Moonbow and Yosemite Falls from OMG Point, Yosemite National Park, California, May 13, 2022

 This is a nighttime 3-shot panorama of Yosemite Falls from top to bottom showing Upper Yosemite Falls, Middle Cascade, and Lower Yosemite Falls.  Bob took this from OMG Point, aka Oh My Gosh Rock, a short unpublicized spur trail off the Yosemite Falls Trail.

We were there to see the moonbow on the night of Friday, May 13, 2022.  The moonbow is visible at the base of Upper Yosemite and the top of Middle Cascade.  We arrived there at 10 PM and stayed until 2 AM.  The moon shadows of our tripods and cameras are in the lower left corner.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

A Yellowstone elk female sticking out her tongue

 

A female elk feeds on clover and licks her lips because of how tasty it is. We saw elk along the road in Yellowstone and this female was right by the road. Clover is a special treat for many herbivores. Elk will migrate out of the park during the winter to seek fresh sources of food at lower elevations and milder temperatures.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

American Dipper in the Yellowstone River

 

This American dipper, otherwise known as the water ouzel, was traipsing around in the Yellowstone River's Le Hardy Rapids. Dippers feed on the insects that live in rapids, so it can move through the water with little threat of being swept away. They actually walk on the bottom surface of the river and feed on insects that wash down the river or are attached to the rocks. There's a small parking area next to the Le Hardy Rapids and a trail with a deck for visitors to look out over the river. We caught sight of harlequin ducks and pulled off to take pictures of them and the dipper turned out to be a bonus.

Dippers don't get cold in the river water because the have the most wax in their feathers of any songbird. When they dip into the water, their feathers don't get wet at all.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

A cluster of snow plants growing in Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, June 2015

 Bob was returning from a trip to McCloud in northern California when he decided to drive home through Lassen Volcanic National Park.  This was in June, which is still kind of early in the season for wildflowers in this park.  During his drive, he saw this cluster of snow plants near the park road.

Snow plant is a parasitic plant, meaning that it grows off of nutrients that fungi attached to the roots of pine trees make available to it, rather than photosynthesizing.  This is why the plant has no green chlorophyll in it.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Side-blotched Lizard, male at KCL Campground, Carrizo Plain NM

During my recent visit to the Carrizo Plain National Monument, I camped at the KCL Campground, roughly in the middle of the area. The campground has a healthy population of this species, the side-blotched lizard. The males are more colorful than the females. This male was hiking under a shrub that had a big gap in the middle, so I had a clear view of him. There was also the opening to a burrow being used by a young antelope ground squirrel. As the lizard moved around, he had his tail hanging down across the opening and the squirrel came up and wondered what was going on.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Yellowstone cutthroat trout feeding at the surface of the Yellowstone River

 

The Yellowstone River is famous for its fishing. Yellowstone National Park has a native cutthroat trout that gets its name from the reddish color over the gills. At the north side of Yellowstone Lake, the river emerges and travels north, eventually reaching the Canyon area. Where the river emerges there is a bridge that allows travelers to reach Lake Village. That bridge, from which we captured this image, is appropriately named Fishing Bridge.

Canon EOS 70D, ISO 400, 1/500 sec. f8, 400mm

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Snowy egret along the American River, Sacramento, California

 Rick got these images of snowy egrets, possibly the same one, but in different spots, while we were pedaling in Bob's new-to-him Hobie Mirage tandem kayak.

Snowy egrets are smaller than great egrets and have distinctive yellow feet.  Because they are wading birds, it's not always possible to see their feet.  Also has what can look like a little yellow mask over its eyes.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Yellow billed magpie, William B. Pond Recreation Area, Sacramento, California

 After getting shots of a sea lion in the American River, which we made into a video on our YouTube Channel, Bob continued on his  bike ride upriver and encountered a flock of yellow billed magpies at the William B. Pond Recreation Area in Sacramento, California.  This is a cropped shot of one of the magpies.

Yellow billed magpies are unique to California.  Its more widespread relative, the black billed magpie occurs throughout much of the Western United States, except the Central Valley of California.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Ol' Blue Eyes, Montery Coast, California (Brandt's cormorant)

 

On a SCUBA diving trip to the Monterey Coast, in California, we explored the shore for scenery and wildlife and managed to get pretty close to some Brandt's cormorants. These birds dive underwater and catch fish by extending their necks and catching their prey in a beak that has serrations that point toward the mouth so the fish can't escape. Their feathers are a shiny black and their eyes are blue as you can see in this photo. They can be seen with their wings spread out to dry in the sun.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!

Marbled Godwit and Sanderlings, Monterey, California

Bob was looking back through some of his old photo folders from our trips to the Monterey area and came across this photo of a marbled godwit and sanderlings foraging through the sand of San Carlos Beach at the Coast Guard Pier in Monterey, California.  Sanderlings are fun to watch running at the edge of the surf because of how fast their little legs have to go.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

 

El Capitan and the Big Dipper, May 2018, Yosemite National Park, California

A shot of El Capitan with the Big Dipper in the night sky.  El Cap is lit up by a nearly full moon.  Bob and Rick were camped at Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley in May 2018 when they decided to take a drive around the Valley enjoying seeing the key landmarks lit up by the nearly full moon.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

Beavertail cactus blossom in Arizona

 During our Spring Break 2017 trip through Utah and Arizona, Bob got this photo of a beavertail cactus in bloom.  Notice a little fly on one of the petals.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.

California Condor over Horseshoe Bend, Page, Arizona

 Bob was just looking through his folder covering our trip during Rick's spring break in 2017 and came upon this image of a tagged California Condor flying over Horseshoe Bend near Page, Arizona.  Condors have been reintroduced to the Vermilion Cliffs area in northern Arizona and this female is probably from that reintroduction.  You can see the tags on this condor on the front edge of each wing.  Also, on the left wing, on the right as you look at this photo, you can see the antenna of a transmitter. This condor was Number 53, which turned out to be a five-year-old female, according to The Peregrine Fund researcher that we ran into later in the trip.

Not that long ago, only 22 condors were left in the world, but thanks to captive breeding and reintroductions, there are now over 200 in the wild.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story.