Articles in: Outdoors and Travel
Question Mark Butterfly
May 22, 2012 | No comment
Out hiking at lunch time I found a lot of butterflies, several of them being Question Marks. Click the image to see notes on the spots to look at for identification. Apparently, the way to tell these beauties apart from the Eastern Comma is by the number of spots. The Question Mark has four spots [...]
Red Admiral and a Shooting Star
April 4, 2012 | No comment
Just a few shots from a recent hike to Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve. Didn’t bring my big camera lens so these are just with the sturdy point and shoot. Here is a Red Admiral: And a shooting star: Finally, a small spider (not sure if it is a “baby” or not):
Swimming With Manatees
February 27, 2012 | 2 comments
The highlight of our recent trip to Florida was a visit to Crystal River to swim with manatees. We booked an early morning tour to beat other boats and enjoy the manatees in greater concentrations. We hoped we would see a few manatees, maybe touch a couple, and get some nice underwater photos. Me ready [...]
Baby Seahorses at the Mote Aquarium – Sarasota, Florida
February 22, 2012 | 2 comments
Our trip to Florida brought us to the scientifically-reknowned research center known as the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium. Situated in the beautiful town of Sarasota on 10.5 acres of land, Mote is a fascinating place for anyone with even a reMOTE interest in ocean life. We wanted to see manatees and sea turtles but [...]
Big Cat Rescue – Tampa, Florida
February 15, 2012 | No comment
While on vacation in Florida we stopped at the Big Cat Rescue in Tampa to see and learn about big cats. We were amazed at just how lax the laws are for owning, using, & mistreating these beautiful cats. Jumanji, Male Leopard The Big Cat Rescue in Tampa takes in unwanted cats from all over [...]
Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo
February 8, 2012 | No comment
Our second day in Florida we spent seven hours at Tampa’s famous Lowry Park Zoo. We took hundreds of photos and saw a lot of cool birds and other animals. Here’s some of them. Giraffes The super rare Okapi Relatives to giraffes! Shoebill Stork Helmeted Guinea Fowl White Ibis (wild) One of the coolest experiences [...]
Midwest Birding Symposium – Beyond Birds
September 21, 2011 | No comment
A reoccurring theme from speakers at the Midwest Birding Symposium was the interaction of other natural wonders in addittion to birds. The insects birds eat, plants they use, habitats – it’s all interconnected. Jim McCormac‘s talk, Birding Going Beyond Birds, was a wonderful example of how all of nature meshes together. The relationships with birds [...]
National Eagle Center – Wabasha, Minnesota
September 6, 2011 | No comment
On a trip to Winona, Minnesota to visit Stacia’s sister, we headed up to Wabasha to visit the National Eagle Center. I had fairly high expectations of the place and those were exceeded wonderfully! Bald Eagle in your face! We were greeted immediately by a friendly woman when we entered and throughout our visit everyone [...]
