Charlie and the Nature Factory [Warning: Stunningly Beautiful Large Photo Images]

rhymegirl

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I'm still working on my Charlie and the Nature Factory theme song.

What rhymes with Factory?
 

night-flyer

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:Jaw:


So many very, very cool looking bugs. The tortoise beetle for one was just...wow. And the butterflies were beautiful.

That big waterbug thing was just...ugh, though. :eek:

Cool armored beetle (the black and white one) and I didn't know there were that many different mantis'. And I don't like spiders, but that blue tarantula, I have to admit had very pretty coloring on it.

Way cool, bettie!! I enjoyed those. :)
 

sailor

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In Victoria, there is the Butterfly Gardens. According to their blurb, they have 3k butterflies and moths flitting about the place. It's a tropical rainforest setup, with various birds and fish as well. All the plants are supposed to be host plants, either places for eggs, chryssalis or feeding through all stages.

And the good bit. Youtube link.
 

Silver King

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amazing bugs you didn't know existed.... enough said

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTQZAiuDoTg&feature=player_embedded#!
I could watch a video like that for hours. There's just no end, it seems, to the diversity of insect life.
In Victoria, there is the Butterfly Gardens. According to their blurb, they have 3k butterflies and moths flitting about the place...
I've been to a similar garden, which is a beautiful place to visit. Though I've tried to shoot pictures there, the results always appear contrived, like capturing wildlife images at a zoo.
 

Silver King

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I've been keeping an eye on this anhinga. She's an old bird, most likely nearing the end of her life. She dove below the surface a few times and came up empty, then took a break to dry out:



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I walked away and later heard a commotion as a little blue heron swooped in to unseat the other bird from its perch. Not the best shot, but it shows when the anhinga ducked out of the way just in time to avoid a face full of feathers:



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heyjude

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Wow, gorgeous, SK! I love watching the cormorants and anhingas sun themselves. They look so zen. :)
 

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One more for the road.

A younger anhinga, perhaps the offspring of the one pictured above:

I always watch for them at Sanibel; they don't look like anything else, and they, like herons, remind me that there's a genetic link with dinosaurs.

Great pictures--thanks.
 

night-flyer

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Never seen an anhinga, never even heard of them. Thanks SK, those are really great photos!
 

Silver King

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Wow, gorgeous, SK! I love watching the cormorants and anhingas sun themselves. They look so zen. :)
I thought of you recently when I came across two roseates. Not sure if they're a couple, but one foraged to beat the band while the other looked on, balanced on one leg and showing little interest:


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Silver King

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I always watch for them at Sanibel; they don't look like anything else, and they, like herons, remind me that there's a genetic link with dinosaurs.

Great pictures--thanks.
From a distance, they resemble cormorants but are not as social and are usually seen by themselves. They're great to photograph, as they don't spook easily and almost seem to enjoy posing.
Never seen an anhinga, never even heard of them. Thanks SK, those are really great photos!
Thank you. :)
Wow! Look at all that pink! :) Love it.
I can't help but think of you now when I see them. It's as if once you mentioned roseates earlier in this thread, they started to appear in the areas I frequent. Until then, they were a very rare sighting.
Those beaks are amazing!

and did anyone watch Frozen Planet? Very enjoyable. Well. Except for the deaths of the poor penguins and seals.... and there was a mercy kill by a bison... that freaked me right the heck out.
I taped the show and watched it last night. I was blown away by the filming and story lines and can't wait to see the rest of the episodes when they air.
 

benbradley

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I've got some old-fashioned analog pics of wildlife when I lived in Stony Brook, Long Island about 11 years ago. I lived about a half mile from the bay, and often walked down there with a camera. There were lots of pretty birds (I got some ugly gull pics, too), just right there as the tide came in and out. There's some reserve area (I forget its name but it should be easy enough to find) in the bay through which they have a boat tour during high tide, and I went on that once and took some good pics too. I should go through and scan/post them when I get a chance.
I'm still working on my Charlie and the Nature Factory theme song.

What rhymes with Factory?
Rectory.

Which reminds me of that short little joke with the punch line "Damn near killed'em!"
 

Silver King

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...I should go through and scan/post them when I get a chance.
If you do, which I realize is a lot of work, they'd be welcomed here.
Rectory.

Which reminds me of that short little joke with the punch line "Damn near killed'em!"
The way I've heard that one before ended with, "Rectum? Hell, it nearly killed 'em!"
 

heyjude

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I can't help but think of you now when I see them. It's as if once you mentioned roseates earlier in this thread, they started to appear in the areas I frequent. Until then, they were a very rare sighting.

::jealous:: I want to see some here!
 

benbradley

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That bill reminds me of a long-beak bird which reminds me of hummingbirds, and that reminds me, now that it's 80+ degrees in March, that I should go ahead and put out the hummingbird feeders.

I'm also reminded that if I'm ever going to take a decent picture of a hummingbird, I need to get a really good (that is, expensive) camera. I've already got the "getting up close" part. I can just sit out on the porch with a feeder on each side, and they'll come up and feed within six feet of me just about all day, as long as I don't make any sudden movements. I've seen them fight and fly between the feeders, flying within a foot of my face. Sometimes I can see one fly away from the feeder and see where he lands up in the trees, and then in ten minutes (or sooner if another hummingbird dares to come to the feeder!) I'll see him come back to the feeder.
 

Silver King

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Earlier in this thread, I misidentified tricolored herons as little blue herons. It occurred here, here, here, here and here.

Little blue herons are darker colored and look more like this one.

I realized my mistake while studying Florida birds more closely and separating their regionally common yet incorrect names from their true identities.

I'll edit those posts to set the record straight and apologize for confusing the identities of those two birds.