Blog Archives - tropicalbats.com

Halloween

10/31/2013

I just took my little Canon S95 out while my kid was scoring much candy. The Canon S series of cameras do a pretty good job even in tough lighting conditions, and I just wanted a pocket camera tonight. I was having as much fun as the kids, and didn't want a big camera.

Some porches were pretty nicely done up.

This one had cool lighting and large ghosts

Trick or Treater's at the door

A marvelous carved pumpkin

Double pumpkins

Okay, a cool bit of a witch crashing, but the feet are backwards and... was she flying a mop?

The candy was 10 inches deep in the bag, a very good haul

Burke Lake V2

10/30/2013

I hadn't planned to go back to Burke Lake today, but...

When I returned home yesterday I found that the top of my hiking tripod was missing! Think, think, think. The only place I got tangled up yesterday was in a birch tree while trying to find a geocache. So today included a two-mile hike to the site, and yes a recovery of the tripod top that was stuck in a tree, and a two-mile extraction hike.

And here are a few pics I took along the way.

Okay, this pic is lame. But having a bald eagle 250 meters away still made me take the shot. Sorry it's not studly, but I haven't posted an eagle shot so something to improve on.

A female hairy woodpecker

And a male Downy woodpecker.

And a golden-crowned kinglet. But this one barely shows the crown, so..

Golden-crowned kinglet from the top.

White-breasted nuthatch

Got scrap about my last chickadee pic, so a new one. Still not best, but better.

Hiking around Burke Lake

10/29/2013

Burke Lake is a big park. it is roughly 10km to do the hike around the lake with a few bits to hit the points and such.

But the weather today, and all such things, came together for me to hike around the lake and take a few photos.

Gray squirrel eating a nut.

A chipmunk on a log.

But mostly is was a day for the birds, as they were out and feeding heavily

Red-bellied woodpecker looking for some food.

A song sparrow in the brush.

A pic of trees, just had to show that leaves are changing.

Immature Cooper's hawk.

A couple of yellow-bellied sapsuckers.

Black capped chickadees were all over the place.

A great blue heron was poking around the shallows.

A swamp sparrow was noted by the lake.

A painted turtle on a log.

More bats

10/28/2013

This cave in Cuba had a huge number of bats, mostly in one room. These are, for the most part, Natalus lepidus (Gervais's funnel-eared bats). But the latin names have changes a bit recently, and I am not sure what exactly their name is right now.

lots of bats

10/27/2013

A pile of Phylostomus hastatus (spear-nosed bats) from Panama. I haven't posted a bat pic for some time, so here is one to make up for it. Location is a cave about an hour east of Panama City.

blue

10/26/2013

blue light on water droplets.

White-tailed deer

10/26/2013

White-tailed deer are pretty common across the eastern US. They can be seen browsing along roadsides, and spotlighted during legal hours for doing such. Most folks would say they are a common animal seen often enough.

But to go out into the forest to photograph them isn't quite so easy. They tend to be active only when there isn't enough light for pictures, they are quite camouflaged with their fur, and in general a difficult creature to photograph well without setting up a blind and hoping they come by.

So, here are a few photos from my efforts today to photograph some deer. Call me lucky or give me credit for being a skilled wildlife biologist who knows how to find things...

The forest at Lake Fairfax Park.

A doe, which was running with the bucks.

This buck, a four point was with the four-deer group I saw today.

And then I saw this guy.

While it looks likes he is surveying the turf, he was actually just taking a break from using his enormous antlers to scratch his back.

Another pic of a huge deer

Male deer fight with their antlers for does. Here the little four-point buck is facing off with the large 9-point buck. Yes, the little guy lost, but he was pretty bold to even try.

Borneo Sarawak stick insect

10/24/2013

Another stick insect from Borneo

More from Borneo, a stick insect and a frog

10/23/2013

A great-looking stick insect from Borneo

Philautus hosii, on a leaf.

Borneo, a spider on a leaf

10/22/2013

This spider was surfing a leaf, in the rather tannic waters of Borneo.