I took this one a few year back in Colorado. Mount Evans is just about an hour from Denver and is accessed by the highest paved road in North America. More often than not when I go to this location, I see mountain goats. This mother, or nanny, seemed to be calling to her kid, letting the young one know that it was time to stop playing and time to go home before the rain.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 200, f/6.3 at 1/800th of a second
Another bat stars and seagrass photo. This one is from Pacific Grove, just south of Monterey, California. As you can see, they come in many different colors, including green, purple, red, orange, yellow and brown, and can be either mottled or solid.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/11 at several different shutter speeds (pseudo HDR image)
We came across this American oystercatcher one morning on Fernandina in the Galapagos Islands. Usually oystercatchers will lay two to three eggs, but this mother appeared to only have one. As the name would suggest, they use their large beaks to break open oysters and other mollusks.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/640th of a second
Here’s another shot that I never posted to the blog, although it’s been in my “Madagascar” gallery for a while. This is a mother Coquerel’s sifaka and her baby. Most baby lemurs are born in the fall. These guys are an exception and are born in June and July. This one was about two weeks old. It was very difficult photographing these babies. First of all there weren’t many of them, but also, the mothers were very protective and kept them tucked away and out of sight. Even though I was quite far away with a 600mm lens, if they saw me, they’d shift to hide the baby and retreat into the middle of a large tree. This shot was a finalist last year in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year competition in the endangered species category, but ultimately it didn’t make the show.
Nikon D200, Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 manual focus lens, ISO f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second
While short eared owls are in flight, they look around a lot, always scanning the landscape not only for dinner, but also for danger. They are small owls and their heads turn so quickly that it’s hard to see with the naked eye when they do, but I got quite a few shots like this with the owl’s body going in one direction and the head looking in the other.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1250, f/5 at 1/1000th of a second
This lava lizard was in the process of shedding its skin, face first. Each island in the Galapagos has a slightly different version of the lava lizard, with slightly different skin colors to match the general environment of the given island.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/8 at 1/400th of a second
This crimson-rumped toucanet was outside our window while staying in the cloud forest of Ecuador. In fact, this shot was through the glass of our floor to ceiling windows — good thing the lodge keeps them nice and clean.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second
This is an oldie but I have never uploaded it to the blog. It was early one morning in Delaware at Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge. This fox was so cooperative that I was able to move in close for some more interesting angles. Seems that whatever the species, a big yawn is always a treat.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4.5 at 1/640th of a second (-0.33 ev)
Time for another look at the Thomas’s leaf monkey from Sumatra. These guys are also called Thomas’s langurs. They live in the subtropical and tropical dry forests of Indonesia. Unfortunately, they are considered a vulnerable species due to the rapid loss of their habitat.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/250th of a second (-0.33 ev)
Saw whet owls are strictly nocturnal and they sleep for most of the day. I waited a long time for this little guy to wake up… yawn… do anything. After what seemed like a few hours, it finally shuffled around a bit on the branch before giving itself a good scratch. The eyes never opened.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/200th of a second