Notes from the Field
My New Sanibel Island Art Installation!
This is a post I'm really proud of. Earlier this year, I was contacted by the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society on Florida's Sanibel Island about the possibility of one of my images being used for an installation at the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge....
The Cuban Treefrog + A Gross Story About One of Florida’s Most Annoying Invasive Species
The Cuban treefrog is my #1 hated invasive species for a number of reasons ranging from ecological damage to personally anger-inducing events and even slightly barf-worthy situations. I'll explain that last one in a moment. Cuban treefrogs are an invasive species from...
Native Orchids of Colorado: Yellow Coralroot (Corallorhiza trifida)
Last month I made a quick trip down to New Mexico and Colorado for a photography business trip and as I was coming over Independence Pass to the east of Aspen, I started spotting a lot of orchids on the side of the road. Because I had a free day or traveling set aside...
Anhinga! One of America’s Most Overlooked Birds
The anhinga is one of the most strange, beautiful and ancient birds of The Gulf Coast region of the Southeastern United States. When North America was split in half roughly 100 to 40 million years ago by a great inland sea called the Western Interior Seaway ( <---...
Parry’s Penstemon of the Sonoran Desert
Southern Arizona's Sonoran Desert is famed for its sudden explosion of colorful wildflowers that follows the first springtime rains. From a distance, I saw bright splashes of pink from across the arid hills, and as I got closer, I found this Parry's penstemon in all...
Showy Evening Primroses
At first light, there is nothing quite as beautiful as wildflowers backlit from the rising sun. These highly-colorful showy evening primroses were no exception! ~ click on any image to enlarge ~ Showy Evening Primroses Also known as pinkladies, pink evening primrose...
Arachnophilia/Arachnophobia Alert: The Mouse Spider!
Ok, ok.... I've learned my lesson from a previous spider post: Don't use a spider in the thumbnail image that gets posted to social media. I really freaked a lot of you out. That said, I've got a really cool post about a very cool little invasive European mouse spider...
The Prairie Falcon in Flight!
I'm adding this set of photos a few months after I made them in California because I just wasn't positively sure what exactly species I was looking at until a very experienced birder friend of mine on Facebook pointed out all the reasons that this is a prairie falcon....
The Wild Bitterroot of Washington’s Sagebrush Country
One of the absolute best times to visit the wild rolling hills and steep ravines and coulees of Washington's Columbia Basin is in the late spring. Last week I was traveling around the Vantage, WA are, just east of the mighty Columbia River near Whiskey Dick Mountain...
Springtime Chocolate Lilies on the Olympic Peninsula!
Besides wild orchids, wild lilies are a favorite of mine when tromping across the country in extremely rural to even semi-urban places. Recently I was in the Olympic National Forest near the shore of Lake Cushman near Hoodsport, WA scoping out new areas to photograph...
Surf Scoters – My Favorite Pacific Sea Duck!
Very recently I was taking a "day off" (inside joke for those who know me personally - I work in some capacity nearly every day of the year) on a scouting trip for future photography trips in the Olympic National Forest. Near the Skokomish Indian Reservation, I...
Native Cactus in the Pacific Northwest? Introducing the Endemic Snowball Cactus!
When you think of the Pacific Northwest, you usually think of lush coniferous forests, snow-capped mountains all throughout the year and never-ending rain. But did you know that as close as a one hour drive to the Canadian border, there are wild and endemic native...