Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • This absolutely stunning hoary comma butterfly was chased down and photographed in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park on a hot summer day. Common throughout most of Canada, this member of the brushfoot family of butterflies can also be found in most of the western United States at high altitudes where it searches for wild currant flowers.
    Hoary Comma
  • This attractive aster-loving skipper butterfly is found in the western half of North America from Northern Mexico to Southern Canada, and can be quite variable in appearance,  and coloration, but the distinct wing markings make it easy to identify. This one was found near Jackson, Wyoming where dozens were seen feeding on summer wildflowers in a field.
    Western Branded Skipper
  • This attractive aster-loving skipper butterfly is found in the western half of North America from Northern Mexico to Southern Canada, and can be quite variable in appearance,  and coloration, but the distinct wing markings make it easy to identify. This one was found near Jackson, Wyoming where dozens were seen feeding on summer wildflowers in a field.
    Western Branded Skipper
  • This attractive aster-loving skipper butterfly is found in the western half of North America from Northern Mexico to Southern Canada, and can be quite variable in appearance,  and coloration, but the distinct wing markings make it easy to identify. This one was found near Jackson, Wyoming where dozens were seen feeding on summer wildflowers in a field.
    Western Branded Skipper
  • A California tortoiseshell butterfly photographed in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park on a hot summer day. This West Coast member of the brushfoot family of butterflies is a real beauty, and can be found mostly anywhere in the United States from the Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains, and sometimes further east in search of its favorite larval food source, buckbrushes.
    California Tortoiseshell
  • The perfectly camouflaged underwings hide the brilliantly orange and black-pattered dorsal side of a California tortoiseshell butterfly, photographed here in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park. This West Coast member of the brushfoot family of butterflies is a real beauty, and can be found mostly anywhere in the United States from the Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains, and sometimes further east in search of its favorite larval food source, buckbrushes.
    California Tortoiseshell (Underwing ..iew)
  • Perfectly camouflaged underwings of the absolutely stunningly orange hoary comma butterfly that was chased down and photographed in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park on a hot summer day. Common throughout most of Canada, this member of the brushfoot family of butterflies can also be found in most of the western United States at high altitudes where it searches for wild currant flowers.
    Hoary Comma (Underwing View)
  • The notorious mountain camp thief, the gray jay is a very clever and charismatic member of the corvid family that includes blue jays, crows, ravens, and magpies. This one seen in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming shows the distinctive regional Rocky Mountain color variation with a nearly white head.
    Gray Jay
  • Also simply known as the yellow bumble bee, this colorful and large important nectarivorous pollinator is found throughout most of the Northern United  States and Southern Canada where it lives both above ground and below ground, typically in a location within 50 meters of a large food source (large patch of wildflowers). This particular bee was busily feeding from a bull thistle by Henderson Inlet on the Puget Sound, about five miles from Olympia Washington and a hot summer day.
    Golden Northern Bumble Bee
  • Also simply known as the yellow bumble bee, this colorful and large important nectarivorous pollinator is found throughout most of the Northern United  States and Southern Canada where it lives both above ground and below ground, typically in a location within 50 meters of a large food source (large patch of wildflowers). This particular bee was busily feeding from a bull thistle by Henderson Inlet on the Puget Sound, about five miles from Olympia Washington and a hot summer day.
    Golden Northern Bumble Bee
  • One of many bald eagles actively hunting over Lower Klamath Lake on a sunny late winter day in Northern California.
    Bald Eagle
  • Recently, the western scrub jay was split into two distinct species: the California scrub jay (which is a brighter blue and is found in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest) and the Woodhouse's scrub jay (which is a duller blue and found in more interior regions away from the coast.) Much like any jay or other corvid, these often loud and very inquisitive birds will eat just about anything they can overpower or steal. These California scrub jays are easy to recognize from their neighboring cousins by the distinct blue "collar" around the neck. This one was found screeching in a maple tree in Southern King County, Washington on a chilly afternoon.
