A White-crowned Lapwing shows off its impressive if not gaudy wattles. The species is a Sub-Saharan member of the plover family. This one was caught near Zimbabwe’s Zambezi River. ~ White-crowned Lapwing capture, White-crowned Lapwing © Jerry L. Ferrara
One Suspicious Glance Last week I walked down to the pond with a lens and camera to see what might be happening. Along with Buffleheads, Canada Geese, American Wigeons, Mallards and Wood Ducks, a Muskrat was industriously harvesting plant material. It gave one suspicious glance when a sneeze escaped me, but then continued on with its crop-gathering and feeding. ~ Anecdote and Muskrat capture, One Suspicious Glance © Jerry L. Ferrara
Along A Boreal Shore Looking at those eyesIt’s likely you’d surmiseThe fox is quite hell-bentIts focus so intentAbsorbed if not obsessedDark motives are possessed Along a boreal Norwegian shore, an enterprising Arctic Fox focuses intently on a possible meal. ~ Poem and Arctic Fox capture, Along A Boreal Shore © Jerry L. Ferrara
Guess Who Won? An American Robin tugs tenaciously at a reluctant earthworm. Guess who won? ~ American Robin and Earthworm capture, Guess Who Won? © Jerry L. Ferrara
Centering attention on a non-wildlife subject a few days ago, I put a new lens to the test in preparation for an upcoming Mountain Gorilla trek. If it had been lightly raining or sprinkling that day, I might have titled the take “Crocus in the Mist”. 😀 ~ Anecdote and Crocus captures, Crocus © Jerry L. Ferrara
A female Northern Flicker is caught giving a look into the camera. ~ Northern Flicker capture, Giving A Look © Jerry L. Ferrara
You shouldn’t really laugh so hardThe cat just left its ‘calling card’For sure the act did quite conveyMessages within the spray ~ Poem and Bengal Tiger capture, Calling Card, from the highlands of India and the Kanha-Kisli © Jerry L. Ferrara
Ladies of the Evening I’ve often wondered why some who find themselves in the middle of breathtaking beauty are unable to recognize it. Those who can ‘see’, oft sense so much gleeYet those in a hurry, seem doomed to but scurrySince they can’t get in touch, they sadly miss much Mule Deer capture made against a fire-scorched sundown sky from a place ‘off the beaten track’ in eastern Montana where, according to some, ‘nothing’s there’. ~ Anecdote, poem and Mule Deer capture, Ladies of the Evening © Jerry L. Ferrara
My Canine Skill A melanistic Gray Wolf dashes down a snowy slope … Through winter’s realm and down steep hillI will run to make my killMere terrain won’t dull my willIt’s all about my canine skill ~ Poem and Gray Wolf capture, My Canine Skill © Jerry L. Ferrara
The Pileated Woodpecker Considered our largest native U.S. woodpecker [unless you believe the “Holy Grail” of birds still exists], a Pileated Woodpecker eyes the camera. While these magnificent woodland creatures are avid consumers of insects and larvae they also relish fruit and seeds and, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, will even consume such from poison ivy! They are fond of suet, too! ~ Anecdote and Pileated Woodpecker capture, The Pileated Woodpecker © Jerry L. Ferrara