Leighton Photography & Imaging

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  • Eastern kingbird seen in the Big Cypress National Preserve. It kept landing near us and seemed to want to be photographed!
    Eastern Kingbird
  • 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
  • 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-1
  • Jive turkey pose! This noisy and unsuspecting chachalaca was found and photographed just as it noticed me with this great surprised pose and look in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in near Weslaco, Texas. At the northern tip of its range, this large upland game bird can be found from the southern tip of Texas, throughout Mexico and south to Central America. Noisy as other members of the galliform family (turkeys, chickens, pheasants, grouse, etc.), the name chachalaca means "chatterbox" - a fitting name!
    Plain Chachalaca (Ortalis vetula)
  • Shockingly beautiful and lightning fast, the buff-bellied hummingbird is found along the Gulf of Mexico from the Panhandle of Florida to the just south of the Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and into Belize. This incredibly colorful male was found and photographed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near Weslaco, Texas was visiting several wildflowers in search of nectar.
    Male Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazi..sis)
  • Largest of our North American wrens, this stocky and practically fearless songbird actually makes its presence known instead of hiding in the cacti where it makes its home. They are found across the American Southwestern US border from California to The Gulf Coast, and can be found as far south as Central Mexico. This was one of several found in a huge prickly pear patch in Mission, Texas, near the Mexican border.
    Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunnei..lus)
  • Largest of our North American wrens, this stocky and practically fearless songbird actually makes its presence known instead of hiding in the cacti where it makes its home. They are found across the American Southwestern US border from California to The Gulf Coast, and can be found as far south as Central Mexico. This was one of several found in a huge prickly pear patch in Mission, Texas, near the Mexican border.
    Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunnei..lus)
  • Unusual for a swallowtail, the clodius parnassian is mostly white-colored and is a member of the snow apollo family of butterflies. It is usually found in the mountainous regions of the western states where it feeds on a large variety of native wildflowers. This one was found about 15 miles northwest of Mount Rainier in a meadow feeding on wild blackberry flowers near the Carbon River in Washington State.
    Clodius Parnassian
  • This northern walkingstick was almost missed as it perched, perfectly camouflaged as a twig on a prickly pear cactus in a field in Mission, Texas. This amazingly cool, herbivorous stick insect (also known as a phasmid) has a wide geographic range in North America, and can be found in all of the 38 states east of (and including) New Mexico and North Dakota, and can be found in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
    Northern Walkingstick-3
  • This common, large flycatcher is frequently seen (or just heard) in the Eastern half of North America high in the treetops where it actively and aggressively hunts insects and ripe fruits and even the occasional small invertebrate such as lizards. This one was seen perched out in the open above the black waters of the Corkscrew Swamp on a cool November evening in Southwest Florida.
    Great Crested Flycatcher-5
  • This beautiful black-and-white warbler is a forest and swamp-loving songbird and is the only member of the genus Mniotilta. Found across most of Eastern North America, it spends its winters in warmer climates from Texas and Florida down to northern South America. This one was found and photographed while it was hunting through swarms of flying insects in Southwest Florida's Corkscrew Swamp near Naples on a chilly November evening.
    Black-and-White Warbler-2
  • 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 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
  • 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)
  • Also simply known as the yellow bumblebee, 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 Bumblebee
  • One of many bald eagles actively hunting over Lower Klamath Lake on a sunny late winter day in Northern California.
    Bald Eagle
  • Although this isn't widely known, the big, black & white "ugly" ducks seen in parks and cities around the United States, Canada, Europe and parts of Australia and New Zealand called Muscovy ducks are actually a native of the New World, despite their "Russian-sounding" name. They are found natively from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas south all the way to Uruguay and Northern Argentina. A very large duck, it was already domesticated in pre-Columbian times by the Aztecs before Europeans arrived in North America, who spread them around the world as a food source. This impressive drake (male duck) was found and photographed in its native range near some nesting trees in McAllen, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley.
    Muscovy Duck
  • There is no mistaking the presence of a great kiskadee. It has a sound like the cross between a monkey and a parrot, and it is LOUD! The great kiskadee is a member of the tyrant flycatcher family and is related to other flycatchers and kingbirds, and just reaches the United States in the southern tip of Texas in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and is common as far South as Argentina. It can be found in nearly all of South America except along the Pacific Coast. This one was found screaming its head off in some trees next to an urban path in McAllen, Texas on a very hot summer afternoon.
