We’ve seen a few bears walking around the backyard this year but it’s been relatively quiet at the camera trap. Over the last two nights, however, a mother and her cubs have taken a few photos of themselves. In this image, the Mom enters frame to greet one of her cubs. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 20mm lens, ISO 500, f/14 at 1/250th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.
Potoos are really odd looking birds. But cool looking too in their own comical sort of way. They have big, bulbous yellow eyes that resemble colored ping pong balls. This guy was perched high in a tree, where they spend most of their time. They are nocturnal, but occasionally can be spotted sleeping on an open branch during the day. In this image, you can see the potoo’s right eye in profile as he looks toward the right side of the frame. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 500, f/5.6 at 1/160th of a second, Godox v860iii flash.
Here’s another look at the woolly monkey I photographed in Peru. There are two species and 5 subspecies of woolly monkey. I got many frame-filling shots of this guy, but I always seem to prefer the images when I go a bit wider and include the environment. You can see the use of that prehensile tail acting like a third arm as he swings through the forest. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1250, f/4 at 1/800th of a second.
A quick break from the Amazon for something considerably closer to home. I received my new Nikon Z8 mirrorless camera recently and finally got it out for some testing. This is my first foray into the world of mirrorless. I had held out for years because I didn’t want to switch from Nikon and they hadn’t offered anything compelling enough for me to switch to the new system from what I’ve been currently using. So far I love it and can’t wait to bring it to Africa in a few weeks. To use a cliche, it really is a game changer when it comes to functionality. As for the pic, I was hoping to photograph some birds when I spotted a beaver dam out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough there were two beavers swimming around. It was late in the day and I was shooting at auto ISO. This is at ISO 5600 — much higher than I usually shoot — and the noise levels were surprisingly low and the sharpness was great. I’ll have to head back to this location and see if I can finally get some beaver photos out of the water where you can see the tail. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 5600, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second.
What’s a trip to the Amazon without a few jungle rat sightings? This time, I saw two different species, the bamboo rat and this guy, the yellow-crowned brush-tailed rat. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 3200, f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second.
I’m always trying to find solid green backgrounds for my wildlife subjects, but when in the rainforest, the skies are often overcast and the wildlife is often high in the canopy. A nice splash of color amidst that white sky is a common sight and I certainly embraced it on this trip with the toucans and macaws. We saw several species of macaw, but the blue and yellow was the most common — usually flying in pairs overhead, or perched on high. Nikon D500 with 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second, Godox v860iii fill flash.
On my first trip to Iquitos, my main target was the world’s smallest monkey, the pygmy marmoset. I got lots of images so wasn’t concentrating on them on this recent trip. That said, I did make a few visits to areas they’re known to frequent. They love to eat tree sap, which this guy was doing when he took a look around while licking his chops. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 3200, f/5.6 at 1/80th of a second.
This was a good find on my Peru trip — the pavonine quetzal. Quetzals are in the trogon family. Sometimes the pavonine quetzal is called the peacock trogon. It also goes by the red-billed train bearer and a few other choice names. We watched as two different males (including this guy) tried attracting a nearby female. Nikon D500 with 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/125th of a second, Godox v860iii fill flash.
While exploring a tributary of the Amazon, we came across a troop of Ecuadorian squirrel monkeys crossing from one side of a river to the other. Single file, they took turns launching themselves from a higher branch on one side, to a lower branch on the other. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1000, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.
When I first got back from my trip to Peru, I posted a rare dark morph of the southern tamandua. Here’s what they usually look like. Also known as the collared anteater, the lesser anteater, golden anteater, and my favorite, the vested anteater. They get the latter nickname because their coloring often looks like they are wearing a vest. You can’t really tell in this picture, however, because of the angle and the tree being in the way. What you can see is the tamandua’s tongue lapping up termites. You can also see those huge middle claws that help climbing and digging under the bark for insects. Nikon D500 with 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/400th of a second, Godox v860iii fill flash.