Common Merganser – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern The males will grow to be larger than the females These interesting looking birds are called common mergansers. I came across these ducks in Yellowstone National Park. They were drifting down a very cold stream, as you can tell by the snow in the photo. The duck on the left […]
House Sparrow – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern House sparrows, like some other birds, use “grit” in their diets This is one of the most widely distributed birds in the world. It is native to the Middle East. It can also be found in Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa, and Australia. Some of this distribution is […]
Western Bluebird – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern These birds have similar nesting habits to the house sparrow Only 30% of bluebirds make it past their first year of life. In the wild, they can live to be five years old. They do not have a very long life, but it is an interesting one. There are three […]
Graylag Goose – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern This is not the first time I have written a post about an animal described by Linnaeus I never knew that such a bird existed until I stumbled across it while walking through Malmö, Sweden. I had just spent the morning trying out the local pastries and […]
White Ibis – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern The bill is bright red orange I took this photo while staying on Longboat Key on the Gulf Coast of Florida. There were thousands of birds wading on the shore each day here. It was a birdwatcher’s paradise. The American white ibis was one of the many […]
Willet – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern There were hundreds if not thousands of birds This photo was taken on the beach at Longboat Key in Florida just off the coast of Sarasota. I took this on the same trip that I took the photo of the American white ibis. There were hundreds if not […]
Fall Webworm Moth – iNaturalist The fall webworm moth can now be found in many parts of the world I saw this brightly colored caterpillar while I was hiking at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis. This fuzzy fellow will grow up to be a white moth known as a fall webworm. It is primarily known […]
Bicolored Striped Sweat Bee – iNaturalist This is the second largest family of bees This photo is evidence of why everyone should have a native wildflower garden at home. On the day I took this photo, there were dozens of different species, including: butterflies, moths, beetles, and bees. My wife and I planted this wildflower […]
Maroon-legged lion fly – iNaturalist Robber flies tend to have a dense mustache on their face This large fly is known as the maroon-legged lion fly. It can be found throughout the United States of America and in southern Ontario of Canada. Its dispersion within the United States is east of the Rocky Mountains to […]
Eastern Lubber Grasshopper – iNaturalist These young nymphs will go through ~5 instars/molts Wild Boyz Photography featured the adult eastern lubber grasshopper back in 2021. The adult eastern lubber grasshoppers are yellow and they have wings Eastern Lubber This is a photograph of a nymph stage eastern lubber grasshopper, which does not have wings. They are all […]