    Great Kiskadee
  • There is no mistaking the presence of a great kiskadee. It has a sound like the cross between a monkey and a parrot, and it is LOUD! The great kiskadee is a member of the tyrant flycatcher family and is related to other flycatchers and kingbirds, and just reaches the United States in the southern tip of Texas in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and is common as far South as Argentina. It can be found in nearly all of South America except along the Pacific Coast. This one was found screaming its head off in some trees next to an urban path in McAllen, Texas on a very hot summer afternoon.
    Great Kiskadee
  • The Rio Grande ground squirrel is a somewhat newly named species that was once thought to be a subspecies of the Mexican ground squirrel, until DNA sequencing showed that it belonged to a completely different genus. Native to South and West Texas, Southeastern New Mexico and much of Northeastern Mexico south of the Rio Grande, this handsome little squirrel is often found standing tall on its back legs as it surveys its surroundings, keeping an eye out for predators. At the first sign of trouble, it is ready to dive down into one of its many burrows at the first sign of trouble. This one was found on the side of an irrigation canal in McAllen, Texas.
    Rio Grande Ground Squirrel
  • The Rio Grande ground squirrel is a somewhat newly named species that was once thought to be a subspecies of the Mexican ground squirrel, until DNA sequencing showed that it belonged to a completely different genus. Native to South and West Texas, Southeastern New Mexico and much of Northeastern Mexico south of the Rio Grande, this handsome little squirrel is often found standing tall on its back legs as it surveys its surroundings, keeping an eye out for predators. At the first sign of trouble, it is ready to dive down into one of its many burrows at the first sign of trouble. This one was found on the side of an irrigation canal in McAllen, Texas.
    Rio Grande Ground Squirrel
  • The Rio Grande ground squirrel is a somewhat newly named species that was once thought to be a subspecies of the Mexican ground squirrel, until DNA sequencing showed that it belonged to a completely different genus. Native to South and West Texas, Southeastern New Mexico and much of Northeastern Mexico south of the Rio Grande, this handsome little squirrel is often found standing tall on its back legs as it surveys its surroundings, keeping an eye out for predators. At the first sign of trouble, it is ready to dive down into one of its many burrows at the first sign of trouble. This one was found on the side of an irrigation canal in McAllen, Texas.
    Rio Grande Ground Squirrel
  • An absolute stunner! Probably the coolest of all the orbweaver spiders, the spiny-backed orbweaver looks like it was designed by an anime artist and not something you'd find out in the wild, especially like this particularly beautiful one found on Sanibel Island in Southwest Florida. Harmless to humans, these tiny spiders are most often found after walking into one of their suspended webs while walking in between trees.
    Spiny-backed Orbweaver (Gasteracanth..mis)
  • A beautifully-colored fox squirrel with reddish fur searches for seeds and nuts on a late winter day in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near Weslaco, Texas. Common all over the Eastern United States, Northern Mexico, and some of the Canadian provinces such as Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario, this is the largest squirrel species in North America and can vary wildly in coloration from silvery-gray, reddish brown, jet black and sometimes white leucistic (not albino) ones can be found such as one group in Tallahassee, Florida.
    Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
  • The snowy egret is one of the New World's most widespread egrets, found pretty much everywhere from Southern Canada to Argentina where it is often found along just about any kind of water source, pond, lake, ocean or river where it can find food. With its distinctive bright yellow feet and lores (area in front of the eyes), white plumage and long thin necks this beautiful water bird is often curious and not terribly shy around people. This one was photographed by a lake in Southern Hidalgo County near Weslaco, Texas.
    Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
  • The snowy egret is one of the New World's most widespread egrets, found pretty much everywhere from Southern Canada to Argentina where it is often found along just about any kind of water source, pond, lake, ocean or river where it can find food. With its distinctive bright yellow feet and lores (area in front of the eyes), white plumage and long thin necks this beautiful water bird is often curious and not terribly shy around people. This one was photographed by a lake in Southern Hidalgo County near Weslaco, Texas.
    Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
  • The snowy egret is one of the New World's most widespread egrets, found pretty much everywhere from Southern Canada to Argentina where it is often found along just about any kind of water source, pond, lake, ocean or river where it can find food. With its distinctive bright yellow feet and lores (area in front of the eyes), white plumage and long thin necks this beautiful water bird is often curious and not terribly shy around people. This one was photographed by a lake in Southern Hidalgo County near Weslaco, Texas.
    Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
  • The long-billed thrasher is a boldly patterned member of the mimid family (mockingbirds, catbirds, etc.) and is found roughly in a triangular territory that includes all of South Texas and runs south to Monterey and Veracruz in Eastern Mexico. Like other thrashers, it gets its name from its habit of "thrashing" the ground and kicking up leaves and branches in search of food. Interestingly, the long-billed thrasher has a bill that is somewhat ordinary in length compared to some of our other longer-billed native thrashers. This one was found sneaking along the undergrowth in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Hidalgo County, Texas near the US-Mexico border.
