013

I am thinking that the ring-billed gull pic from yesterday was plenty fine, but didn't show the bird well enough. Usually, for the blog, I look to showcase the animal, and not make some kind of larger art. So here is the ring-billed gull occupying more of the frame.

Ring-billed gull from Lake Royal Park.

Which brings me to putting up a picture of a Great Blue Heron that is the exact opposite of what I just said.

A great blue heron on the dock at Lake Fairfax

I can't carry my big telephoto lens everywhere, so the heron was just photographed as possible. But not such a bad pic, eh? Note that this heron is from Lake Fairfax, the locale of the next couple pics, while the gull was from Lake Royal Park.

So, what about trees in Lake Fairfax Park? Lots of them. Tons of them. But also mixed with lots of open space and picnic tables. This park really has it figured out.

Trees, forest, and open space...this park has it all

How about a short story, as it is time for such here on the blog.

My son and I were walking along the over-water boardwalk at Lake Fairfax when we saw a small group of folks looking over the rail. They were watching two turtles, and we joined them and watched as well.

One turtle was just swimming and going about its business, while the other turtle was on a log right under us on the boardwalk.

An eastern painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) stuck on a log

But after watching it for a long time, it was pretty clear that it had "saddlebagged" itself on the log. All four of its feet were churning but it could not find enough grip to actually move. Intervention was needed. We slipped a fishing rod to a kid whose hand fit through the fencing down low, and he was able to knock the turtle off the log. Success! The turtle swam away.

A great day at a great park, even though I only got a couple average pics from it.

Ring-billed gull, Lake Royal, Virginia

9/7/2013

Gulls have a number of plumages, depending on how old they are and whether they are breeding or heading south for the winter. This gull is an adult ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) in the winter plumage. It is only September, but the birds are getting ready for the fall migration.

A ring-billed gull, adult in winter plumage, at Lake Royal Park in northern Virginia, US.

A toad (Bufo margaritifer) from Brownsberg, Suriname

9/6/2013

The South American common toad (Bufo margaritifer) in the leaf litter.

And a quote that I like:

"A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kickboxing" Emo Philips

Worm snake from Brownsberg, Suriname

9/5/2013

A tiny little snake, which seems to be in the Genus Typhlops.

And the whole snake here. It might have been eight inches long or so.

Flat-faced fruit-eating bat (Artibeus planirostris) from Suriname

9/4/2013

These bats were living under the front porch of some folks in Paramaribo, Suriname. Looks like a mom and kid to me. They were there many days, and I snapped this pic when over at the house for a party.

Artibeus planirostris in Suriname

Grasshopper from Brownsberg, Suriname

9/4/2013

I can't identify this critter, but it is a nice-looking grasshopper.

A bat, after a long absence of such

9/2/2013

A big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) caught in a mist net.

Mist nets are a great way to catch bats without harming them. For my work, I have to catch a lot of bats, and mist nets are one way to do that.

Mount Royal Park, Falls Church, VA

9/1/2013

Mount Royal Park is a similar jungle to Lemon Road Park, in that whacking away through it other than on a trail is not recommended. And it is, pretty much just across the street.

But it has a playground. Not a huge thing, but quite an unexpected bit of children amusements in a forest woodlot park.

I have just one photo from the park, which is of a giant kid standing next to a picnic table. This is not photoshopped.

Huge kid next to picnic table

And such is such from a random northern Virginia Park.