A Walk by the River

The sun was shining, so I decided to go for a walk by the river. (It was my day off running.) I took my camera but I didn't have any particular goals or expectations. Of course, once I got started I took a ton of photos.

When I first reached the river there were two pelicans cruising by. (with their breeding season "horns") They soon decided to move on. It looks like a quite an effort for these big birds to get into the air although they are certainly graceful enough in flight.

One pair of Canada Geese had a single lone gosling. I managed to approach reasonably close and then I sat patiently and they eventually came a bit closer. There is such a contrast between the big strong adults and the awkward little goslings.

A crow was also hanging around. I happened to catch it cawing and if you look close you can see the water drops coming out of his mouth. (The contrast between the bright sun and the black crow makes photos difficult.)

While I was sitting on the sand watching the birds, I saw an insect going zipping by on the sand. It looked interesting but I didn't get a good look. Luckily I saw several more and got some photos. I think they were Bronzed Tiger Beetles (also known as Common Shore Tiger Beetles, but Bronzed sounds better) True to their description they would alternate high speed sprints with pauses. The theory is that they move too fast for their visual system to keep up, so they have to pause to spot their prey. Whatever the reason, the pauses were what let me get some photographs. Surprisingly, I got these photos (and all the rest) with my telephoto (200 - 800mm equivalent). It focuses reasonably close, and the ability to keep some distance often helps with skittish insects.

I also spotted this spider running by, but it did not cooperate with any pauses in the open and I only managed this one shot. It was well camouflaged. I think it's some kind of wolf spider.

There were a few butterflies around, but this was the only one that stayed still long enough to photograph. I think it's a Silver-spotted Skipper.

I followed this Willet (a large sandpiper) as it foraged its way along the shore. It didn't let me get too close, but it didn't fly away either.

This mallard male, on the other hand, had found himself a nice spot to soak up some rays and was ignoring humans wandering by.

I'm usually not as much of a plant person but I'm a sucker for flowers. I think these are Common Silverweed (related to roses)

Bluntleaf Sandwort

American Vetch

and Choke Cherry

I couldn't figure out what this shiny insect was. Seek is usually pretty good at id's but the closest it got was some kind of crane fly. I'm curious what the "clubs" on either side of its body are. Possibly the fruiting bodies of some fungus? The insect did seem quite lethargic.

Back home, this Blue Jay was showing off his coloring.

Nature never ceases to fascinate and delight me. It might seem that my focus is the photography, but that's really secondary to my love of nature. The photography just helps me focus my attention and see things I wouldn't otherwise. And to capture a record so I can savor it.