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  • A Vanessa Atalanta (Red Admiral) Butterfly perched atop a vibrant pink flowering thistle. This large butterfly is identified by its striking dark brown, red, and black wing pattern. More specifically, the dark wings possess orange bands that cross the fore wings and on the outer edge of the hind wings; white spots on the dorsal fore wings near the front margin; reddish bars on dorsal surface of all four wings.
    Vanessa Atalanta on Flowering Thistl...jpg
  • This beautiful black bodied swallowtail is black with shiny blue or green wings. It has blue between two rows of orange spots on the underside of the hind wings and the colors on the upper side of the hind wings have one row of white spots. The caterpillars look like small snakes, having large eyespots; they hide in folded leaves during the day and come out to feed in the evenings. The chrysalis is either brown or green resembling the stem in which it is attached. These butterflies are a pleasure to watch and a welcome visitor to any garden.
    Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly.jpg
  • The spicebush swallowtail butterfly is a large, dark swallowtail. It is one of our most beautiful and interesting swallowtails. All developmental stages are great examples of adaptive coloration. The wingspread range is 4.1 to 5.6 cm. The upper surface of the fore wings is black with a narrow marginal row and a broader submarginal row of light yellow row spots. The upper surfaces of the hind wings also have the rows of spots, but they are light green in color. The median areas of the hind wings are dusted with blue in females and blue-green to green in males.
    Spicebush In Wildflowers.jpg
  • The Halloween Pennant has been described as looking very similar to a butterfly. Its wings are orange-yellow in color, though its markings are dark brown, not black as is commonly believed; the entirely orange-yellow wings with dark brown bands are what has given it its Halloween common name and its typical position of being perched at the tip of a weed stalk, waving in the breeze like a pennant contributes to the remainder of its common name. The young has yellow markings, including a stripe on its back, and adult males develop pale red markings, particularly on the face, though females will occasionally get these red markings too. Halloween Pennants are normally between 38 and 42 mm (approx. 1.5 inches) in size. They feed on other insects, and they are able to fly in rain and strong wind. On hot days, it will often shade its thorax using its wings.
    Female Calico Pennant 6.jpg
  • Monarch butterflies embark on a marvelous migratory phenomenon. They travel between 1,200 and 2,800 miles or more from the United States and Canada to central Mexican forests. There the butterflies hibernate in the mountain forests, where a less extreme climate provides them a better chance to survive. The monarch butterfly is known by scientists as Danaus plexippus, which in Greek literally means "sleepy transformation." The name evokes the species' ability to hibernate and metamorphize. Adult monarch butterflies possess two pairs of brilliant orange-red wings, featuring black veins and white spots along the edges. Males, who possess distinguishing black dots along the veins of their wings, are slightly bigger than females. Each adult butterfly lives only about four to five weeks.
    Morning Monarch Glow.jpg
  • Adults have a long, square-tipped brown tail and are a brown or dull-brown color across the back with some shading into deep gray on the wing feathers. Breast and belly feathers may be streaked; the flanks usually are. In most cases, adult males' heads, necks and shoulders are reddish. This color sometimes extends to the belly and down the back, between the wings. Male coloration varies in intensity with the seasons and is derived from the berries and fruits in its diet. As a result, the colors range from pale straw-yellow through bright orange (both rare) to deep, intense red. Adult females have brown upper-parts and streaked underparts.
    Red Male House Finch-D.jpg
  • Male Mallard Duck was running for his life from all the little kids on a hot humid day at the zoo.  ..The male birds (drakes) have a bright green head and are grey on wings and belly, while the females are brown all over.
    mallard_duck.jpg
  • The gangly Double-crested Cormorant is a prehistoric-looking, matte-black fishing bird with yellow-orange facial skin. Though they look like a combination of a goose and a loon, they are relatives of frigatebirds and boobies and are a common sight around fresh and salt water across North America?perhaps attracting the most attention when they stand on docks, rocky islands, and channel markers, their wings spread out to dry. These solid, heavy-boned birds are experts at diving to catch small fish.<br />
<br />
Adults are brown-black with a small patch of yellow-orange skin on the face. Immatures are browner overall, palest on the neck and breast. In the breeding season, adults develop a small double crest of stringy black or white feathers.<br />
<br />
The Double-crested Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America.
