Marty’s photo of the day #5141: You are looking at a Christmas tree marine iguana (also known as Española marine iguana). These lizards are a subspecies found only on Española island. While most marine iguanas are black to absorb sun heat, the males on Española turn brilliant red and green to attract mates—an adaption believed […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5139: Because of all the extremely tall trees and the way Deb’s and my house sits on a ridge, we get great wildlife viewing, but not so great sunset viewing. I shot this photo using a 400mm lens to pierce through a small break in the trees on the ridge […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5138: Antlion larvae hide at the bottom of hundreds of sandy ant traps on the Essen Wildlife Refuge. Later, when those larvae become adults, they resemble a damselfly, and their diet changes from ants to pollen and nectar. Yesterday, I watched this adult land on a branch no wider than […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5135: These are short-billed dowitchers. (Photographed on Vancouver Island.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5134: “Here kitty, kitty!” Mountain lion, watching from a tree at the Essen Wildlife Refuge in Montana.
Marty’s photo of the day #5133: A female red-winged blackbird works her way through the hardstem bulrush at the edge of a pond. (Photographed in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5132: In nine days, Nellie gets the final X-ray on her second bionic leg (she had TPLO surgery seven weeks ago) and, if all goes well, she will once again be off-leash and free to race through the forest at warp-nine. For now, she covers every inch of the Essen […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5131: During the 30 years Deb and I have lived at the Essen Wildlife Refuge, we’ve often heard nighthawks, but only after dark, and if we saw them they were just a flash in the forest. This year is different. Two weeks ago, I was walking our dog, Nellie, through […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5130: This morning, I went through the more than one hundred photos I shot of the migrating Galapagos tortoises (also known as giant tortoises) on Santa Cruz Island. I wanted to find a close-up head shot of one that didn’t look like Mitch McConnell, but it was difficult. They all […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5129: This is a ruby-topaz hummingbird. Depending on the angle of the sunlight, this bird’s feathers change from extremely bright to almost black. (Photographed on the island of Bonaire.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5128: A large green sea turtle (perhaps 350 pounds) comes ashore, earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.
Marty’s photo of the day #5127: This photo may fool your eyes. You are looking at a yellowmargin triggerfish being cleaned by other fish. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5126: This is a male magnificent frigatebird, looking for love. (Photographed in the Galapagos Islands.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5124: Looking into the eyes of a maroon stone crab. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5123: “Is this my good side? I can turn, if you want me to.” The mockingbirds of the Galapagos Islands never failed to put a smile on my face. They had no fear of humans, and it wasn’t because they expected food. Feeding was not allowed.
Marty’s photo of the day #5122: This is a Jesus Christ lizard, just seconds before making its run across the surface of the water. (Photographed in Costa Rica.)