    Long-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma long..tre)
  • Of all of the neotropical songbirds of North America, the black-crested titmouse has to be the cutest of them all! A member of the Paridae family of birds (which includes chickadees and other titmice), these little passerines are found in forests and riparian environments where they hunt for seeds, nuts, berries, insects and insect eggs from Central Mexico north through Central and Western Texas and just barely into Oklahoma. This adorable little one was found flitting among the trees in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley near Weslaco in Hidalgo County.
    Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus a..tus)
  • Of all of the neotropical songbirds of North America, the black-crested titmouse has to be the cutest of them all! A member of the Paridae family of birds (which includes chickadees and other titmice), these little passerines are found in forests and riparian environments where they hunt for seeds, nuts, berries, insects and insect eggs from Central Mexico north through Central and Western Texas and just barely into Oklahoma. This adorable little one was found flitting among the trees in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley near Weslaco in Hidalgo County.
    Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus a..tus)
  • With its muted yellow coloration with a hidden orange crown, the orange-crowned warbler is one of the most drab of the North American wood warblers but an exciting find nonetheless. This songbird may be small, but it has an enormous range in North America, from Guatemala north to Alaska and the Canadian Arctic, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans! This one was found in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near Weslaco, Texas hopping along the ground and peering into nooks and crannies of tree bark in search of food.
    Orange-crowned Warbler (Leiothlypis ..ata)
  • The desert woodpecker! This small woodpecker is often seen throughout the American Southwest where it hunts among the cactus and mesquite for insects, larvae and cactus fruit in the one place you might not expect to find woodpeckers thriving. This secretive woodpecker can be found anywhere from the dry American states south to Central America, but you'll most likely hear them rather than see them. Patience afforded me this unexpected sight in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in South Texas near the US-Mexico border.
    Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Dryobates ..ris)
  • Native to Cuba and the Bahamas, the brown anole has been spreading across the Caribbean Islands, and into the United States and Mexico where it is often outcompeting with native wildlife, such as the American green anole. It is believed to spreading not so much by the pet trade, but by the fact that these lizards will often lay their eggs in the soil of potted plants, which many of these get imported and exported as landscape or house plants. This particular one was found sunning itself on a log alongside a green anole that scampered off as I was trying to photograph both of them together in a park near Weslaco, Texas.
    Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei)
  • Shockingly beautiful and lightning fast, the buff-bellied hummingbird is found along the Gulf of Mexico from the Panhandle of Florida to the just south of the Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and into Belize. This incredibly colorful male was found and photographed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near Weslaco, Texas was visiting several wildflowers in search of nectar.
    Male Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazi..sis)
  • The black-chinned hummingbird is a common hummingbird at lower elevations in most of the American Southwest and parts of the Pacific Northwest, occasionally wintering near the Gulf of Mexico, but generally moving much further south along Mexico's Pacific Coast for the colder months of the year. This female was waiting her turn as some of the larger buff-bellied hummingbirds were chasing her away from the wildflowers she was trying to feed from. She finally paused for a moment for this shot in the Lower Rio Grande Valley on a warm winter morning near Weslaco, Texas.
    Female Black-chinned Hummingbird (Ar..dri)
  • Shockingly beautiful and lightning fast, the buff-bellied hummingbird is found along the Gulf of Mexico from the Panhandle of Florida to the just south of the Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and into Belize. This incredibly colorful male was found and photographed in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near Weslaco, Texas was visiting several wildflowers in search of nectar.
    Male Buff-bellied Hummingbird (Amazi..sis)
  • One of the 14 native doves to North America, the white-winged dove is one of the larger species and is rapidly spreading out of its native range in the desert of the American Southwest, Mexico, Central American and the Caribbean northward into American cities as it adapts to encroaching human development and disappearing natural habitat. These gorgeous doves are easy to spot with the white edges of their wings and the bright blue area around the eyes. This one was found and photographed new Weslaco Texas, in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near the Mexican border.
    White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)
  • One of the 14 native doves to North America, the white-winged dove is one of the larger species and is rapidly spreading out of its native range in the desert of the American Southwest, Mexico, Central American and the Caribbean northward into American cities as it adapts to encroaching human development and disappearing natural habitat. These gorgeous doves are easy to spot with the white edges of their wings and the bright blue area around the eyes. This one was found and photographed new Weslaco Texas, in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near the Mexican border.
