I met this forest lizard on the Malay Peninsula of Thailand at Khlong Saeng. More specifically, it’s an Emma Gray’s forest lizard, named after an English conchologist. What’s a conchologist, you ask? Just as it sounds, of course. One who studies mollusks. It was Emma’s husband, however, who discovered the lizard. I’m still searching for a lizard to name after my wife. Some day Baby, some day. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/100th of a second.
Here’s a species I’ve never posted before — the Malagasy kestrel. As the name suggests, it is native to Madagascar. It’s a small bird of prey that has many other common names, including the Malagasy spotted kestrel, Newton’s kestrel, Madagascar spotted kestrel, katiti and hitsikitsika. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 manual focus lens, ISO 200, f/8 at 1/320th of a second.
We watched this puma as she slowly worked her way through the grasslands of Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile, back to a kill that she had hidden earlier in the day. She would disappear into the landscape, occasionally entering a clearing such as this before vanishing again. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second.
The razorbill is the only species in the genus Alca. It’s relative, the great auk, went extinct in the mid 19th century. They are monogamous birds and spend the vast majority of their lives at sea, coming ashore only to breed. This mated pair appears to be doing just that. Photographed on Machias Seal Island off the coast of Maine. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/2000th of a second.
Even though they waddle along at their own pace, short-beaked echidnas can be hard to photograph because they rarely lift their snouts from the ground. This one seemed to have hit the mother load of ants somewhere inside that mossy patch. Photographed near Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania, Australia. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.
Hummingbirds are small. The tufted coquette is small for a hummingbird. These guys almost looked like large bees as they buzzed around the flowers at the Asa Wright Nature Center in Trinidad. I didn’t see too many of them but was able to grab a handful of shots nonetheless. The males exhibit brighter colors than the females, characterized by that great tuft of orange on the head and those spotted throat feathers. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/13 at 1/250th of a second.
It was early in the morning when I spotted this coati through some pretty dense foliage in Soberania National Park in Panama. Always a treat to see even though they are pretty widespread and common throughout their range in Central and South America. They even make appearances in the southern United States. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/80th of a second.
It’s been about five years since I posted a shot of my one and only encounter with a Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine. No doubt, one of the great names in zoology, right up there with yellow-bellied marmot, rufous-sided towhee and dusky-footed woodrat. Until I meet another, enjoy this shot from Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/50th of a second.
The camera trap has been quite silent for the past month. So here’s one captured back in September when it seemed like bears were showing up every few days or so. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 500, f/8 at 1/125th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flashes.
Eastern rosellas are another of Australia’s many spectacularly plumed birds. There are six species with many more subspecies of these colorful parrots. I actually spotted this one on the grounds of the airport in Tasmania’s capital city of Hobart, just as I was about to return my rental car and fly home. The low angle actually hides some of the color — there’s more green and red behind the blur of grass. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.