    Cormorant Curves.jpg
  • The Northern Mockingbird is the only mockingbird commonly found in North America. Northern Mockingbirds are medium-sized mimids that have long legs and tails, with abridged and arched wings.
    Northern Mockingbird.jpg
  • Spread your wings and fly
    Fly Like An Eagle.jpg
  • One may think there's a tiny little baby hummingbird flying among the flowers, but more than likely it's a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth.<br />
<br />
This moth will feed during the day and it's shape, coloration and scaleless wings give it the appearance of a small hummingbird. There are two common varieties of this attractive and interesting member of the Sphinx moth family.
    clearwing humming bird moth.jpg
  • Common Grackles are large, lanky blackbirds with long legs and long tails. The head is flat and the bill is longer than in most blackbirds, with the hint of a downward curve. In flight, the wings appear short in comparison to the tail. Males are slightly larger than females.
    Grackle On Golden Grass.jpg
  • Hooded Mergansers are small ducks with a thin bill and a fan-shaped, collapsible crest that makes the head look oversized and oblong. In flight, the wings are thin and the tail is relatively long and rounded.
    Male Hooded Merganser - Color.jpg
  • A Female Calico Pennant Dragonfly Perched Atop A Weed In A Field On A Hot Summer Day. <br />
<br />
Halloween Pennant subterminal wing marking extends across wing from leading edge to trailing edge (in Calico Pennant, subterminal wing marking restricted to leading edge of wing)
    Calico Pennant.jpg
  • The Calico Pennant or Elisa Pennant (Celithemis elisa) is a dragonfly found in North America, in the Pennant genus of dragonflies. With Distinctive wing pattern; dark subterminal wing marking small and restricted to leading edge of wing.<br />
Male has pink wing veins and red heart-shaped abdominal spots; female has yellow wing veins and bright yellow abdominal spots.
    Dragonfly Sparkles.jpg
  • Mature males are distinctive with reddish brown wing markings and a row of red triangles on the abdomen. Females and tenerals have the red largely replaced by yellow and could be mistaken for several other pennants.  See Banded Pennant, Halloween Pennant and Martha's Pennant.  Carolina Saddlebags has a similar basal spot but is much larger and the rest of the wing is clear.
    Female Calico Pennant 2.jpg
  • Mature males are distinctive with reddish brown wing markings and a row of red triangles on the abdomen. Females and tenerals have the red largely replaced by yellow and could be mistaken for several other pennants.  See Banded Pennant, Halloween Pennant and Martha's Pennant.  Carolina Saddlebags has a similar basal spot but is much larger and the rest of the wing is clear.
    Female Calico Pennant.jpg
  • Mature males are distinctive with reddish brown wing markings and a row of red triangles on the abdomen. Females and tenerals have the red largely replaced by yellow and could be mistaken for several other pennants.  See Banded Pennant, Halloween Pennant and Martha's Pennant.  Carolina Saddlebags has a similar basal spot but is much larger and the rest of the wing is clear.
    Female Calico Pennant 5.jpg
  • Mature males are distinctive with reddish brown wing markings and a row of red triangles on the abdomen. Females and tenerals have the red largely replaced by yellow and could be mistaken for several other pennants.  See Banded Pennant, Halloween Pennant and Martha's Pennant.  Carolina Saddlebags has a similar basal spot but is much larger and the rest of the wing is clear.
