Total Solar Eclipse 2024
Total solar eclipse 2024 USA
SHOT FROM THE FILE
Great Blue Heron – A Golden Moment
A Golden Moment A golden moment, caught in the golden hour of morn as a regal Great Blue Heron elegantly swims the open sky. Arriving at the heron rookery and setting up the camera before the sun conquered the earth’s horizon proved to be a good strategy. ~ Anecdote and Great Blue Heron capture, A Golden Moment © Jerry L. Ferrara
A Precursor
We’re keeping our fingers crossed the weather holds for the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse. This image was taken on 4/3/24, made as a precursor to the event at 16X magnification, cropped in post, f11, 1/2000 sec, -2EV applied in camera at approximately 1:28:26pm Central Time, using a Kendrick Baader solar film filter. Remember, if you are viewing or photographing the sun, to use proper filtration [ie. solar glasses and filters specifically designed for solar viewing/photographing]. ~ Anecdote and solar image capture, A Precursor © Jerry L. Ferrara
Palamedes Swallowtail Butterfly – A Tool For Nectaring
A Tool For Nectaring In the mysterious, if not uncanny, environs of the Big Thicket National Preserve, a Palamedes Swallowtail Butterfly probes a thistle plant with its prodigiously elongated proboscis. The outrageous sucking device is a highly effective adaptation for bringing the plant’s ambrosia to the insect … a tool for nectaring. ~ Anecdote and Palamedes Swallowtail Butterfly capture, A Tool For Nectaring © Jerry L. Ferrara
Red-bellied Woodpecker – Something Stashed Away
Something Stashed Away For some time she had been working diligently hammering away at the decaying tree bark, employing her formidable bill, wood shavings flying everywhere. At first I thought the Red-bellied Woodpecker was searching for insect larvae secreted away in the woody framework. But then she pulled out a nut [acorn or hickory] … something stashed away. ~ Anecdote and Red-bellied Woodpecker capture, Something Stashed Away © Jerry L. Ferrara
Bengal Tiger – A Refreshing, Cooling Embrace
A Refreshing, Cooling Embrace The sun bore down on planet Earth and the torrid heat became oppressive in the Indian jungle. Creatures both large and small sought relief from the scorching midday temperature in a variety of ways. Some joined shade and became quiescent. Others visited waterholes and soaked in a refreshing, cooling embrace. Here, a Bengal Tiger lowered the temperature of its body core by immersing itself in a small, jungle pool. ~ Anecdote and Bengal Tiger capture, A Refreshing Cooling Embrace © Jerry L. Ferrara. Kanha National Park, India
Sandhill Cranes – Fire in the Sky
Fire in the Sky It was an incredible, early-evening Nebraskan sky rich with fury as angry storm clouds occluded the earth’s blazing engine. While the sun unhurriedly progressed toward the horizon, the clouds lit up like a raging inferno and it appeared as though there was fire in the sky. At one critical moment, a flock of Sandhill Cranes graced their way through the tempestuous heavens. ~ Anecdote and Sandhill Cranes capture, Fire in the Sky © Jerry L. Ferrara
Snowy Owl – When The Snow Flies
When The Snow Flies Pan, who brings much chaos when quiet shapes flow ‘cross the land … Fly by across the sky Feathers flail in noiseless gale Wings fling but do not sing Eyes pry while they descry … when the snow flies Like a wraith of vapor, a Snowy Owl strikes a stunning figure in the unadorned winter sky. ~ Poem, anecdote and Snowy Owl capture, When The Snow Flies © Jerry L. Ferrara
Tree Swallow – Feather Maintenance
Feather Maintenance Preening is an important aspect of feather maintenance. In the capture, a male Tree Swallow [one of our native bird species] runs a flight feather through its beak during the act of feather grooming. By doing so, the swallow is more than likely anointing the plume with oil from its uropygial gland [oil gland] or it may be simply re-conforming the feather’s structure … or both. ~ Anecdote and Tree Swallow capture, Feather Maintenance © Jerry L. Ferrara
Humpback Whales – Along The Inside Passage
Along The Inside Passage A trio of Humpback Whales encountered along the Inside Passage. ~ Anecdote and Humpback Whale capture, Along The Inside Passage © Jerry L. Ferrara