The next time I start complaining about the size of New York City apartments, I need to think of the black shouldered antshrike. This little black bird could barely fit in its tiny nest. As with many of my recent posts, it was photographed in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/50th of a second
Here’s another one of spotted hyenas playing keep away with a pair of impala horns. This was taken first thing in the morning in a swampy area of northern Botswana. The light was very low, as was my shutter speed, so I was hoping for the hyenas to run parallel to me so that I could pan with their movement to capture some relatively sharp, motion-blurred action shots.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm), f/4 at 1/80th of a second
It seemed like everywhere I looked in Costa Rica’s Corcovado National Park I saw anole lizards. These two clearly had a difference of opinion about something. It was pretty dark in the forest, so I had to up the ISO to 3200 and still could only get a shutter speed of 1/40th of a second. Luckily the lizards would stop for a second or so at a time as they danced around the tree with their faces locked onto each other. There are nearly 400 different kinds of anole lizards, so not easy to pinpoint this exact species.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 3200, f/4 at 1/40th of a second
And finally, to round off Final Four week, a UConn Husky — but instead of one photo, we get two because it’s not only the men’s team in the Final Four, but also the Connecticut women’s team. This is actually a grey wolf from the same drive-through wildlife park I talked about the other day when I posted the badger. Huskies, of course, being sled dogs descended from wolves and bred for their speed. Good luck to all the teams. But especially Connecticut.
Top shot: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 300mm with Nikon teleconverter) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/1250th of a second
Botton shot: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 340 with Nikon teleconverter) ISO 800, f/4.8 at 1/1000th of a second
In the past two days, we’ve seen a Wildcat and a Badger — here’s Final Four team number three, the Florida Gator. This one is a bit closer to the mark, too, having been photographed in St. Augustine, just about an hour and a half drive east of the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. The U.S. species is appropriately called the American alligator, not to be confused with his cousin, the American crocodile — the latter having a longer, more slender snout, among other differences. American alligators are apex predators, preying upon fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals. The question is, will it be the predator or prey come Saturday?
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/50th of a second
Yesterday’s post paid homage to the Kentucky Wildcats. Today’s celebrates their opponent in Saturday’s Final Four matchup, the Wisconsin Badgers. Apparently this guy isn’t feeling too intimidated. There are a dozen or so different badger species in the world. The species that occurs in the U.S. — latin name Taxidea taxus — is simply called the American badger. As most of you know, I like to keep my wildlife photography wild, but this particular American badger was photographed in captivity, living in a drive through wildlife park in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/3.2 at 1/1000th of a second
If you’re a fan of college basketball like me, you know that we’re down to the final four teams that will compete this Saturday in the Final Four of the NCAA National Tournament. And it occurred to me that this year, there are no bad mascots amongst the four. No Providence Friars or Pennsylvania Quakers. Nope, this year, the Final Four are all solid animals — so why not dedicate the next four days of posts to the cause. Starting with the Kentucky Wildcats — or as a wildcat is also known, the bobcat. This one wasn’t photographed in Kentucky, but close enough — kind of — in Irvine, California.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 250mm), ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second
One of my favorite co-workers is leaving our office in New York this week and moving to Chicago. What does that have to do with a baby spectral tarsier? Well, she’s a big fan of the tarsiers and she’s been a big fan of the blog since I started it five years ago, so this one goes out to her. Spectral tarsiers, which live on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, are one of the smallest primates in the world. This baby couldn’t have been much bigger than a baseball — most of that size being the head.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 200, f/8 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-800 flash
Peccaries aren’t the most glamorous mammals in Costa Rica but I’ve always been a fan. They are also sometimes called javelins, and even better, skunk pigs. There are two kinds in Costa Rica — the white lipped peccary and the collared peccary. This one is a very young collared peccary. It was foraging late in the day amongst a group of about twelve other individuals at La Selva Biological Reserve, about a two hour drive east of San Jose.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 3200, f/2.8 at 1/100th of a second
Thanks for all the concern yesterday and nice comments. The eye is feeling a bit better today, although stitches on the eyeball are never a pleasant thing to deal with. Looking for an appropriate photo today, I came across this frog and his apparent eye problem. Couldn’t help but identify with the little guy. This was also taken on the recent Costa Rica trip. The frog is a fairly common species of hourglass frog. The mosquito, unfortunately, also common.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/14 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units