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Marty’s photo of the day #4957: This is a fledgling Galapagos albatross (also known as a waved albatross). When full-grown, these critically endangered birds have a wingspan of up to eight feet. And they look a lot prettier, too! This albatross isn’t yet ready to fly, but when it does, it will stay at sea […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4954: These are feather stars. Despite their plant-like appearance, they are a free-swimming animals related to sea stars and sea urchins. They use their feathery arms to filter food from ocean currents and can crawl or swim by undulating their arms. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4952: This is a longfin emperor. These fish can shift their coloration from a pale to dark depending on their mood. They also start out as female before becoming male. (Photographed in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea.)
Marty’s photo of the day #4949: Golden spadefish undergo significant physical changes as they age. Juveniles have long, crescent-shaped dorsal and anal fins, while adults have shorter, rounded fins and a spade-like body. An interesting behavior is that juveniles sometimes float sideways, mimicking dead leaves, to hide from predators. Adults, like the one in this […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4948: This is a flagtail triggerfish. There are about 40 species of triggerfish. They get their name because they can lock their main dorsal spine into an upright position using a second, smaller spine, allowing them to wedge themselves into tight, rocky crevices to prevent predators from pulling them out. […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4932: This is a coconut crab. Listed as a vulnerable species by the IUCN, they are the largest terrestrial arthropods on Earth, reaching a weight of nine pounds. One wild theory for why Amelia Earhart’s body was never found was because it was dragged away and eaten by coconut crabs. […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4931: While visiting the Raja Ampat, Deb and I saw multiple species of rabbitfish. The ones in this photo are masked rabbitfish, and, like all rabbitfish, they possess venomous spines in their dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins. The venom is painful to humans, but not deadly. Rabbitfish are shy herbivorous […]
While in the Raja Ampat of Indonesian New Guinea, I often explored crevices in the volcanic rock formations along the ocean shore. My usual finds were colorful crabs and lizards, but I also found this sea krait (a venomous snake with a paddle-shaped tail). Sea kraits must leave the water to digest their meals, so […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4910: For yesterday’s photo of the day, I featured a bluespotted grouper that produced the illusion of bioluminescence. Today’s photo is even more extreme. These redfin butterflyfish appeared to be bioluminescent near their pectoral fins. But again, it’s an illusion. Instead, they have fluorescent pigments in their skin that absorb […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4772: Deb and I spent time in Spain while working on the Europe section of my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents. This is Castillo de Albuquerque, which we discovered by accident while traveling the rural back roads. I’m now reading The Last Queen, the second […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4512: Bonaire is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and in 1850 the Dutch West Indies Company built slave huts for slaves working in its four salt pans. My wife, Deb, is standing next to some of the slave huts that have been preserved. The slaves would use these […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4510: With all the colorful fish on the reef surrounding Bonaire, it’s easy to overlook the fish that would rather not be seen. I spotted one such fish—a sand diver—just a short distance out from shore. How tough are sand divers to spot? Below the main photo I’ve added a […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4505: Most people incorrectly assume that flamingos are born pink. What actually happens is that they start out white and turn pink from the beta-carotene in the algae, brine fly larvae, and brine shrimp they eat. (Photographed in Bonaire)
Marty’s photo of the day #4502: Bonaire has both brown-throated parakeets and yellow-shouldered Amazon parrots. The two species look alike, but there are subtle differences between them. The most noticeable difference is that the parakeet is slimmer than the parrot. Last month, I was lucky enough to photograph both of them. Today, I’m featuring the […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4484: Humans brought donkeys to Bonaire in the 1600s to perform manual labor. Later, machines replaced the donkeys, and they were abandoned by the humans. Bad humans! Good donkeys! As such, wild donkeys still roam the island. They have a tough life here, and being that Bonaire has a dry […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4817: Prairie dogs are a keystone species. If you don’t pay close attention, it’s easy to assume that every animal atop a mound in a prairie dog town is a prairie dog, but you’d be wrong. Using the same holes are burrowing owls and rabbits. Also, if you reach deep […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4695: Deb and I have occasionally talked about returning to Antarctica, but we recently learned that getting to Antarctica by crossing the Drake Passage (famous for the roughest seas in the world) has largely become a thing of the past. Instead, people fly down to Antarctica and then get on […]
Marty’s photos of the day #4567: This is a laughing kookaburra, photographed in Australia. Here’s what I wrote about these birds in my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents: Though not as stunning as the kingfishers or cockatoos, laughing kookaburras are handsome gray and white birds with a very famous call: […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4501: I shot this photograph many years ago in New Orleans. I know nothing about this person, but statistically a child would be safer with someone who looks like this than with Christian clergy—a lot safer. So if Republicans really care about children, why are they so bent out of […]
Marty’s photo of the day #4470: AI technology amazes me. Yesterday, I finished the first draft of my eighth book, “Barry and Beth,” and in that novel, my characters are trying to produce a short video to stop barbaric alligator hunting practices in Florida. For a script idea, they try AI. Well, I did that […]
