Leopard Frogs

A few photos of the frogs I enjoyed watching in my pond this year.

Kingfisher triumph!

I was surprised to still see this female Ruby-throated hummingbird around in early October.  She was in the last patch of flowers I seen left.

Taking a rest before the long migration flight.

A rare glimpse at the inside of a Copper Hairstreak butterfly's wings.  These are little tiny butterflies that never  rest for a photo!

After chasing these Belted Kingfishers around for years, I finally got an opportunity to capture one when the lighting was decent.  This is a young female I found very early one morning.

If you have ever heard the loud chatter of a Kingfisher, you can imagine the noise coming from this adult females mouth.  One of the young birds was trying to land near her and she did not want him there.  I loved  that I was able to catch her in this pose.  Was worth the wait!

A young Red Headed Woodpecker so proud of  finding this acorn.

The parent Woodpecker watching from high in the same tree. 

A Killdeer in search of food along the shoreline.

Fall friends

Male Eastern Bluebird 

"Myrtle" variety Yellow Rumped Warbler

Why is it so easy to capture a Turkey Vulture soaring and so hard to capture a Bald eagle???

While enjoying a warm fall day walk, this Praying Mantis flew by me and landed nearby.  I thought it was unique how he positioned his front legs stretched out instead of the usual praying position.  I am assuming it was to fool his prey.

A Monarch enjoying nectar from the asters.

I found this Bluebird in the early morning light searching for bugs along the beach.

An Eastern Phoebe, a member of the flycatcher family of birds.

Botanical Garden Treasurers

I took these photos on my annual fall trip to the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis.  Like much of the mid and south west, it was a long, hot summer there.  Many of the plants were stressed and were not at their best.  For a different take on the flowers, I played with closeup rather than the whole flower.  Many of the flowers had damaged petals or ones that did not open to their usual splendor.  Hope you enjoy seeing the beautiful colors.

A red Dahlia with white petal tips.  These were softball sized blooms.

A huge spiked petal Dahlia that was dinner plate size.

This tropical plant was called a hanging lantern.  Very appropriate name and a lovely flower.

A Toad Lily bloom and bud.

A water Lily.

This was a newly hatched Dragonfly that I happen to find along one of the water lily ponds.

The next two photos caught me by surprise.  They are both in complete color, no photo tricks applied.  I had not expected the flower to appear in color and seem like it was in a black and white background.  Loved the effect, and it was just a product of the lighting and the dark foliage of the lilies.  Hope you enjoy.

Obsessed!

You just can't have too many Hummingbird photos!  It is such a challenge to capture these little jewels and their fast wings.  I don't think I will ever get tired off trying!

I believe this is the young bird that has been frequenting my garden.  Her feathers are almost completely in.

Notice the pollen on the end of her beak!

Right Place, Right Time

It was a cool 40 degrees and mist was rising off the water on an early morning walk in Southwestern Missouri. I happen to stop along a river and was looking around when two Bald Eagles flew by.  The first did a quick circle but did not see any breakfast and flew into a nearby tree.  The second one, shown below, flew down the river, circled around, and flew down to the water to grab a rainbow trout.  It happened in mere seconds, but was a thrill of a lifetime to watch and I was more thrilled I was able to get a few shots of the event.  

Backyard Visitors

A Hummingbird Clearwing Moth in my Butterfly bush.

Same Clearwing Moth, just a bit closer.  You can see he is an older moth as he is missing many scales and some fur from his body.  

I believe this is a young female hummingbird on my Salvia.  she does not have all of her green back and head feathers in yet.  The white tips on the tail mark it as a female.

This handsome Bullfrog was sitting in the sun so nicely, I just had to share his photo.

This is an adult female hummingbird getting nectar from my verbenas.  You can see how much more colorful she is compared to the earlier young bird.