Some Bugs

The Missing Gardener's plants and the neighbor's cherry tree have attracted bugs this year. I used a macro lens for all shots.

eastern carpenter bee

Eastern carpenter bee. Focus stack of two images

 

Eastern calligrapher, a hoverfly. Focus stack of two images.

mining bee

Bicolor striped sweat bee. I hope I see it again; I need better pictures. July 24: I did see it again.

eastern black swallowtail

 

I use the Seek app from iNaturalist and Ohio Department of Natural Resources field guides to identify bugs. I use the Seek app and the Missing Gardener to identify plants.

"Island" Birds

Here are birds from my 2024 visits to the Columbus Zoo's Australia and the Islands aviary.

Red-billed leiothrix. This bird is something of an obsession because of its nifty wing feathers.

Bali myna

metallic starling

chestnut teal

Luzon bleeding heart dove

Nicobar pigeon

straw-necked ibis

Nicobar pigeon. I couldn't decide which shot I liked more, so I included both.

Victoria crowned pigeon

scarlet-faced liocichla

January Reptiles

I visited the Columbus Zoo's reptiles a couple times in January.

Burton (Burt) the Magnificent! Grand Cayman iguana. Focus stack of two images.

Weber's sailfin lizard

smooth-fronted caiman

green basilisk

red-tailed rat snake. Focus stack of two images

scrub python

Malagasy leaf-tailed gecko