Just returned from a quick trip down to southwestern Florida to visit my mother. Of course, I worked in a bit of time to get out in the woods to see what I could find. Catfish were jumping all over the place on one particular hike in the Corkscrew Swamp area. Good news for the myriad of wading birds, including this anhinga who had little difficulty spearing breakfast. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/160th of a second.

This coastal brown bear was enjoying a bit of salad in-between trips to the river for the main course of salmon. Photographed at Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 280mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second.

Not the greatest shot (and a bit of a large crop) but wanted to show this flying squirrel that my camera trap caught doing a bit of ground work. These guys show up from time to time in the camera trap images but usually on a distant tree or hidden in the leaf litter while foraging for nuts. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/160th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.

Before mating with a female, the male least tern must sufficiently impress her with the gift of a fish. If she finds the fish unsatisfactory she will pass on the offer and he must either find another fish, or another tern less particular about her seafood. Or something like that. On this occasion, she agreed it was a mighty fine fish. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 200, f/6.3 at 1/1600th of a second.

Sometimes dinner comes pre-garnished for a river otter. In winter, river otters will see to it that select entry points into and out of a frozen body of water remain unfrozen. This guy had just emerged from one of those entry points and dropped dinner onto the ice before digging in. Photographed in southern Indiana. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/500th of a second.

Thanks to Connecticut Magazine for the Q&A feature in their May issue. And thanks to my wife Karen for taking the cover image which you can click to get to the full digital version of the article.

No animal in this one, just the glory of terra firma to celebrate on Earth Day. This was taken on Mount Rainier many years ago when the mid-summer alpine wildflowers were at their best. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 19mm), graduated neutral density filter, ISO 200, f/18 at 1/25th of a second.

Gambel’s quail are quite sartorial with that head plume they strut around with. These birds spend the majority of their time on the ground, only occasionally taking to the air. I photographed this one in the Anza-Borrego desert of southern California. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second.

A lone bighorn sheep doing what bighorn sheep do, high on an eroded butte in Badlands National Park. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/1000th of a second.