TBers Photos

[Leesoh]

The 'Banging Beefy Burritos' look tempting :icon_bigg

Big favourite at Chez H. Even Biffa Bacon makes them!

 

[Matt_B]

Took this of one of my new carnivorous plants in my bog garden, it is a Sundew of some description. For those that are interested, I used a focus stacking method with 5 focal planes.

 

[Matt_B]

A poor hoverfly snared in my Venus Fly Trap, poor bastard kept struggling.

 

[Matt_B]

A double rainbow over my house yesterday

 

[Lako42]

A double rainbow over my house yesterday

View attachment 7961

Is this you? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI

 

[Matt_B]

Is this you? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI

I can't view that on my phone, but if it's what I think it is then I did have that on mind when I saw it.

 

[DesertFox]

Great photos Matt!

A bit late with a couple of replies...

Excellent as ever. How far away from these birds are you and do you have to sit for hours waiting for something to come along? I rarely manage to get a decent shot of the birds in my garden.

When I was in Alaska you could smell the fires but there were exhibitions explaining why they generally let them burn as it is seen as a part of the natural cycle leading to rengeneration. However from the news reports it seems yours are exceptionally bad this year so presumably not seen as a sad but good thing?

I don't tend to sit and wait, really. Well, not specifically to take photos, anyway. I'm not really a photographer, more of a birdwatcher with a camera. The secret is, I put myself in front of interesting stuff all day in my job as a birding and wildlife guide, so I get lots of opportunities. I take loads of photos and by the law of averages, a few of them are going to turn out OK :icon_bigg

The wildfires in Arizona were the worst ever this summer, but thankfully they're all out now. Almost a million acres burnt in total, which is pretty difficult to imagine. Around 100 homes burnt down. A few people were injured but amazingly nobody was killed. Huge chunks of famous wildlife habitat were lost. It was a depressing time. But yes, long term, it is supposedly good for the health of an ecosystem. It's difficult to think like that when places you love, areas of huge, ancient trees, have burnt to the ground and won't be back to their best again in your lifetime.

Can you be sure it's not a herring gull?

Not really. I'm somewhat out of practice with gulls, living in a desert! To be honest, I really don't miss gulls at all. :icon_cool

Looking in the Collins guide it's perhaps more like Herring, in Sibley (North American guide) it looks better for Lesser Black-backed. I'd expect a Herring of this age to show much more pink at the base of the bill, and the wings look quite long, both of which point towards LBb. But I could very easily be wrong.

 

[Matt_B]

Almost a million acres burnt in total, which is pretty difficult to imagine. Around 100 homes burnt down.

A million acres and only 100 homes, can you imagine if a million acres burnt in England?

Also Des, do you ever do macro? Do you have any lens recommendations? Budget of around £380.

 

[DesertFox]

Arizona is bigger than Britain and has about 7 million people. The vast tracts of wilderness are amazing.

A macro lens is top of my list but I've never managed to get around to buying one. I think I will soon though. But for now, I'm afraid I'm clueless.

 

[Matt_B]

Arizona is bigger than Britain and has about 7 million people. The vast tracts of wilderness are amazing.

A macro lens is top of my list but I've never managed to get around to buying one. I think I will soon though. But for now, I'm afraid I'm clueless.

Shambles.

 

[DesertFox]

Here are a load of photos from May and June. I have absolutely loads from July and August as well, you'll be delighted to hear...


Acorn Woodpecker.


Ladder-backed Woodpecker.


Rock Wren.

 

[DesertFox]

Shambles.

I've basically been winging it for the last 38 years... :icon_lol:

 

[DesertFox]

Rufous-winged Sparrow.



Lesser Nighthawks resting briefly between bouts of nocturnal aerial moth catching. Now this is one thing I did go out of my way to get photos of.

 

[DesertFox]

Fan-tailed Warbler, an extremely rare bird in the USA with about ten records, almost all from SE Arizona. This one was at Madera Canyon for a few days in May.


Black-crowned Night-Heron.


Why did the turkey cross the road?

 

[DesertFox]

Magnificent Hummingbird.


Cliff Chipmunk.


Arizona Gray Squirrel (or Grey, if you like).

 

[DesertFox]

An unfortunately flattened Sonoran Coralsnake, the only venomous snake in Arizona that isn't a rattlesnake. They're highly venomous but not that dangerous as they're so small they can only open their mouths wide enough to bite the little finger of a child.


Blooming saguaro cactus.


Madera Canyon.

 

[DesertFox]

The view from Windy Vista, half way up Mt Lemmon. Tucson is beyond the ridge in the valley below, while Madera Canyon is the dip in the middle of the mountain range in the distance, back left.



Couple of sunset photos to finish, taken with my phone.

 

[LCFC'sGodWears9]

Awesome, simply awesome. Wish I had the time or the ability/know-how to do it..

 

[Leesoh]

The sunsets are stunning, Dessie!

I'm reminded of The Orb

 

[Orifice]

Good stuff as usual.
Whenever you post a new set of pics it gives me an opportunity to get the wife & son around the monitor. My 13 year old son seems to know all the species instantly, before we read your text - but that's kids for you.