    California Scrub Jay
  • Recently, the western scrub jay was split into two distinct species: the California scrub jay (which is a brighter blue and is found in the coastal regions of the Pacific Northwest) and the Woodhouse's scrub jay (which is a duller blue and found in more interior regions away from the coast.) Much like any jay or other corvid, these often loud and very inquisitive birds will eat just about anything they can overpower or steal. These California scrub jays are easy to recognize from their neighboring cousins by the distinct blue "collar" around the neck. This one was found screeching in a maple tree in Southern King County, Washington on a chilly afternoon.
    California Scrub Jay
  • Also simply known as the yellow bumble bee, this colorful and large important nectarivorous pollinator is found throughout most of the Northern United  States and Southern Canada where it lives both above ground and below ground, typically in a location within 50 meters of a large food source (large patch of wildflowers). This particular bee was busily feeding from a bull thistle by Henderson Inlet on the Puget Sound, about five miles from Olympia Washington and a hot summer day.
    Golden Northern Bumble Bee
  • Also simply known as the yellow bumble bee, this colorful and large important nectarivorous pollinator is found throughout most of the Northern United  States and Southern Canada where it lives both above ground and below ground, typically in a location within 50 meters of a large food source (large patch of wildflowers). This particular bee was busily feeding from a bull thistle by Henderson Inlet on the Puget Sound, about five miles from Olympia Washington and a hot summer day.
    Golden Northern Bumble Bee
  • Also simply known as the yellow bumble bee, this colorful and large important nectarivorous pollinator is found throughout most of the Northern United  States and Southern Canada where it lives both above ground and below ground, typically in a location within 50 meters of a large food source (large patch of wildflowers). This particular bee was busily feeding from a bull thistle by Henderson Inlet on the Puget Sound, about five miles from Olympia Washington and a hot summer day.
    Golden Northern Bumble Bee
  • This strikingly beautiful member of the tyrant flycatcher bird family was seen protecting its territory and small family group of four individuals in a tree overlooking a pond in the Warm Springs State Wildlife Management Area near Anaconda, Montana. Eastern kingbirds are known for their aggression towards other birds and other animals and will often dive-bomb intruders, like this one did to me while getting this photograph.
    Eastern Kingbird-2
  • Largest and heaviest of our native North American deer, moose are rapidly declining in numbers due to a number of factors other than habitat loss. Increasing numbers of white-tail and black-tail deer due to predator decline are introducing new parasitic diseases such as brainworm and liver fluke into already stressed populations of adult breeding moose. This cow was seen foraging in a pond near the Idaho-Wyoming border near Jackson Hole.
    Moose-2
  • This big male American bullfrog was found trying to woo a couple of nearby females to his territory with his incredibly loud croaking in a small pond connected to Soos Creek in Kent, Washington, about 20 miles south of Seattle. Native the to American Southeast, this large aggressive true frog is out-competing other frog species outside of it's native habitat and not only spreading to the West Coast, but globally as well!
    Bullfrog2020-3
  • This big male American bullfrog was found trying to woo a couple of nearby females to his territory with his incredibly loud croaking in a small pond connected to Soos Creek in Kent, Washington, about 20 miles south of Seattle. Native the to American Southeast, this large aggressive true frog is out-competing other frog species outside of it's native habitat and not only spreading to the West Coast, but globally as well!
    Bullfrog2020-1
  • While mostly harmless to humans (they might bite is self-preservation), robber flies are fierce ambush predators that wait perch patiently for a flying insect to fly by, then launch into the air, overpower then dispatch their prey mid-flight. They hunt grasshoppers, bees, wasps, butterflies and even other flies! This one was found hunting in the Oak Creek State Wildlife Area, just outside of Yakima, Washington on a hot, late-spring day.
    Robber Fly (Efferia sp.)
  • This interesting medium-sized wetland grasshopper can be found across most of Eastern North America as far north as Ontario. As part of the Acrididae taxonomical family, it is related to all of the grasshoppers that are best known as swarming grasshoppers - aka locusts. This one was found and photographed between Immokalee and Naples, Florida.
