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I took Nellie out for a walk this afternoon and routed us past where I had seen a nighthawk multiple times. All of a sudden mother nighthawk blasted out from under a pine tree and did her wounded bird act. At the same time, her chick flew off in the opposite direction. I moved away, […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5117: This is a mudskipper, a fish that spends more time out of water than in it. They breathe on land by absorbing oxygen through their moist skin; they propel themselves by using their fins as legs; and since fish don’t have eyelids, they keep their eyeballs moist by periodically […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5114: This is a Christmas tree marine iguana (also known as Española marine iguanas). It is a subspecies marine iguana, 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 to […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5110: I shot this photo of the Bear Glacier in 2002, while traveling in Canada for my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents. Now the glacier has melted into a fraction of what it once was. Some photos I’ve seen show that the ice doesn’t even […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5095: I photographed this Boyd’s forest dragon on a night-hike in Australia. These lizards get to be about 20 inches long. Unlike most lizards, they do not bask in the sun to regulate body temperature. Instead, they conform to the ambient air temperature of the rainforest. As such, they are […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5087: This is a Borneo pygmy elephant. It is a unique, genetically distinct subspecies of the Asian elephant, about 20% smaller than mainland Asian elephants, reaching a height of roughly 9 feet. (Photographed on the island of Borneo.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5061: This is a poison dart frog, carrying tadpoles. Both males and females carry tadpoles. (Photographed in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5050: I appreciate and use the latest technology for many things in my life. But sometimes technology leads us backwards. For instance, while now many people forgo stereo systems to listen to their music with earbuds or a tiny Bluetooth speaker, they miss so much compared to what they’d hear […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5044: Because of the warm weather, I moved my writing room outside to the porch earlier than usual. The memory and intelligence of hummingbirds astounds me. Not only can they remember exactly where the feeder was last year, but they also know that humans need to fill it up and […]
A whale shark approaches from the cloudy water. Whale sharks are the largest fish to ever inhabit the Earth. They can reach 60 feet long; this one was between 30 and 40 feet long. (Photographed last year in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5038: There are fewer than two thousand Galapagos penguins in the wild. And even less photographed with a Sally Lightfoot crab. (Photographed earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5037: As the largest species of parrotfish, humphead parrotfish can reach 4 feet-long and weigh 100 pounds. A single humphead parrotfish can produce up to 200 pounds of sand a year by digesting coral and excreting it, helping to create tropical beaches. (Photographed earlier this year in the Galapagos Islands.)
Humans have created thousands of gods/religions throughout history, each believing theirs is the one true god/religion and that all the others are delusions. Since both ancient and current history has proven the three major Middle Eastern religions incapable of peaceful coexistence, if a person must practice a religion, why not try a different one from […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5014: Whenever I’d go through the Antarctica photos I shot back in 2003, I’d pause at this photo, wishing it wasn’t blurry. I like it because I was able to capture a chinstrap penguin at the moment it sneezed to expel salt from its supraorbital gland. So, naturally, I added […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5011: I shot this yellow-billed stork photo in Zimbabwe twenty-two years ago. Although my current books are fiction, my first two books, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents and Endangered Edens, were nonfiction, featuring photos and stories of Deb’s and my adventures as we traveled the world looking […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5010: I shot this red leaf monkey (aka maroon langur) photo on the island of Borneo twenty-three years ago. I haven’t posted it before because I shot it with an early digital camera that had difficulty handling low light in the rainforest. In other words, the photo was soft. Since […]
Marty’s photo of the day #5008: There are more than 30 species of clownfish, and all are born male. The largest male in a group becomes a female, and if she dies, the next largest male turns into the new female. Isn’t nature amazing? (Photographed last year in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5004: With all the exotic species, exclusive to the Galapagos Islands, it’s easy to overlook other species, such as this whimbrel, which are just passing through. These birds can fly nonstop over the ocean for 2,500 miles or more. (Photographed last month in the Galapagos Islands.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5003: Marine iguanas are the only lizard that feeds in the ocean—evolving to eat algae. They can hold their breath for up to thirty minutes and dive down to nearly fifty feet. (Photographed last month in the Galapagos Islands.)
Marty’s photo of the day #5001: This is a blue-chin parrotfish, and it grows to 30 inches in length. Like all parrotfish, it has two sets of teeth. The first set is fused into a beak that allows it to crush coral to feed on algae. The second set is in its throat, which grinds […]