    Female Calico Pennant 3.jpg
  • The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) is found only on the North American continent. Adult male eagles generally weigh about 9 pounds. Adult females weigh in at between 12 and 13 pounds. Adult eagles have a wing span of up to 7 feet. Immature eagles are mottled brown and white. The distinct white head and tail of the mature bird is developed between 4-5 years of age. In the wild, bald eagles live to between 30 and 35 years. In captivity, they have been known to live up to 50 years.<br />
<br />
Eagles do not live in isolation! Because they are near the top of the food chain, they become an irreplaceable indicator for measuring the health of the entire ecological system in which they live. After being listed as an endangered species in 1978 following a dramatic drop in population that began at the turn of the century, the Bald Eagle's status was upgraded to Threatened on August 11, 1995. Although efforts to replenish populations of the Bald Eagle have been successful, it continues to be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Bald Eagle Protection Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
    Spread Eagle.jpg
  • Hemaris thysbe, the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth or Common Clearwing (wingspan 38-50 mm), readily visits flowers by day throughout the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada, where it ranges far to the north, even into the Yukon. It is not difficult to see why many gardeners would mistake an Hemaris thysbe moth for a small hummingbird as it hovers, sipping nectar from flowers through a long feeding tube. The moth hovers briefly, sipping for only a few seconds before darting off to a new flower. Green body "fur" and burgundy wing scales suggest a small ruby throated hummingbird.
    clearwing humming bird moth shag.jpg
  • A Painted Lights Neon Angel - She Rises
    Painted Lights Angel - She Rises -gi...jpg
  • A Mallard Duck Flapping Wings On The Pond
    Mallard - Wing Up.jpg
  • Fractal Lines And Patterns With Colors And Light Lets The Imagination Run Wild. This creation started with a photo of butterflies and moths fluttering around a light. Somehow it ended up like this :)
    Crazy Color Twist.jpg
  • A male Wood Duck rocks in the water mimicking a rocking horse, putting on a vibrant show.<br />
<br />
Wood Ducks forage in the water by taking food from the surface and up-ending to reach food underneath. They also graze on land. Pairs form on the wintering grounds, and males attract females by showing off their brightly colored plumage. Females demonstrate strong fidelity to the sites where they hatched (philopatry), and they lead their mates back to those sites in the spring.<br />
<br />
Male Wood Ducks are flamboyant in breeding plumage, practically unmistakable with their brightly colored chestnut and yellow bodies, green droop-crested heads, bright red bills, and bold white barring on their faces and bodies. Females are drabber, with subtle iridescence on overall grayish-brown bodies, spotted flanks, and a white teardrop surrounding each eye. Juveniles appear similar to females, as do non-breeding males in eclipse plumage (from June to September), although they have the red bill and white facial markings.
    Woody Rocking Horse.jpg
  • The Paper Kite 1.jpg
  • Blue Morpho 3.jpg
  • A Dark-Eyed Junco Foraged for seeds on the ground and a late fall afternoon
    Dark-Eyed Junco Foraging.jpg
  • Getting My Gracle On.jpg
  • Tufted Titmouse-K.jpg
  • The Paper Kite 6.jpg
  • Monarch 3.jpg
  • Monarch 14.jpg
  • Butterfly Profile.jpg
  • Tufted Titmouse-D.jpg
  • Tufted Titmouse-B.jpg
  • Tufted Titmouse-A.jpg
  • Blue Jay-B.jpg
  • A Male Northern Cardinal Stands Slightly Inquisitive Upon A Broken Tree Stump Against A Moody Backdrop.
    Moody Painterly Redbird.jpg
  • The bluebirds out back are going to town, some sort of mating ritual or something maybe?
    Bluebird Dance.jpg
  • Sarus Cranes staying next to each other almost in a way to make sure each other remains safe.
    Sarus Cranes.jpg
  • A tiny green butterfly in a adds some brightness to the early morning
    Little Green Butterfy.jpg
  • A Monarch Butterfly in Fluid Style Perches atop A Yellow Wildflower During Afternoon Showers.<br />
<br />
The monarch is famous for its southward migration and northward return in summer from Canada to Mexico and Baja California which spans the life of three to four generations of the butterfly<br />
<br />
Monarchs are especially noted for their lengthy annual migration. In North America, they make massive southward migrations starting in August until the first frost. A northward migration takes place in the spring. The monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south as the birds do on a regular basis, but no single individual makes the entire round trip. Female monarchs deposit eggs for the next generation during these migrations.<br />
<br />
Monarch butterflies are poisonous or distasteful to birds and mammals because of the presence of the cardiac glycosides contained in milkweed consumed by the larvae. The bright colors of larvae and adults are thought to function as warning colors. During hibernation, monarch butterflies sometimes suffer losses because hungry birds pick through them looking for the butterflies with the least amount of poison, but in the process kill those they reject.