    Olive-green Swamp Grasshopper
  • The humble eastern cottontail is an explosive breeder. Common all over the Eastern half of North American, this species is quickly spreading not only across parts of the American West, most of Mexico and the Pacific Northwest, but to other continents around the world. This one was found nibbling on fresh springtime grasses and wildflowers in Seattle, Washington.
    Eastern Cottontail
  • As far as moths go, most of the smaller ones are pretty much drab and forgettable. Not the the red-fringed emerald. With a beautiful emerald green coloration with ruby red highlights and details, This one-inch beauty caught my eye as I was it resting on some wood one afternoon in Tallahassee, Florida. This moth can be found across much of the eastern half of North America from Florida to New Brunswick in the Canadian Maritimes west to Ontario to Texas back down in the south.
    Red-fringed Emerald Moth
  • Wind scorpions get their name because they are "fast like the wind". While related to scorpions, they fit into their own category or arachnids which also includes spiders. These highly aggressive solitary predators live in very dry, arid habitats where they hunt at night by actively zigzagging across across the ground or sand until they encounter and overpower an unfortunate insect, spider, scorpion or even the occasional lizard. Once pinned down with the two large front legs (pedipalps), the wind scorpion doesn't even wait to kill its prey. It will immediately start tearing into its meal with the two dark pincers near the mouth (they look like fangs) and devour it as quickly as possible, before the wind scorpion might in turn become the prey of some even larger predator. This one was stalked/chased and photographed in rural Cibola County, New Mexico, about 70 miles west of Albuquerque.
    Pale Windscorpion
  • The red-shanked grasshopper is a large member of the banded-winged grasshoppers found throughout most of the western United States Mexico, and north into the Canadian Prairies. It prefers open, arid grasslands and prairies where it feeds on a number of grasses and sedges. It is easily recognized by its bold pattern and red rear feet. When threatened, it will take a long "jump" as it flies to a nearby locations with a loud buzzing noise called crepitation. As it flies, it will reveal momentarily its beautiful yellow wings. This one was stalked/chased and photographed near the El Malpais National Monument in Cibola County, New Mexico.
    Red-shanked Grasshopper-1
  • The black-crowned night heron is one of the most elusive species of heron in North America, and can be found throughout most of the world on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Active primarily at night and nearly invisible during the day, these ambush hunters fish the water's edge for fish, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, mussels, clams, small rodents and anything else they can overpower. This one was found stalking its prey in the early evening in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Black-crowned Night Heron
  • A subspecies of the common ringlet,  the northwest ringlet is a member of the satyr subfamily of brushfoot butterflies and is a regular sight in the grasslands and plains of the northern western states with a slightly lighter coloration with brighter oranges.  This one was found near a lake in the sagebrush desert or rural Grant County in Central Washington.
    NorthwestRinglet-1.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there is ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-4.jpg
  • A gorgeous one-eyed sphinx moth rests on a birch tree in Kent, Washington on a breezy early summer morning. Found primarily in the Rocky and Cascade Mountain Ranges as well as along most of the US-Canadian border where there are ample poplar and willow (host species) trees, these large perfectly camouflaged moths will flash their brightly-colored warning signs including "false eyes" if disturbed.
    One-Eyed Sphinx Moth-5.jpg
  • An adult Cuban treefrog actively hunting late at night for prey among the foliage in Fort Myers, Florida. These aggressive and voracious natives to Cuba, the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas are wreaking havoc among Florida's native species of treefrogs, and are outcompeting them in terms of resources and habitat.
    Cuban Treefrog
  • Also known as the snakebird, the anhinga is a common fish-eating bird found along the coasts and interior of Florida and as far south as the Southern Amazon in Brazil. This female is in full breeding plumage on a warm spring day in Fort Myers, Florida. Note that beautiful blue eye-ring!
    Female Anhinga
  • Also known as the snakebird, the anhinga is a common fish-eating bird found along the coasts and interior of Florida and as far south as the Southern Amazon in Brazil. This female is in full breeding plumage on a warm spring day in Fort Myers, Florida. Note that beautiful blue eye-ring!
    Female Anhinga
  • Related to pelican and cormorants, this male anhinga is in breeding full plumage in the Florida Everglades. Common along the wetlands of the Gulf Coast on the United States, this fish-specialist is widely scattered across Central America and can be found throughout the whole of the Amazon River Basin in South America.
