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A Painted Skimmer, an uncommon species, is one of the larger dragonflies in the northeastern U.S.
#insects #dragonfly #wildlife #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #biodiversity
Another Green Heron today, maybe my last 'til the spring.
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A Merlin, basking in the sun on an otherwise chilly day last February. The Merlin is a small falcon that specializes in aerial pursuit or surprise capture of avian prey.
Breeding in boreal forests in North America and Eurasia, many migrate, but residents remain in middle and northern latitudes year-round. Merlins are widespread, but uncommon, and have adapted to suburban and urban settings.
As many of us do, until I became interested in birding, I tended to lump all raptors together and assumed common ancestry for the entire group. As a phylogeneticist, it interested me to learn that falcons (Falconiformes) are more closely related to songbirds and parrots than they are to hawks and vultures (Accipitrimorphae), which share common ancestry with owls and woodpeckers.
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Ruby-throated Hummer
This one's a juvie male which hasn't yet developed its bright red iridescent throat plumage.
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I'm still searching for his cousin, the Spotted. I haven't seen one yet this year.
I had the pleasure of visiting Jones Beach State Park on Wednesday. Jones Beach is a barrier island off of the south shore of Long Island. Mostly known as a summer beach-goers hotspot, the western end of the island -- consisting of about 3.5 sq kms of sand beach, salt-marsh and dunes -- is well-known to birders and other naturalists, year round. I checked out an area of salt-ponds in the dunes, where I found a variety of shorebirds, songbirds and a few species of duck. Then I caught a super-ebb tide on the channel side, where I found the ubiquitous Canada Geese (but none of the usual Mergansers) and various other seabirds and shorebirds. At the small marina on that side, I've encountered a couple of semi-tame, year-round resident Black Scoters and Common Loons on previous visits. This time, the Scoters were absent, but the Loons were definitely kicking back in the sun...
#nature #NaturePhotography #birds #Wildlife #wildlifephotography #naturecommunity #photography #BirdsOfMastodon #birding #birdphotography #scenic