    Butterfly Striations.jpg
  • A Wood Duck Wades Through The Water In This Colorful, Calm Scene.
    Woody Waddle.jpg
  • A tiny Downy Woodpecker grabs some suet from the bird feeder on a cold winter day
    Hello Winter Downy.jpg
  • A banded Wood Duck Hen (female) swims ever so gently throught he stream with a display of vibrant plumage.<br />
<br />
The Wood Duck is a medium-sized perching duck. The female, less colourful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads. Females line their nests with feathers and other soft materials, and the elevation provides some protection from predators. Unlike most other ducks, the Wood Duck has sharp claws for perching in trees and can, in southern regions, produce two broods in a single season--the only North American duck that can do so.<br />
<br />
Female Wood Ducks breed during their first year. The breeding season begins in April in the southern portion of the range. In northern areas, Wood Ducks arrive on the breeding ground soon after the ice thaws, usually in early May. There are, however, reports of Wood Ducks in Canada beginning to nest as early as the second week of April.
    Waterfowl Flow.jpg
  • A Paper Kite Butterfly Rests On Top Of Fluid Pink Floral Blossoms In The Garden.<br />
<br />
The Paper Kite, Rice Paper, or Large Tree Nymp butterfly (Idea leuconoe) is known especially for its presence in butterfly greenhouses and live butterfly expositions. The Paper Kite is of Southeast Asian origin.
    Paper Kite on Liquid Blossoms.jpg
  • The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful North American waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches.<br />
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In good light, males have a glossy green head cut with white stripes, a chestnut breast and buffy sides. In low or harsh light, they'll look dark overall with paler sides. Females are gray-brown with white-speckled breast. In eclipse plumage (late summer), males lose their pale sides and bold stripes, but retain their bright eye and bill.<br />
<br />
Wood ducks breed across most of the central and eastern United States, southeastern Canada and along the Pacific coast from California to British Columbia. The highest breeding densities occur in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. In recent decades, the breeding range has expanded westward into the Great Plains region following development of wooded riparian corridors. Wood ducks prefer riparian habitats, wooded swamps and freshwater marshes.
    Wood Duck Flap.jpg
  • A Female Mallard Duck Wattles Through The Grass, captured with an prominence on the details
    Textured Mallard Female Duck.jpg
  • A Chipping Sparrow makes a splash in the birdseed on a red feeder on a sunny afternoon.
    Chipping Sparrow in Warm Light.jpg
  • This beautiful common grackle was hanging out at the Saint Louis Zoo with the Prairie Dogs and Peacocks.
    grackle.jpg
  • This shot was taken in Grand Marais, Minnesota on Lake Superior. It was an absolutely beautiful day.
    lake_superior_goose.jpg
  • I photographed this Ostrich at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    ostrich.jpg
  • A flowing Monarch perched on a vibrant chive against a soft blue backdrop. The Monarch butterfly is a milkweed butterfly, in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies
    Monarch Blues on Chives.jpg
  • Flamingo Flow 2.jpg
  • You can find this beautiful Paper Kite Butterfly at the Saint Louis Zoo Butterfly House.
    paper_kite_butterfly.jpg
  • Red-Bellied Texture.jpg
  • The Great Egret, also known as Great White Egret, Common Egret, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized.
    Great Egret.jpg
  • This is more of a classical pose and composition for a Red-Bellied Woodpecker.
    Red-Bellied Woodpecker - D.jpg
  • White-Breasted Nuthatch-I.jpg
  • The Postman 1.jpg
  • The Paper Kite 3.jpg
  • The Paper Kite 15.jpg
  • The Paper Kite 12.jpg
  • The Paper Kite 11.jpg
  • The Paper Kite 10.jpg
  • Swallowtail 6.jpg
  • Small Postman 4.jpg
  • Small Postman 2.jpg
  • Blue Morpho 5.jpg
  • Monarch 7.jpg
  • Monarch 2.jpg
  • Monarch 19.jpg
  • Butterfly 3.jpg
  • Butterfly 2.jpg
  • White-Breasted Nuthatch-C.jpg
  • White-Breasted Nuthatch-B.jpg
  • A Painted Lights Neon Angel
    Painted Lights Angel 1-gigapixel-sta...jpg
  • Adult male Hooded Mergansers are black above, with a white breast and rich chestnut flanks. The black head has a large white patch that varies in size when the crest is raised or lowered, but is always prominent. Females and immatures are gray and brown, with warm tawny-cinnamon tones on the head.