    Male Anhinga
  • Because anhingas don't have the oil glands found in other aquatic birds like ducks, gulls, swans, etc, when they come out of the water, they will need to dry their wings in order to fly. The advantage of not having this seemingly important oil so essential to buoyancy is that when underwater, the anhinga becomes an extremely fast and agile swimmer and a very efficient fish hunter. Throughout the Gulf Coast, this is a very typical sight: an anhinga perched above water,  wings spread drying in the wind and heat. This adult male was photographed in the Six-mile Cypress Slough in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Male Anhinga
  • A prairie falcon streaks past, pivots and dives while hunting along a large cliff in Northeastern Califonia in rural Modoc County. Very similar yet only slightly diminished in size and speed as its distant cousin, the peregrine falcon, the prairie falcon makes its home in the wide, open prairies and arid deserts of the American West interior.
    Prairie Falcon in Flight
  • A male blue dasher dragonfly perches on an old thistle flower that's gone to seed over a small pond in rural southern Georgia in Hardee County.
    Blue Dasher
  • A close-up of a desert bighorn ewe with nursing lamb in Zion National Park in Southern Utah. I was hiking through the hills when in the early evening I came upon a large group of about thirty individuals, including other rams, ewes, and lambs. It took me an hour to get this close for this shot.
    Desert Bighorn Ewe with Nursing Lamb
  • A close-up of a desert bighorn sheep in Zion National Park in Southern Utah. I was hiking through the hills when in the early evening I came upon a large group of about thirty individuals, including other rams, ewes, and lambs. It took me an hour to get this close for this shot.
    Mother Desert Bighorn Ewe with Lamb
  • A close-up of a desert bighorn sheep in Zion National Park in Southern Utah. I was hiking through the hills when in the early evening I came upon a large group of about thirty individuals, including other rams, ewes, and lambs. It took me an hour to get this close for this shot.
    Desert Bighorn Family in Southern Utah
  • A close-up of a desert bighorn ram in Zion National Park in Southern Utah. I was hiking through the hills when in the early evening I came upon a large group of about thirty individuals, including other rams, ewes, and lambs. It took me an hour to get this close for this shot.
    Desert Bighorn Ram
  • A close-up of a desert bighorn ewe in Zion National Park in Southern Utah. I was hiking through the hills when in the early evening I came upon a large group of about thirty individuals, including other rams, ewes, and lambs. It took me an hour to get this close for this shot.
    Desert Bighorn Ewe
  • A close-up of a desert bighorn ewe in Zion National Park in Southern Utah. I was hiking through the hills when in the early evening I came upon a large group of about thirty individuals, including other rams, ewes, and lambs. It took me an hour to get this close for this shot.
    Desert Bighorn Ewe
  • A close-up of a desert bighorn ram in Zion National Park in Southern Utah. I was hiking through the hills when in the early evening I came upon a large group of about thirty individuals, including other rams, ewes, and lambs. It took me an hour to get this close for this shot.
    Desert Bighorn Ram
  • Unusual but not unheard of, this northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) was unexpectedly found actively hunting in the grass near the beach on a rare February sunny day on the Oregon Coast in Oswald West State Park. One of the smallest of garter snakes in the region, it is also one of the hardest to identify because of the extreme variability in color and pattern. One of the best clues without counting scale numbers and patterns is the head, which tends to be quite small for a garter snake. This one was quite large for this smaller species - it was over 30 inches when the typical northwestern garter is usually around 24 inches. With a range from Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia in the north all the way south to Northern California, these snakes mostly inhabit the area between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range.
    Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophi..des)
  • Unusual but not unheard of, this northwestern garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) was unexpectedly found actively hunting in the grass near the beach on a rare February sunny day on the Oregon Coast in Oswald West State Park. One of the smallest of garter snakes in the region, it is also one of the hardest to identify because of the extreme variability in color and pattern. One of the best clues without counting scale numbers and patterns is the head, which tends to be quite small for a garter snake. This one was quite large for this smaller species - it was over 30 inches when the typical northwestern garter is usually around 24 inches. With a range from Vancouver Island in Canada's British Columbia in the north all the way south to Northern California, these snakes mostly inhabit the area between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountain Range.
    Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophi..des)
  • Large for a sandpiper, and of the four species of godwits in the world, the marbled godwit is the biggest. This beautiful cinnamon-mottled shorebird breeds in the central North America's Great Plains (Alberta, the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Nebraska) and travels to the coasts to winter where it can be found along the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly associated with marshes, mudflats and sand flats, these uncommon shorebirds can sometimes be seen on the beach, such as this one along with several others in Los Angeles, California near the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Marbled Godwit
  • Large for a sandpiper, and of the four species of godwits in the world, the marbled godwit is the biggest. This beautiful cinnamon-mottled shorebird breeds in the central North America's Great Plains (Alberta, the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Nebraska) and travels to the coasts to winter where it can be found along the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly associated with marshes, mudflats and sand flats, these uncommon shorebirds can sometimes be seen on the beach, such as this one along with several others in Los Angeles, California near the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Marbled Godwit
  • Large for a sandpiper, and of the four species of godwits in the world, the marbled godwit is the biggest. This beautiful cinnamon-mottled shorebird breeds in the central North America's Great Plains (Alberta, the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and Nebraska) and travels to the coasts to winter where it can be found along the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Mostly associated with marshes, mudflats and sand flats, these uncommon shorebirds can sometimes be seen on the beach, such as this one along with several others in Los Angeles, California near the Del Rey Lagoon.
    Marbled Godwit
  • Close-up portrait of a Gila monster. This venomous lizard is only one of two venomous lizards in the world. This one was photographed in the Sonoran Desert just outside of Tucson, Arizona.
    Gila Monster
  • One of the most striking lizards of my youth, the southeastern five-lined skink is also one of the fastest. This large adult female - chased down and photographed in Thomasville, Georgia - shows the beautiful stripes common to this species, as well as the brilliant blue tail. This skink looks like it had lost and regrown its tail at some point. Sometimes they will have a bright red nose, and males when in breeding season will lose the blue coloration and much of the stripes, while turning a more brownish color with a broad bright red head!
    Southeastern Five-lined Skink (Plest..tus)
  • This endemic subspecies of the eastern box turtle is found only in Florida except for a few small pockets in the extreme southern part of Georgia. I found this female in the oak scrub in the bluffs above the Apalachicola River in an extremely rural part of northern Florida.
    Florida Box Turtle
  • One of the many unusual and unique marine invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest, the mossy chiton is a nocturnal hunter of the intertidal zones of the rocky coastline. Recently, biologists have discovered that because they are sometimes above water, and sometimes underwater, their very primitive mineralized eyes have evolved in such a way that they can actually see images, and when they detect a predator coming close, they can react quickly and tighten their muscles, securing themselves to a rock or other hard surface, leaving them protected under their eight-pieced plated shells. This one was found on the sand above the surf line at low tide near Neah Bay, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula.
    Mossy Chiton
  • One of the many unusual and unique marine invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest, the mossy chiton is a nocturnal hunter of the intertidal zones of the rocky coastline. Recently, biologists have discovered that because they are sometimes above water, and sometimes underwater, their very primitive mineralized eyes have evolved in such a way that they can actually see images, and when they detect a predator coming close, they can react quickly and tighten their muscles, securing themselves to a rock or other hard surface, leaving them protected under their eight-pieced plated shells. This one was found just under the water's surface in a tide pool near Neah Bay, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula.
    Mossy Chiton
  • This round-tailed horned lizard would not have been spotted had it not suddenly dashed out from where it stood motionless right in front of me in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico's Socorro County. One of the smallest of the horned lizards, these delicate desert-dwellers make their living eating mostly harvester, honey-pot and big-headed ants, with the occasional termite, small insect or larvae. What is most amazing about them is their natural camouflage!
