Blog Archives

99% chance a Bornean Blue Flycatcher juvenile, Gomantong, Borneo

9/29/2014

I took this photo of a beautiful bird near the Gomantong Caves in Borneo. I checked the books and contacted a couple others and just could not figure it out.

After the pic was sent to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (huge thanks for their effort) it appears to be a juvenile Bornean Blue Flycather (possibly never previously photographed and they give a 99% probability of the ID).

And here is the most beautiful bird.

Bornean Blue Flycatcher, juvenile, from the Gomantong Caves area.

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Bulter Cave, Virginia, cave life and evening fun

9/28/2014

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Sorry for the lack of posts/pics lately, but my server denied my password for some time and then I was away this weekend. Time to get back to the daily pics.

Today's feature pics are from this weekend. I only took pics of two things in Butler Cave as it wasn't a photo trip, and then two pics of the evening fun. So let's start with the two cave pics.

This looks like a Pseudanophthalmus (that's the Genus) cave beetle, less than a quarter-inch long, seen in the Sand Canyon. I was on the trip many years ago where Dave Hubbard collected some of these for species identification, but to this day don't know the species name.

That beetle is pretty cool, as it is a predator and rarely seen in Butler Cave. It is eyeless and a true cave critter, only found in caves.

An eyeless millipede in the cave, only about half an inch long.

These millipedes, which I have no identification on, are found wherever there is organic material in the cave.

I know, we were in the cave and saw many beautiful things that I should have taken pics of, but as noted, it wasn't a photo trip. But the evening activities included some mild fireworks, mostly smoke bombs, which were a fun way to end the day.

Cyprus watching the sparks fly

Birch jumping through the smoke as Cyprus watches

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142-meter pit in Gomantong, Borneo

9/24/2014

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This shot is looking up at the surface from the bottom of a 142-meter deep pit. Pretty awesome stuff in Borneo.

A 142-meter deep pit from the bottom

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Back in business

9/21/2014

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It would seem that I have finally solved the photo issue. There is now, for some reason, another step needed and I found it on the help site for my server.

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Bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) from Falls Church, VA

9/21/2014

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The bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) is more of a yellow jacket (wearing a black jacket) than a true hornet. It makes big old paper nests in trees, and if not downright feared it is at least highly respected by any who have had run-ins with this critter.

Unlike honey bees, these animals can sting multiple times and will readily do so if you disturb the nest.

So here is a close-up of the face. Note that it is not bald in the face, having some whiskers, but white. Same as the bald eagle which is not bald, but has white feathers on the head. However, to get real esoteric with the word etymology, "bald" in the case of the eagle comes from "balde" which in earlier days meant "white."

Bald-faced hornet close-up from Falls Church, VA. The face and mandibles are white, not lime green, which is an artifact of it sitting in a world of green leaves on a very sunny day

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Arghhh

9/20/2014

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Still can't add photos.

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Just trying to get this working again

9/19/2014

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Text I can add, but no photos. This is killing me, as this is a photo blog.
I will put some time into figuring this out tomorrow.

Sorry for the lack of pics.

Keith

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