Zooming – September 2023

/

The beauty of the early morning in Texas - Hagerman and Josey Ranch and my parents’ yard….the wildness of Shaw Nature Reserve (near St. Louis MO) in the early afternoon…the joys of nature in my neighborhood (Nixa MO). These are the locations where my selections of zoomed images for September were made. The month was very much between summer and fall – starting hot and getting a bit cooler as the month progressed, still very green but the occasional beginning of fall color. Enjoy the September slideshow!

Green Heron in the Neighborhood

/

I took a walk around our neighborhood ponds on a pleasantly cool morning. I noticed the redbud tree that was damaged by a storm more than a month ago. One of the cut trunks was obviously not healthy and might have been why the tree was vulnerable to the wind. A small branch from another cut surface was already a ‘fall’ color rather than green…and became the subject of the most artsy image of the morning.

There were little fish in shallow (warmer) water. They probably have reduced the mosquito population!

Just after I photographed the fish, a green heron startled - flew up and away; fortunately, it did not go too far, and I had plenty of time to enjoy photographing the bird. Their coloring helps them blend in so well that they are often hard to spot so I take full advantage photographing the birds when I happen upon them. They change their shape…sometimes with a short neck…sometimes stretching out their neck (even though their neck is still thicker than many herons).

There was also a Great Blue Heron that I didn’t see until too late to photograph well – it is on the other side of the bridge in the image below.

There were turtles on the side of the pond at one point. The morning was still cool and they were soaking up the sun.

There were plants going to seed around the pond, the willow draping over the pathway, honeysuckle blooming, very young maple trees turning red, and grasses that were not totally green!

Overall – a pleasant walk….with the Green Heron as the highlight….the other bits and pieces providing the context.

Hummingbird Moth

/

While I was doing the daily check of my miniature pumpkin vine (it now has at least 8 pumpkins), I noticed a hummingbird moth on one of the leaves. I took initial pictures with my phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e) then hurried inside to get my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX-70 HS) with more optical zoom capability. Note: Click on any of the smaller images to see an enlarged version.

Fortunately, the moth has stayed on the. I got a few shots with the bridge camera

Before the moth took off to get some nectar. The wings move so fast that even in bright sunlight, they are blurred. Note the coiled proboscis as the moth flies away in the last shot.

The moth didn’t go far. It rested on a nearby flower. Maybe the morning was a little too cool for it to be moving around a lot. A little research revealed that it was a Snowberry Clearwing….probably a male.