    Round-tail Horned Lizard
  • This attractive little autumnal moth was found on the side of a moss-covered tree stump in Bellevue, Washington on a fall afternoon. Very common, all in North America and Europe, it is highly variable in color and pattern and is associated with birch trees.
    Autumnal Moth (Epirrita autumnata)
  • This stunningly red relative of the firefly, the bloody net-winged beetle uses aposematic coloration (warning colors) to its advantage. The bright red and black coloration/pattern is a strong warning to others that might want to eat it that it is toxic to eat and best left alone. This one was photographed just as it landed on a desert shrub below the Chisos Mountains in West Texas, near the Rio Grande River.
    Bloody Net-winged Beetle
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • This medium-sized, common and true toad is found in southeastern Arizona, western Oklahoma, most of Texas and nearly all of the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Coahuila. It is most often found in desert and grassland habitats, where it feeds on ants, beetles and other arthropods it can overpower, and makes use of many different types of structures for its protection from predation, such as under logs, animal burrows or simply burying itself in mud. This one was found and photographed after a flash flood near the Rio Grande, near the Mexican border in West Texas' Big Bend National Park.
    Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus)
  • Found primarily in the arid regions of Texas and Northern Mexico, this huge slate millipede is also known as the Chihuahuan millipede. I found by this one by sheer accident on a chilly spring morning in the Big Bend area of Western Texas as I was winding my way up toward the Chisos Mountains.
    Slate Millipede (Comanchelus chihuanus)
  • The California gull is a medium-sized, common migratory gull found across most of the western half of North America. Primarily feeding on fish, insects and eggs, it is a well-known scavenger of trash and garbage. It breeds far inland as far as Colorado north to Canada's Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, but it always returns to the Pacific Coast in the winter. This one was among many found in Los Angeles, California near Del Rey Lagoon on a warm, sunny springtime afternoon.
    California Gull
  • Often seen diving to depths of more than 40 feet (suspected at going even deeper to 150 feet or more), the Brandt's cormorant is found along North America's Pacific Coast from Alaska to the Gulf of California in Mexico where it hunts for fish above the ocean floor. It is often associated with sea lions. This one was seen near Los Angeles' Del Rey Lagoon on a sunny California spring morning.
    Brandt's Cormorant
  • Smallest of all the sandpipers, this least sandpiper was actively hunting among the rocks and pools of water along the beach of Del Rey Lagoon in Los Angeles, California on a sunny spring morning. This amazing tiny migratory bird breeds in the arctic, yet spends its winters as far south as Chile and Brazil!
    Least Sandpiper
  • A curious yearling California sea lion near LA's Del Rey Lagoon catches some rays on a beautiful sunny California day.
    California Sea Lion Yearling
  • A view of the lesser striped scorpion (Hoffmannius coahuilae) showing how well it blends in with its environment. Normally a burrowing species, this one was found under a rock and gently coaxing onto the top of this rock for this photograph before being gently placed safely back under its original rock.
    Lesser Stripetail Scorpion
  • A female eastern collared lizard hunts in the middle of a Texas springtime day in the Guadalupe Mountains for insects, spiders and scorpions on the side of an arroyo.
    Eastern Collared Lizard
  • Close-up of a beautiful curious eastern collared lizard in Northwestern Texas as she scrambles across the Guadalupe Mountains in search insects, spiders and scorpions in the Chihuahuan Desert.
    Eastern Collared Lizard
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world). This beautiful member of the Phrynosomatid lizard family has evolved white scales to enable it to blend in with the white gypsum sands. I wouldn't have seen it if it hadn't moved.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • A bombardier beetle (a type of darkling beetle) stands out in extreme contrast against the sand dunes of White Sands National Monument in Southern New Mexico, a wild landscape of gypsum sands piled into massive sand dunes.
    Bombardier Beetle
  • The infamous and rare, bleached earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata ruthveni) - a lizard with an evolutionary adaptation to living on the white gypsum sand dunes on White Sands (the largest gypsum sand dune desert in the world) found resting in the shade of an enormous dune late in the morning of a bright and sunny spring day.
    Bleached Earless Lizard
  • This tiny Townsend's vole made the risky dash across an unpaved forest road in the deep forest of North Cascades National Park in Washington State near the Canadian border just as I happened to be passing by.