    White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)
  • Rather drab compared to some of the other tropical and subtropical doves, the white-tipped dove has a beautiful reddish-pink eye ring and live primarily in South and Central America, but can be found as far north as the very southern tip of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. This one was seen and photographed foraging for seeds near Weslaco, Texas in Hidalgo County near the Mexican border.
    White-tipped Dove (Leptotila verreauxi)
  • The Inca dove is one of the prettiest doves found in the New World. Not because it has brightly colored plumage or is large and showy, but because this small dove has feathers that very much resemble fish scales and make for a very intricate and high-contract pattern, which in turn makes for excellent camouflage in the their native habitat. Native to Central America to the Southern United States from Texas to California, this pair was seen foraging for seeds in near the Mexican border near Weslaco, Texas.
    Inca Doves (Columbina inca)
  • One of the 14 native doves to North America, the white-winged dove is one of the larger species and is rapidly spreading out of its native range in the desert of the American Southwest, Mexico, Central American and the Caribbean northward into American cities as it adapts to encroaching human development and disappearing natural habitat. These gorgeous doves are easy to spot with the white edges of their wings and the bright blue area around the eyes. This one was found and photographed new Weslaco Texas, in the Lower Rio Grande Valley near the Mexican border.
    White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)
  • The green jay is one of the most spectacularly colored birds outside of the parrot family. A relative of crows, magpies and blue jays, the green jay is a very intelligent species of corvid and is known to use stick tools to pry insects out from loose tree bark. They are found throughout parts of Central and South America and their northern range just reaches just to the southern tip of Texas, where this one was found in the Rio Grande Valley.
    Green Jay (Cyanocorax luxuosus)
  • There is no mistaking the presence of a great kiskadee. It has a sound like the cross between a monkey and a parrot, and it is LOUD! The great kiskadee is a member of the tyrant flycatcher family and is related to other flycatchers and kingbirds, and just reaches the United States in the southern tip of Texas in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and is common as far South as Argentina. It can be found in nearly all of South America except along the Pacific Coast. This one was found flying through the foliage near Weslaco, Texas and just happened to land long enough for this shot.
    Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus)
  • There is no mistaking the presence of a great kiskadee. It has a sound like the cross between a monkey and a parrot, and it is LOUD! The great kiskadee is a member of the tyrant flycatcher family and is related to other flycatchers and kingbirds, and just reaches the United States in the southern tip of Texas in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and is common as far South as Argentina. It can be found in nearly all of South America except along the Pacific Coast. This one was found flying through the foliage near Weslaco, Texas and just happened to land long enough for this shot.
    Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus)
  • There is no mistaking the presence of a great kiskadee. It has a sound like the cross between a monkey and a parrot, and it is LOUD! The great kiskadee is a member of the tyrant flycatcher family and is related to other flycatchers and kingbirds, and just reaches the United States in the southern tip of Texas in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, and is common as far South as Argentina. It can be found in nearly all of South America except along the Pacific Coast. This one was found flying through the foliage near Weslaco, Texas and just happened to land long enough for this shot.
    Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus)
  • Found all across nearly all of the Northern Hemisphere and Southeast Asia and common in many parts of Africa and India, the northern shoveler is a dabbling duck that has a large, spade-like bill that it uses to filter out tiny plants, seeds and invertebrates from the water. This beautiful drake (male duck) was found in a pond in the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge near the Texas-Mexico border.
    Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)
  • Black-bellied whistling duck is one of the coolest and most beautiful southern dabbling ducks that visit the southern United States, with their tricolor black, tan and brown plumage and bright orange bills and feet.  Widespread from the southern tips of Texas and Arizona to nearly all of Central and South America, their range is creeping northward and they have been seen more and more frequently in more southern states including Florida and the Caribbean. This pair was just two of hundreds found and photographed in a pond near Weslaco, Texas on a late winter morning.
    Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks (Dendr..lis)
  • Easily one of the prettiest of all of our native North American woodpeckers, this stunning male landed on this branch as I was trying to photograph some migratory warblers and completely stole the show. This species can be found in most of Central America and north to Southern and Central Texas and just barely into Oklahoma. This one was photographed in a park in Harlingen, Texas  in the Rio Grande Valley.
    Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpe..ons)
  • Very common and easily recognized across most of the eastern half of North American and along most the US/Mexico border, excluding California, the red cardinal (and in particular - the bright red male as seen here) one of our most common backyard birds. They are often seen in pairs searching for seeds and insects in bushes and on the ground, or frequenting bird feeder. This one was a surprise for me, because I've been unsuccessful in getting a decent shot of a nice bright red male for 20 years until last week in South Texas. This one suddenly landed right in front of me and stayed there for about 5 minutes while I had a blast photographing him from different angles.