    Male Hooded Merganser.jpg
  • March 1st on a snowy afternoon the husband and I decided to head out and see what kind of photos we could capture while it was still snowing.  ..We came across 2 fields along Hwy D in New Melle, Missouri were hundreds of what I believe to be Snow Geese were making themselves at home.  I took this shot as I thought it was unique and interesting. They are beautiful.
    new_melle_snow_geese.jpg
  • Snow Geese Waddle Through The Snow in New Melle
    New Melle Snow Geese.jpg
  • Grackle Grabs a Seed.jpg
  • The smallest North American woodpecker, the downy woodpecker is also one of the most common and most readily recognized not only because of its size, but also because it will readily visit backyards and feeders.
    Downy Woodpecker on Tree.jpg
  • The Paper Kite 5.jpg
  • Blue Morpho 4.jpg
  • Monarch 18.jpg
  • White-Breasted Nuthatch-G.jpg
  • A White-Breasted Nuthatch Taking Flight From a Tree Branch
    Nuthatch Liftoff.jpg
  • Yellow-Crowned Night Heron chillaxing up on a branch.
    Yellow-crowned Night Heron.jpg
  • A Double-Crested Cormorant sits along the shore of a pond with a copper sheen.
    Cormorant on Copper Pond.jpg
  • A Wood Duck Hen Preens Along The Shore of the Lake.<br />
<br />
Wood ducks pair up in late winter and they begin breeding in early spring. The males attract females with their call and attractive, colorful breeding plumage. <br />
<br />
Female wood ducks have grayish-brown bodies. The back is dark gray-brown and the sides are a lighter shade. The most noticeable characteristics of the females are found on the head. The head is gray with a white eye-ring around each eye. The head also has a crest of feathers at the back and white feathers on the throat and chin. <br />
<br />
Wood ducks will 'tip up' and dip their heads under the water to find the standard wetland fare to eat like wild rice, smartweed, pondweed, bulrush, and lotus seeds, but they love to eat "out," of the water that is. They love fruits and nuts found in the woods like beechnuts, wild acorns grapes, and one of their favorites, acorns.
    Preening Wood Duck Hen.jpg
  • Tufted Titmouse hanging out just swining on the brid feeder.
    just_a_swingin.jpg
  • A gorgeous butterfly hanging out on a leaf at the Butterfly House at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    butterfly.jpg
  • I photographed these beautiful Flamingos at the Saint Louis, Missouri. Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird.
    pink_flamingo.jpg
  • Two ducks take a sunset flight in the golden glow of Lake Superior on Minnesota's North Shore
    Sunset Flight.jpg
  • A Twelve-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly in Pastel Colors. The Twelve-spotted Skimmer is a common North American skimmer dragonfly, found in southern Canada and in all 48 of the contiguous U.S. states. It is a large species, at 50 mm long
    Dragonfly on Pastels - Twelve-spotte...jpg
  • This shot was taken at Busch Wildlife while I was out walking the trails.
    bumble_bee.jpg
  • A Red-Bellied Woodpecker Pays a Visit To My White Swing Feeder For a Lunch Reservation
    Red-Belly Comes For Lunch.jpg
  • The adult female Brown-headed Cowbird is slightly smaller than the male and is dull grey with a pale throat and very fine streaking on the underparts.
    Flowing Female Cowbird.jpg
  • Insects in the Diptera family Asilidae are commonly called robber flies. The family Asilidae contains about 7,100 described species worldwide. All robber flies have stout, spiny legs, a dense moustache of bristles on the face (mystax), and 3 simple eyes (ocelli) in a characteristic depression between their two large compound eyes. The mystax helps protect the head and face when the fly encounters prey bent on defense. The antennae are short, 3-segmented, sometimes with a bristle-like structure called an arista.
    339A0748.jpg
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