    Townsend's Vole
  • A golden-crowned sparrow perches on a blackberry limb on a chilly autumn afternoon in Medina, Washington.
    Golden-Crowned Sparrow
  • A male northern red-breasted sapsucker hunts for insects on a maple tree in Kent, Washington on a sunny winter day. This beautiful large woodpecker is found along the Pacific coast of North America from Baja California in Mexico to Alaska.
    Northern Red-breasted Sapsucker
  • Also known as the snakebird, the anhinga is a common fish-eating bird found along the coasts and interior of Florida. This one was in wait in a wild cocoplum while hunting near the Sweetwater Strand near Naples, Florida.
    Anhinga
  • This juvenile great horned owl would have gone completely unnoticed had it not been making the most horrendous racket in a tree in Sweetwater, Wyoming as I was photographing prairie dogs.
    Juvenile Great Horned Owl
  • A juvenile grey squirrel cautiously watches from the safety of height and distance in a tree in the Fakahatchee Strand - part of the Northern Everglades near Naples, Florida.
    Juvenile Grey Squirrel
  • An adult barred owl watches from the hardwoods at the northern end of the Fakahatchee Strand early in the morning in Southwest Florida near Golden Gate.
    Fakahatchee Barred Owl
  • Close-up portrait of a laughing gull in Apalachicola, Florida on the northern Gulf Coast. A shrimp boat had just pulled in to port, and this sneaky opportunist was just waiting for an easy meal!
    Laughing Gull Portrait
  • A baby great horned owl - or owlet - that had fallen or had been possibly pushed out of the nest by a parent. Huge for a chick, this one was probably old enough to fend for itself, and with parents who probably still watched and maybe even protected it from a distance for a time.
    Baby Great Horned Owl
  • Sunlight reflected off the water illuminates a beautiful snowy egret as it congregates with other snowy egrets in the mangroves of Sanibel Island in Southwest Florida during breeding season.
    Snowy Egret
  • An American pika stands guard over its rocky scree near Lake Mowich on Mount Rainier. Like most of these rabbit-relatives, pikas send out a loud, barking warning to let others know that a potential threat has wandered into their territory.
    American Pika
  • A juvenile yellow-crowned night-heron close-up as it hunts for crabs and fish on the mangrove backwaters on SW Florida's Sanibel Island.
    Juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron
  • A male acmon blue butterfly in Central Washington drinks moisture from the mud after a soaking summer rain in the rural canyons south of Yakima, Washington.
    Acmon Blue Close-up
  • A pair of Boisduval's blues, land briefly just after a summer rain in the hot, arid sagebrush country of Kittitas County, Washington. This shot shows both the forewing, and the hindwing.
    Boisduval's Blue Butterflies
  • Touted as the world's smallest butterfly (at least this is true in North America) this one was one of hundreds I found at late dusk in the Moab Desert all seemingly asleep among a few bushes on the side of the road in Arches National Park in Eastern Utah. The wingspan at best is half an inch.
    Western Pygmy-Blue
  • The desert cottontail (Audubon's cottontail) is a common rabbit native to the American Southwest, very similar to other cottontails around the world, but adapted to live in arid, desert-like environments. It gets all of its water from the grasses, cacti and other forbs. It is also a very important food source for the many carnivores of the desert including golden and bald eagles, great horned owls, ferruginous hawks, badgers, coyotes, foxes, bobcats and humans. This one was photographed early on a summer evening in the Moab Desert in Eastern Utah.
    Desert Cottontail (Audubon's Cottontail)
  • This spiny desert lizard (probably a  juvenile male)  pauses in its hunt for insects, spiders and the occasional centipede under the fallen palm fronds in the Coachella Valley Oasis.
    Desert Spiny Lizard
  • The western side-blotched lizard is a subspecies of the common side-blotched lizard found over most the the American Southwest. This one photographed in Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California's Mojave Desert was the most numerous of lizard species I'd found.