    Northern Cardinal
  • The green jay is one of the most spectacularly colored birds outside of the parrot family. A relative of crows, magpies and blue jays, the green jay is a very intelligent species of corvid and is known to use stick tools to pry insects out from loose tree bark. They are found throughout parts of Central and South America and their northern range just reaches just to the southern tip of Texas, where this one was found in the Rio Grande Valley.
    Green Jay
  • A pair of spiny softshell turtles - probably the Texas subspecies (Apalone spinifera emoryi)  which is only found near the Rio Grande - keeping a wary eye out for alligators in a pond in next to Estero Llano Lake in Weslaco, Texas. Large with a somewhat flexible, leathery shell, the spiny softshell turtle and all of it's subspecies can be found in most freshwater lakes, rivers and ponds where the water is clean and has a range from Southern Canada to Mexico in mostly the Eastern and Central part of the continent.
    Spiny Softshell Turtle (Apalone spin..era)
  • Largest of our North American wrens, this stocky and practically fearless songbird actually makes its presence known instead of hiding in the cacti where it makes its home. They are found across the American Southwestern US border from California to The Gulf Coast, and can be found as far south as Central Mexico. This was one of several found in a huge prickly pear patch in Mission, Texas, near the Mexican border.
    Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunnei..lus)
  • Largest of our North American wrens, this stocky and practically fearless songbird actually makes its presence known instead of hiding in the cacti where it makes its home. They are found across the American Southwestern US border from California to The Gulf Coast, and can be found as far south as Central Mexico. This was one of several found in a huge prickly pear patch in Mission, Texas, near the Mexican border.
    Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunnei..lus)
  • Largest of our North American wrens, this stocky and practically fearless songbird actually makes its presence known instead of hiding in the cacti where it makes its home. They are found across the American Southwestern US border from California to The Gulf Coast, and can be found as far south as Central Mexico. This was one of several found in a huge prickly pear patch in Mission, Texas, near the Mexican border.
    Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunnei..lus)
  • A Texas patch-nosed snake (Salvadora grahamiae lineata), a subspecies of the more common and widespread eastern patch-nosed snake warms up in the sunshine on a surprisingly chilly winter late afternoon in Southern Hidalgo County in Mission, Texas - about 5 miles form the Mexican border. This snake gets its name from the unusually large scale on the tip of its snout and is completely harmless to people and reach about 2 to 3 feet in length. This snake primarily eats anything they can catch which is typically lizards, eggs, small rodents and other snakes.
    Texas Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora g..ata)
  • Unusual for a swallowtail, the clodius parnassian is mostly white-colored and is a member of the snow apollo family of butterflies. It is usually found in the mountainous regions of the western states where it feeds on a large variety of native wildflowers. This one was found about 15 miles northwest of Mount Rainier in a meadow feeding on wild blackberry flowers near the Carbon River in Washington State.
    Clodius Parnassian
  • The smallest of all of North America's woodpeckers, the downy woodpecker is also one of the most widespread with a range covering most of the continent except for the most arid parts of the American Southwest. This adult female was found actively hunting for insects in the trees above Ingalls Creek in Washington's Cascade Mountains on a very cold, snowy January afternoon.
    Downy Woodpecker
  • Common throughout most of the United States and Canada (except the Southeastern states) the horned lark (Eremophila alpestris) is a passerine songbird that holds an enormous range of not only habitat, but also altitude. It can be found from sea level to alpine regions up to thirteen thousand feet. Wherever they may be encountered, they might be considered impossible to see, such as this juvenile that is so perfectly camouflaged in its dry and dusty home in the hills above Cowiche Canyon near Yakima, Washington that I didn't even notice it until it moved.
    Horned Lark-2
  • This beautiful, large butterfly could easily be mistaken for a swallowtail, but the Weidemeyer's admiral is another member of the brushfoot family (same as the monarch) and is mostly associated with the forested areas near streams in the Rocky Mountains and American Great Basin where it can easily find its larval host trees: aspens chokecherries and western serviceberries. This one was found high in the mountains near Aspen, Colorado in the White River National Forest.
    Weidemeyer's Admiral - 1
  • This beautiful, large butterfly could easily be mistaken for a swallowtail, but the Weidemeyer's admiral is another member of the brushfoot family (same as the monarch) and is mostly associated with the forested areas near streams in the Rocky Mountains and American Great Basin where it can easily find its larval host trees: aspens chokecherries and western serviceberries. This one was found high in the mountains near Aspen, Colorado in the White River National Forest.
    Weidemeyer's Admiral - 2
  • A perfect example of a Hydaspe fritillary butterfly feeds on a showy milkweed in the Carson National Forest of Northern New Mexico. This species is a somewhat common brushfoot butterfly found in the western mountains of North America, especially in the Sierras, Cascades and Rocky Mountains.
