This will be the last post for a week as I head back to the Peruvian Amazon tomorrow. Last October I was there in low water season. I wanted to go back and try my luck in high water season. In the meantime, here’s a roseate spoonbill on a misty day in western Florida. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (with 1.4 TC for 550mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/400th of a second.
The golden tegu is a large lizard, growing to 3 feet and weighing 9 pounds. I came across this one in Trinidad. He was working his way through a rat, which was hidden in that leaf litter. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 290mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/100th of a second.
A coyote digs up a frozen carcass in the snow. I photographed this one back in 2011 in Yellowstone. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/7.1 at 1/640th of a second.
Ranger Rick magazine was one of my favorites as a kid. Nice to know that decades later my images are helping to inspire the next generation of wildlife lovers. Thanks to the National Wildlife Federation for sending a few advance copies of their May 2023 issue. Only the bottom left and upper right images of the spread are mine (see below). Top image is from Badlands National Park, South Dakota (Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm manual focus lens, ISO 200, f/11 at 1/320th of a second). Bottom image taken in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota (Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens, at 340mm, ISO 800, f/4 at 1/3200th of a second)
This was one of the smallest elephants I’ve ever seen. And the poor little guy appeared to have a foreshortened trunk — perhaps an injury where he lost the bottom half of it. Nevertheless he/she was doing just fine and playing with the other elephants in the herd. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/400th of a second.
The toco toucan is the largest species of toucan. It ranges throughout much of central South America. I photographed this one in the Pantanal region of Brazil. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 280mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/800th of a second.
Photographing penguins can sometimes be a bit like playing whack-a-mole. You never know when they’re going to come shooting out of the water. This gentoo penguin was heading back to shore after an afternoon of fishing. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/1600th of a second.
Feeling the heat, a black-tailed jackrabbit goes face to the sand and uses those big ears as heat regulators. The capillaries in the ears help to cool jackrabbits down on days like this one when it was 100 degrees plus in the Southern California desert. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 280mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/2000th of a second.
A three toed sloth sits in a cecropia tree in Soberania National Park in Panama. I photographed this guy from the rooftop of the lodge I was staying at only about an hour from Panama City. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/80th of a second
Another of the southwestern Florida regulars is the great egret. When in breeding season, they develop the bright green facial skin around the eyes, known as lores. This egret turned around to give me the full, straight on portrait. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/8000th of a second, Godox fill flash.