Giraffe

This Giraffe was shot at the Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee, FL while my daughter and son-in-law were on a mini-vacation last week. He was kind enough to pose for me like this.

Giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) can be found in the dry savannahs and in open woodlands south of the Sahara Desert. They are the tallest land mammals with a height up to 20 ft. The also have a long, prehensile tongue that can extend its reach by 15 inches. Their tongue is a bluish purple in color and their primary food is Arcacia leaves. There are nine subspecies distinguished by their coat patterns.

Giraffes give birth standing up, which means the baby's first sensation is a 6 ft. drop. Imagine coming into the world like this! The newborns must learn to run almost immediately by its mother's side, because Giraffes are preyed on by lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and wild dogs.

Lake Maggiore Island II

Lake Maggiore Island

When I'm out on a photo-hike, I like to make different versions of the same scene. I posted the other scene a few days ago. The first one was shot on the way in to the path, and this one was shot on the way out. Neither was made very far from one another.

It was maybe an hour and a half later, and the sun was lower in the sky. This version is somewhat warmer than the other as well due to the location of the sun. I also used a different focal length bringing the city of St Petersburg closer to show more detail in the city.

In addition, I had planned on going black and white with this one, but the tones were too similar, and even with adding more contrast after trying different colored filters, I decided to stick with color.

What a difference focal length and the time of day makes.

Raccoon Modeling Debut

Raccoon

Just before I started walking down the boardwalk, I spotted a family of raccoons, but I was unable to get a shot because I wasn't quick enough when I spotted them. Shame on me!

A few minutes later, I got a feeling there was something or someone behind me and sure enough, I spotted this guy following me. He was staying about 20 feet from me.  I snapped a quick shot, because I didn't want to alarm him and kept walking. The funny thing, when I quickened my step, he did too. I slowed and he slowed and when I stopped, he stopped. I had encountered a stalker!

This went on for a few minutes and I was getting a bit nervous since I was all alone and had no idea what he was up to. Finally, the urge to take a shot just got too much for me to handle. I turned around, crouched as much as I dared so I could get up quickly if I had to and took this shot. Once I did that, he gave me one last look, turned, and jumped off the boardwalk and went off into the woods. What a relief! He only wanted to pose for a picture.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

My favorite nature park used to be Boyd Hill Nature Park in St Petersburg, FL. I haven't been there in 14 years. I had moved further away, and I guess I just forgot about it. Now that I've moved closer again to the park, I decided to give it another visit late this afternoon.

This is one of my favorite shots from today's shoot. This guy is a Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus). They are plentiful in this area, but not nearly as plentiful as Ospreys. Ospreys are everywhere. Red-shouldered Hawks are medium sized hawks. They are called Red-shouldered because of that reddish patch on their shoulders.

These hawks eat mice, frogs and snakes, so can be seen in woods with tall timbers and water. They hunt both from the air and from high perches. They can be found in the Southeast year round.

Eastern Eyed Click Beetle

The Eastern Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus), is about 2 inches long.

The "eyes" are not really his eyes. They are there to scare off predators. Their actual eyes are located at the base of his antennae.

Eyed Click Beetles get their name from their habit of fending off danger by turning on their back, then bending their head and pro-thorax backward and snapping open when straightening out. This produces a loud audible click.

Eyed Click Beetles can be found in the Eastern United States as far west as Texas.

Sawgrass Lake Park is located in St Petersburg, Florida. Visitors there can be reasonably sure of seeing American Alligators in the wild.