    Hydaspe Fritillary
  • One of the most beautiful and well-known butterflies found around the world, the painted lady is commonly found across all of North America, but only less so in the southeastern-most part of the continent such as Florida and South Georgia. This one was found and photographed feeding on the nectar of the locally native Siam weed in rural Willacy County, Texas - a dozen or so miles from the Mexican border.
    Painted Lady - 4
  • One of the most beautiful and well-known butterflies found around the world, the painted lady is commonly found across all of North America, but only less so in the southeastern-most part of the continent such as Florida and South Georgia. This one was found and photographed feeding on the nectar of the locally native Siam weed in rural Willacy County, Texas - a dozen or so miles from the Mexican border.
    Painted Lady - 6
  • One of the most beautiful and well-known butterflies found around the world, the painted lady is commonly found across all of North America, but only less so in the southeastern-most part of the continent such as Florida and South Georgia. This one was found and photographed feeding on the nectar of local wild dandelions just outside of Aspen, Colorado on a beautiful Rocky Mountain summer day.
    Painted Lady - 2
  • One of the most beautiful and well-known butterflies found around the world, the painted lady is commonly found across all of North America, but only less so in the southeastern-most part of the continent such as Florida and South Georgia. This one was found and photographed feeding on the nectar of local wild dandelions just outside of Aspen, Colorado on a beautiful Rocky Mountain summer day.
    Painted Lady - 1
  • A mallard drake (male) with paddles around in Soos Creek on a chilly Pacific Northwest winter day in Kent, Washington.
    Mallard Drake
  • This northern walkingstick was almost missed as it perched, perfectly camouflaged as a twig on a prickly pear cactus in a field in Mission, Texas. This amazingly cool, herbivorous stick insect (also known as a phasmid) has a wide geographic range in North America, and can be found in all of the 38 states east of (and including) New Mexico and North Dakota, and can be found in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
    Northern Walkingstick-5
  • This northern walkingstick was almost missed as it perched, perfectly camouflaged as a twig on a prickly pear cactus in a field in Mission, Texas. This amazingly cool, herbivorous stick insect (also known as a phasmid) has a wide geographic range in North America, and can be found in all of the 38 states east of (and including) New Mexico and North Dakota, and can be found in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
    Northern Walkingstick-4
  • This northern walkingstick was almost missed as it perched, perfectly camouflaged as a twig on a prickly pear cactus in a field in Mission, Texas. This amazingly cool, herbivorous stick insect (also known as a phasmid) has a wide geographic range in North America, and can be found in all of the 38 states east of (and including) New Mexico and North Dakota, and can be found in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
    Northern Walkingstick-1
  • This northern walkingstick was almost missed as it perched, perfectly camouflaged as a twig on a prickly pear cactus in a field in Mission, Texas. This amazingly cool, herbivorous stick insect (also known as a phasmid) has a wide geographic range in North America, and can be found in all of the 38 states east of (and including) New Mexico and North Dakota, and can be found in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
    Northern Walkingstick-2
  • A rare view of a tree swallow perching in a tree next to its hollowed-out nest above Soos Creek in Kent, Washington.
    Tree Swallow
  • A mallard hen swims in Soos Creek in Kent, Washington on a bright summer day.
    Mallard Hen
  • An American robin pauses in the early summer evening while hunting for insects along Soos Creek in Kent Washington.
    American Robin
  • One of those maddeningly fast and difficult to photograph butterflies, the cabbage white never seems to stop flying, even while it is feeding. Although it is native to Europe, Asia and North Africa, it was accidentally released in Canada in the 1860's and spread throughout North America where it has become a pest to Brassicaceae crops (cabbage, kale, broccoli, horseradish, etc.) as the voracious little caterpillars are better known as the cabbage worm (not a real worm). This one was seen perching on some native buttercup leaves next to Soos Creek, part of the Green River watershed system in Kent, Washington on a very hot summer day.
    Cabbage White Butterfly
  • High on the plateau north of Moab, Utah, this extremely feisty and aggressive little Beck's desert scorpion was found under a shaded rock on a hot summer day at the far northeastern end of its range. I had to consult a professional arachnologist for the correct ID of this species as far too many of these small desert species look very similar.
    Beck's Desert Scorpion (Paruroctonus..cki)
  • This fascinating plain chachalaca was found and photographed in the Rio Grande Valley in Hidalgo County with a number of others of its kind one the ground and in the mesquite trees. At the northern tip of its range, this large upland game bird can be found from the southern tip of Texas, throughout Mexico and south to Central America. Noisy as other members of the galliform family (turkeys, chickens, pheasants, grouse, etc.), the name chachalaca means "chatterbox" - a fitting name!