    Western Side-blotched Lizard
  • The plateau side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis) is one of five distinct subspecies of the side-blotched lizard found across the western United States, found only in Eastern Utah, Western Colorado, Northeastern Nevada and the extreme northwestern tip of New Mexico. Unlike its boldly-patterned cousins found to the south, west and southwest, the plateau side-blotched lizard tends to have a more spotted pattern, characterized by many tiny blue spots, unique to this subspecies. This one was photographed in Eastern Utah's Moab Desert after a sudden summer storm.
    Plateau Side-Blotched Lizard
  • This white-tailed deer was apparently used to people as it let me get this close to it just outside of Tallahassee on the Florida Panhandle. Extremely common all over the United States and Canada, its range extends from the Atlantic Ocean and west all the way to the Rocky Mountains (fantastic natural barrier), where its cousin - the black-tailed deer completes the range all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Somehow the white-tailed deer has nearly made it to the Pacific Ocean in Canada, and has a strong toehold in all of Central American and the northern part of South America. This is a huge native range for an ungulate (deer, elk, moose family) and it has been introduced in many other parts of the word such and the Caribbean Islands, Europe and even New Zealand.
    White-tailed Deer
  • This southern cricket frog (probably the subspecies called Florida cricket frog) is nearly perfectly camouflaged in the thick, humid undergrowth of South Florida's inland wetlands near Immokalee, Florida where there are plenty of insects and plenty of cover from the numerous snakes, birds and alligators that share its habitat.
    Southern Cricket Frog
  • A female Horace's duskywing rests on some sort of aster just outside of Punta Gorda, Florida in a pineland scrub. A somewhat small and plain member of the skipper family of butterflies (and easily confused for a moth) this easily photographed  species has a home range from all over the Eastern United States and all the way west to the Rocky Mountains, which is an effective natural barrier.
    Horace's Duskywing
  • Eventually the King of the Florida Everglades ends up getting eaten. This alligator met its demise in the Fakahatchee Strand, and provided a meal, ready to eat for this black vulture. Without carrion birds such as this to keep the ecosystem clean from decay and rot, very little of the habitat would be safe for wildlife.
    Black Vulture
  • California sea lions and Steller's sea lions share space and safety as a storm rolls in on Oregon's Simpson Reef in Coos County. These huge marine mammals will regularly group together in bad weather and take shelter on the numerous rocks found just off the beach all along the West Coast of North America. The lighter brown sea lions are the Steller's sea lions which are on the endangered species list, while the dark brown sea lions are the common California sea lions.
    Sea Lion Colony
  • One of the most frustrating of all birds to get on camera, the violet-green swallow is an extremely fast, small swallow found in all western American states, most of Mexico, and British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada. This one paused for a lucky second halfway up a rocky cliff wall in a canyon west of Yakima, Washington.
    Violet-Green Swallow
  • Occasionally heard in remote canyons and rocky cliffs, but seldom seen, this curious canyon wren stayed with me for some time as I wound my way up a narrow trail up the steep basalt cliffs of White Pass near Naches, Washington.
    Canyon Wren
  • A Northwestern Pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus oreganus) in strike pose after being caught then released among the ponderosa pines in the Eastern Cascade Mountains in Central Washington. Had I known at the time how highly venomous these particular rattlers were compared to other North American rattlesnakes I might have thought twice. Interestingly, the rattle sounded more like a cicada than your typical warning.
    Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
  • A pale male dark-eyed junco perches in a tree between Seattle and Tacoma, WA.
    Dark-eyed Junco
  • A barred owl focuses on an angry dive-bombing robin that is taking exception to a predator so close to home in an old-growth forest near Enumclaw, WA.
    Barred Owl
  • A female common ground crab spider of the genus Xysticus (probably X. cristatus) guards her egg sac in the sagebrush desert in Central Washington's Ginkgo Petrified Forest. This drab brown crab spider is in stark contrast to those crab spiders often found camouflaged brightly with vivd colors among flowers, and relies on active hunting over ambush predation. Sadly, this spider will complete her life cycle and die naturally before her spiderlings hatch and disperse to renew the cycle of life, but for now they are well protected and cared for.
    Ground Crab Spider with Egg Sac
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