A solo visit after a job nearby. Hurricane Debby passed by yesterday morning, but I thought that there might be something -- a Sooty Tern maybe -- lingering. There wasn't! But 45 Magnificent Frigatebirds were almost exclusively southbound -- some quite low -- in groups of 1, 7, 2, 2, 4, 2, 4, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3, 5, 1 (northbound), 2, 2, and 4. Several Brown Pelicans following the same pattern may also have been storm-dispersed: groups of 4, 4, 2, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1, and 1, all southbound. It was easy to count the birds as they flew directly overhead -- but determining precisely how many photographs I took of each individual was impossible. I am submitting 38 records of Magnificent Frigatebirds and 6 records of Brown Pelicans. The weather at the start was sunny, 88 degrees ("feels like" 99), and windy. I remained at my stationary watch until 1350, when I wandered around the northwestern part of the park.
Moved this poor guy off Wiscon road to keep the scavengers safe. Male; healthy & in his prime. Appears to have been there for around 24 hours.
SLOW DOWN ON WOODED ROADS! Speeding only gets you home 1-2 minutes faster (Yes,even if you speed all the way from Tampa!) but SLOWING DOWN can save lives... Including your own!
old orange grove, now overgrown with camphor, hardwoods, & exotics; overlapping fruiting bodies on dead hardwood tree branch; fan shaped cap, soft & fragile, white, hairy; fertile surface decurrent hexagonal pores, yellowish white
A solo visit to check on the Eryngium aquaticum (Marsh Rattlesnake Master) along the road. There's a lot! I stopped at the fire tower and did not examine any farrther section of County Road 336. The weather was overcast, 86 degrees ("feels like" 98), with a light breeze. All the Eryngium was grwing on the "north" side of the road, so I walked the entire length of the patch, mostly west of the fire tower. The ditch was dry. Considering the lack of sun and the fact that I checked just one section of the road, I did well, with 14 records of hairstreaks (at least 2 individual Juniper Hairstreaks) and 5 record of skippers. I left at 1648 and headed for home.
Nice, 1st hand fern observation in more than a decade.
©williamwisephoto.com Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. Sunday, April 16, 2023.
See and learn more about the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on my blog at www.okefenokee.photography
Saw this at Publix under the pharmacy drive thru.
Large population of 38 flowerstems. Looks like many more plants with only leaves, but can't be sure.
4 plants, 1 flowering, 1 baby. One foot apart.
Lakeland Highlands Scrub
With Don Fraser; another -- and eminently successful -- search for flower moths, including a Bleeding Flower Moth in great condition.
The weather at the start was sunny and 71 degrees with a light breeze. We left at 1410.
Holy shit! Woo-hoo! Mind-boggling camoulflage!
With Don Fraser and John Reynolds; a successful chase of John's and my lifer Western Pygmy Blue; we saw several dozen. I photographed many plants to see what the blues were nectaring on, plus to learn Annual Sea-Blite (Suaeda maritima) so that I can look for this species in Pasco and Hernando counties.
The weather was sunny and 93 degrees ("feels like 101 degrees) with a breeze.
Attracted to blacklight at night on back porch. With Heidi Eaton, so some overlap in observations.
Exner Marsh Nature Preserve; McHenry County, Illinois.
4 plants beginning to bloom
Chesser Island Boardwalk; Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia. March 9, 2022. ©www.williamwisephoto.com
See and learn more about the incredible Okefenokee Swamp at www.okefenokee.photography
Help protect the Okefenokee at https://protectokefenokee.org/
Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis is a variety of hooded pitcher plant primarily found in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. This variety grows impressively tall compared to the typical form of S. minor and can reach 3 feet or more in height.
Paddling with @djlavor between Kingfisher Landing and Double Lakes; Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia.
To learn more about the Okefenokee Swamp, follow the blog at www.okefenokee.photography
comparison pic displaying the characteristic leaves of the 4 most common Smilax species locally (S. auriculata, laurifolia, smallii, and bona-nox, respectively), each with one side torn off to show the diagnostic marginal vein, or lack thereof.
In a flower pot of Wild Sweet Basil (Ocimum campechianum).
Private residence.
First one I've found at this site in nearly 20 years of visits
©williamwisephoto.com A weekend at "The Treehouse"; Waynesville, North Carolina.
Leafless Beaked Lady Orchid Series
©www.williamwisephoto.com Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia; Middle Fork Suwannee River between the Big Water canoe shelter and mile marker 24.
Northeast wind 3 to 7 mph.
Sunrise: 6:51 am; Sunset: 6:31 pm
Nice find today
Had to stop and admire...
𝙼̶𝚞̶𝚗̶𝚌̶𝚑̶𝚒̶𝚗̶𝚐̶ 𝚘̶𝚗̶ Burying an expired Skink.
Private residence.
We had a surprise guest this evening