    Plain Chachalaca 3
  • This fascinating plain chachalaca was found and photographed in the Rio Grande Valley in Hidalgo County with a number of others of its kind one the ground and in the mesquite trees. At the northern tip of its range, this large upland game bird can be found from the southern tip of Texas, throughout Mexico and south to Central America. Noisy as other members of the galliform family (turkeys, chickens, pheasants, grouse, etc.), the name chachalaca means "chatterbox" - a fitting name!
    Plain Chachalaca 1
  • Common across most of the United states except for the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains states, the American snout (all known as the common snout) is a master of camouflage with its squared-off wings and long "nose" resembling a leaf stem or twig. This member of the brushfoots family of butterflies is usually associated with its larval host plant, hackberry trees. This one was one of many found darting around the trees near a dry creek near the Rio Grand in the extreme southern part of Texas in Hidalgo County.
    American Snout 2
  • Common across most of the United states except for the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains states, the American snout (all known as the common snout) is a master of camouflage with its squared-off wings and long "nose" resembling a leaf stem or twig. This member of the brushfoots family of butterflies is usually associated with its larval host plant, hackberry trees. This one was one of many found darting around the trees near a dry creek near the Rio Grand in the extreme southern part of Texas in Hidalgo County.
    American Snout 1
  • A very active Texas tortoise mows through the vegetation on a hot late-summer afternoon near the Rio Grande in Mission, Texas. These close relatives to the Florida gopher tortoise are found across South Texas and eastern Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and northeastern San Luis Potosi in Mexico.
    Texas Tortoise 6
  • A very active Texas tortoise mows through the vegetation on a hot late-summer afternoon near the Rio Grande in Mission, Texas. These close relatives to the Florida gopher tortoise are found across South Texas and eastern Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and northeastern San Luis Potosi in Mexico.
    Texas Tortoise 5
  • A very active Texas tortoise mows through the vegetation on a hot late-summer afternoon near the Rio Grande in Mission, Texas. These close relatives to the Florida gopher tortoise are found across South Texas and eastern Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and northeastern San Luis Potosi in Mexico.
    Texas Tortoise 4
  • A very active Texas tortoise mows through the vegetation on a hot late-summer afternoon near the Rio Grande in Mission, Texas. These close relatives to the Florida gopher tortoise are found across South Texas and eastern Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and northeastern San Luis Potosi in Mexico.
    Texas Tortoise 3
  • A very active Texas tortoise mows through the vegetation on a hot late-summer afternoon near the Rio Grande in Mission, Texas. These close relatives to the Florida gopher tortoise are found across South Texas and eastern Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and northeastern San Luis Potosi in Mexico.
    Texas Tortoise 2
  • A very active Texas tortoise mows through the vegetation on a hot late-summer afternoon near the Rio Grande in Mission, Texas. These close relatives to the Florida gopher tortoise are found across South Texas and eastern Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, and northeastern San Luis Potosi in Mexico.
    Texas Tortoise 1
  • The Texas indigo snake is currently considered a subspecies of the Eastern or Florida indigo snake and is found in Texas and down deep into Mexico. This beautiful specimen was found resting in a Christmas cactus where it had plenty of shade from the Texas summer sun in the very southern tip of the Lone Star State.
    Texas Indigo Snake
  • The western redback salamander is a small but relatively common amphibian in the Pacific Northwest. It has a restricted range that is west of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington, all of Victoria Island in British Columbia, as well as around the Vancouver area. Highly adaptable to varying habitats, this little salamander is found at higher elevations than any other member of its family, and in drier habitats than many of its relatives. This nearly two-inch salamander was found under a rock next to a tiny stream in the mountains above the Carbon River near Mount Rainier, Washington on a hot summer day.
    Western Redback Salamander 1
  • The western redback salamander is a small but relatively common amphibian in the Pacific Northwest. It has a restricted range that is west of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington, all of Victoria Island in British Columbia, as well as around the Vancouver area. Highly adaptable to varying habitats, this little salamander is found at higher elevations than any other member of its family, and in drier habitats than many of its relatives. This nearly two-inch salamander was found under a rock next to a tiny stream in the mountains above the Carbon River near Mount Rainier, Washington on a hot summer day.
    Western Redback Salamander 2
  • The western redback salamander is a small but relatively common amphibian in the Pacific Northwest. It has a restricted range that is west of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington, all of Victoria Island in British Columbia, as well as around the Vancouver area. Highly adaptable to varying habitats, this little salamander is found at higher elevations than any other member of its family, and in drier habitats than many of its relatives. This nearly two-inch salamander was found under a rock next to a tiny stream in the mountains above the Carbon River near Mount Rainier, Washington on a hot summer day.
