Alex Nelson

Glossy ibises are among my favorite birds. Here's one walking through the reeds in a marsh, the light picking up the greens on its wing feathers. You can tell this one's a juvenile by the white blotch over its eye and the white spots on its neck. #birds

Simply incredible, Glen.

Neat photo!

Thanks!

I thought the light was pretty here. A closeup shot of a female anhinga, her face bathed in the warm light of sunrise. #birds

Yep, same plant. Texas star Hibiscus tends to be one of its commercial names. It is not a plant native to Texas, however, as its natural range only extends as far west as Louisiana.

Saline's right smack in the center of the state but the other two are southern counties.

Yep. A variety of Hibiscus native to the southeastern U.S. Looks like you can find them in Arkansas but rarely: according to my atlas they're only documented in Union, Hempstead, and Saline counties.

The mallows have been in bloom in the marsh. Here's a scarlet rosemallow photographed from the side.

A blue-gray gnatcatcher looks up from its sunny oak perch in search of bugs. #birds

Thank you, Marina!

A great crested flycatcher resting atop an oak tree, more foliage blurred out in the background. #birds

Thanks, Glen!

A great blue heron portrait. #birds

A closeup of a marsh rabbit grazing.

Thanks, Dave. I'll relay the kind word.

Thank you!

YouTube video by Persona Non Grata FRIENDS OF NATURE PARKS - SWEETWATER WETLANDS PARK

About a quarter of my photos are taken at Sweetwater Wetlands in Gainesville. A friend of mine, who has buckets more talent than I do, made this video highlighting the beauty of the park and its inhabitants. Some breathtaking footage in here: youtu.be/1W_5mr7AxnQ?...

Thanks, Larry!

A male eastern towhee perched on a twig in a dead shrub. #birds

I guess the mixed reaction to the Rogers trade means Mets fans were really talking themselves into a soon-to-be 25-year-old outfielder who was hitting so-so while repeating Syracuse (after a disastrous first attempt), huh?

Not a blue heron at all, but rather a juvenile black-crowned night heron. Beautiful shot!

A green heron, backlit and perched on a chain-link fence. #birds

What a stunner!

There's a golden silk orbweaver female with a bevy of males on the side of the house so I went out at 6:30 PM to try to take some photos and the sweat was just pouring off me almost instantaneously.

Ugh...I wrote dorsal in the spined micrathena alt text when I meant to write ventral. Not worth reposting.

A Cofaqui giant skipper, a somewhat rare butterfly that I spotted amongst the tall grasses in the early morning. I had no idea what it was, and it took weeks for me to get a positive ID.

A red rose in my garden, a couple droplets on the petals closest to the camera.

A dorsal view of a spined micrathena sitting in the very center of its elaborate web against a green background.

A female or juvenile ruby-throated hummingbird perched at a feeder in my backyard. The green and turquoise scaled feathers on the wings and back are stunning.

It's been too damn hot to photograph lately--heat index here was up to 118--so I threw today's date in my database to see if I've ever had the audacity to shoot on July 29. Only once: 2020, back when I was still new to this. My four favorite shots from that day in my garden (IDs in the alt text).

A close look at this dragonfly's posterior will reveal how it got its name: a two-striped forceptail. Shown perched on a stalk of tall grass in a marsh.

An eastern bluebird perched on a pine branch, a tuft of Spanish moss beside. #birds

Thanks, Glen. It's so neat being able to see these guys in such a range of ages right now.