Early this morning, I went to a village a half-dozen kilometers from my town with the goal of walking back home and maybe photographing a bird or three on the way. Barely 10 minutes along, on a deserted path along a lake (great crested grebe nest!), I noticed something hopping towards me in the distance.
Amazingly, this European hare approached to within 15 meters or so before making a right into the forest!
Here's another shot of the European hare I saw yesterday (my girlfriend calls them "scary bunnies" due to their large size and frankly giant eyes), taken just a few seconds before the ones I posted last night.
A short encounter, but when I've seen hares on previous occasions, they've never stuck around long enough to get the camera turned on (...at best, I'd notice them hopping away). This one seemed really curious!
A sunny day visit to Neidpath Castle, Peebles, built by Sir William de Haya (d.c.1390) c14th century, it was held by the family until the 17th century.
The castle was visited by Mary, Queen of Scots c1563 and by her son James VI in 1587 and me several times 1980-2020's.
These fascinating creatures are often seen diving into the water to catch their food. The plunge can begin from up heights of even 65 ft in the air. Gulf Islands National Seashore FL.
A first for me today. I saw this little Ringed Plover far off in the distance. Not an great photograph technically, but great because I was there an witnessed it (and that's the beauty of bird photography, its not all about equipment and skill, its the experience). Lovely little bird
This used to be one of my Twitter mantras, so I guess I should restart it here.
For a moment of mindfulness, nothing beats Elephant watching on the Chobe river in Botswana. And you can do so via their webcam. Just sit back, count the elephants, and enjoy.
Here's a picture I took on a walk today. Mamma goose and her cute and fuzzy baby goslings going for a walk along the canal.
The Rideau Canal is a UNESCO world heritage site. Built in 1832, it is 202km/125 miles long, and has 46 lift locks along its length. In the winter time, it freezes, and we skate on it.
I'm sharing this photo I took of two black bears playing for #SilentSunday because that's what I was when I came across them while hiking...I kept perfectly silent and still as they wrestled like I wasn't even there. I'm still not sure if they even saw me. Eventually they curled up for a nap behind a bush.
A matuku moana (white faced heron) models great common sense that we should all emulate by retreating from an incoming wave on Tāmaki Makaurau’s wild west coast.