    Western Redback Salamander 3
  • A protective mother wood duck hen speeds across a duckweed-covered pond with her chicks hot on her tail by Soos Creek in Kent, Washington on a hot summer day.
    Wood Duck Hen with Ducklings
  • An incredible find! Swallows are among the most difficult birds to photograph because they are so secretive, fast, low-flying and extremely erratic in flight. Not to mention they are very small and almost never land where you can see them. Tree swallows? Even more impossible. I found this tree swallow only after I just happened to notice it fly out of a nearly-invisible hole in a dead tree. I waited and waited in the wetlands of Soos Creek in Kent, Washington until it came back to its nest.
    Nesting Tree Swallow 2
  • An incredible find! Swallows are among the most difficult birds to photograph because they are so secretive, fast, low-flying and extremely erratic in flight. Not to mention they are very small and almost never land where you can see them. Tree swallows? Even more impossible. I found this tree swallow only after I just happened to notice it fly out of a nearly-invisible hole in a dead tree. I waited and waited in the wetlands of Soos Creek in Kent, Washington until it came back to its nest.
    Nesting Tree Swallow 1
  • The national butterfly of Finland, this tiny and fast-flying gossamer-wing butterfly is found across much of the world in the Northern Hemisphere. Like most blues, the underwings are spotted and splotched in specific patterns that are important for species identification, but the upper wings are often bright blue, hence their name. Unfortunately they seldom rest with their wings spread. This one was one of about a dozen found frantically skittering around a duck pond near Soos Creek in Kent, Washington State on a very hot summer day.
    Holly Blue Butterfly
  • This extremely common grasshopper is found nearly everywhere in North America where there is sand or disturbed areas like empty property lots or roadsides, and is often seen as it does a "buzzy" flight away from intruders with what almost looks like yellowish butterfly wings, then seems to disappear due to its excellent natural camouflage. While usually harmless and unimportant agriculturally, it has occasionally been cause of concern for some crops such as wheat or tobacco. This one was found near Naches, Washington on a hot summer day.
    Carolina Grasshopper
  • If a stink bug can ever be called "pretty" then this is probably one of the only candidates. This significantly troublesome agricultural pest attacks young tender shoots and leaves of many of our crop plants by puncturing these parts with a straw-like mouthpart and drinking the nutritious juices out of the plant, often causing injury or opening it up for diseases. When it feels threatened, it emits a terrible odor which gives the stink bug its name. This one was found near an apple orchard and wine vineyard just outside of Yakima, Washington.
    Green Stink Bug (Chinavia hilaris)
  • If a stink bug can ever be called "pretty" then this is probably one of the only candidates. This significantly troublesome agricultural pest attacks young tender shoots and leaves of many of our crop plants by puncturing these parts with a straw-like mouthpart and drinking the nutritious juices out of the plant, often causing injury or opening it up for diseases. When it feels threatened, it emits a terrible odor which gives the stink bug its name. This one was found near an apple orchard and wine vineyard just outside of Yakima, Washington.
    Green Stink Bug (Chinavia hilaris)
  • This beautiful black-and-white warbler is a forest and swamp-loving songbird and is the only member of the genus Mniotilta. Found across most of Eastern North America, it spends its winters in warmer climates from Texas and Florida down to northern South America. This one was found and photographed while it was hunting among the trees insects in Southwest Florida's Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, in Fort Myers on a chilly November evening.
    Black-and-White Warbler-7
  • This beautiful black-and-white warbler is a forest and swamp-loving songbird and is the only member of the genus Mniotilta. Found across most of Eastern North America, it spends its winters in warmer climates from Texas and Florida down to northern South America. This one was found and photographed while it was hunting among the trees insects in Southwest Florida's Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve, in Fort Myers on a chilly November evening.
    Black-and-White Warbler-6
  • Although common all over North America, on rare occasions, you might encounter a very strange-looking raccoon with a very unusual coloration. Sometimes a red raccoon or even a blond raccoon is found when you least expect it, and even more rare is the albino raccoon! While all of them are still the same species, just some win the gene lottery for uniqueness! This red raccoon had a coloration more similar to a red fox, and was heard long before it was seen wading noisily through the Corkscrew Swamp in Southwest Florida as it was catching crayfish and devouring them on the spot. Paying little attention to me, it just kept moving and foraging until the splashing and lip-smacking faded in the distance.
    RedRaccoon2021-1.jpg
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