Some cat owners in the German town of Waldorf have been ordered by authorities to keep their pets indoors until the end of August.
Thunderstorm over Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park © Lee Hoy
Author: nature_okqyyt
By Frank Gallagher, NANPA Blog Coordinator
Looking for a chance to see, experience, and photograph spectacular landscapes, insects and flowers, night skies and star trails, and brush up your macro and long exposure skills? Now is your chance … at a NANPA Regional Event. Two terrific trips are open for registration, but act fast! Regional Events typically sell out.
Why Regional Events?
These field workshops receive consistently high ratings from NANPA members and event participants. Each is a three- to four-day nature photography workshop in a very photogenic location led by experienced photographers who are deeply knowledgeable about the area.
Participants rave about the experiences they have. Katie Verbarendse went a Regional Event at Grand Teton and said “The trip re-invigorated my love for nature photography.” For Dana Foley, “the people were the best thing, from the leaders to the participants, all great people of all skill levels willing to help and share.” Rob Mathewson said “Attending a Regional Event will enhance your photographic skills, garner you images worthy to hang on your (or anyone else’s) walls, and provide ample opportunity for both networking and establishing new friendships. After attending the Grand Teton National Park Regional Event, I would highly recommend a Regional Event to anyone. It will provide you an unforgettable experience, up your photographic game, and create positive, lifelong memories.”
See more about why you should consider signing up for a Regional Event here and here.
Blooms, Bees and Butterflies in the Beartooths
Join Clay Bolt and Kathy Lichtendahl in Wyoming’s Absaroka-Beartooth Mountains and explore alpine meadows full of wildflowers, colorful butterflies, buzzing bees and lots of opportunities for macro photography. Called “the most beautiful drive in America” the Beartooth Highway runs through stunning mountain scenery and fields of wildflowers. What could be better?
You’ll be guided by Clay Bolt and Kathy Lichtendahl. Bolt, previous NANPA president and recipient of NANPA’s 2019 Environmental Impact Award is a natural history and conservation photographer. He specializes in small creatures like bees and has become known for his work on protecting the rusty-patched bumble bee. Kathy Lichtendahl has lived in the greater Yellowstone area for almost thirty years, leads workshops throughout Wyoming, and has documented hundreds of species of insects and wildflowers through the Yellowstone Phenology Project. Learn more about this Regional Event here.
Spring arrives late on top of the Beartooth Plateau with wildflowers blooming in July. © Kathy Lichtendahl
Summer Skies and Starry Nights in Big Bend
Jeff Parker and Lee Hoy lead a trip to the Big Bend area of southwest Texas. There, you’ll photograph stars and star trails in in a famous dark sky areal In addition, Big Bend’s iconic landscapes and big skies offer many opportunities for landscapes and big sky photos, especially with some of towering summer clouds.
Lee Hoy has been exploring the Big Bend region for more than 30 years, leads workshops there and was the scout for a PBS Nature special about the region. Jeff Parker was a long-time resident of Texas and has led many workshops in Big Bend National Park. Learn more about this Regional Event here.
Two great events. Take your pick, but sign up now!
Star Trails at Big Bend © Jeff Parker
Frank Gallagher is a landscape and nature photographer based in the Washington, DC, area who specializes in providing a wide range of photograph services to nonprofit organizations. He manages NANPA’s blog and can be found online at frankgallagherphotography.com or on Instagram @frankgallagherfoto.
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During pregnancy, viral infections are a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and death. Infections can occur transplacentally, perinatally via vaginal fluids or blood, or postnatally through breast milk or other sources in the neonate
The Birding Life
By Budd Titlow
I’ve been doing wildlife-birding surveys for 45 years and I’d never seen anything quite like it. The trunks of two large pine trees displayed row after row of neatly drilled small holes. Closer inspection revealed acorns carefully tucked into most of these holes.
Curiosity got the best of me. I had to find out what was going on. I walked around to the base of the trees and — within minutes — I had my answer. A flock of about 10 woodpeckers — all clamoring wacha-wacha-wacha — descended on the tree trunks. For the next 15 minutes they flitted about the trees, noisily squabbling with each other and digging acorns and insect larvae out of the bark. Then they were off, only to return again 10 minutes later for another session of feeding and fighting.
If you haven’t experienced the playful antics of acorn woodpeckers, you’re missing a treat. Their raucous antics have earned them the title of “clowns of the oak-pine woodlands”. In the U.S., the primary habitat for these birds is found in the coastal and foothill areas of Oregon and California with extensions into oak-dominated forests of the Southwest.
Acorn woodpeckers are robin-sized birds with harlequin-feathered faces perched atop black-and-white bodies. Their off-kilter laughing calls inspired the distinctive “voice” that Walter Lantz gave to his Woody Woodpecker cartoon character.
“Granary Tree,” acorn-stuffed holes in the bark of a tree storing food for acorn woodpeckers. © Budd Titlow
Living in small (seven to twelve birds) family colonies, acorn woodpeckers exhibit some of the most extreme social behaviors found in the birding world. First and foremost is each colony’s diligence in establishing communal “granary trees” packed with acorns. Each fall during the peak of oak mast production, a colony of these woodpeckers begins drilling thousands of storage holes in the soft wood of large pines. Then — working cooperatively — the birds begin transporting acorns to their selected granary trees and carefully tucking them into the drilled holes.
Often supplemented by fruit, insects, and sap, the acorns sustain the woodpecker colony through the often-severe winter weather where they choose to live. Throughout the fall and winter — as the acorns shrivel and shrink — each bird in a colony dedicates most of its daily hours to moving them around to different-sized holes for a tighter fit. If the acorns aren’t snugly maintained, they become easy targets for squirrels, Steller’s jays, scrub jays, and other such “cache robbers” to steal.
A portion of an acorn woodpecker nesting colony © Budd Titlow
With the onset of April each year, the nesting season begins and each colony’s behavior becomes even stranger. The living arrangements would intrigue even the most outlandish Hollywood producer. In a polygynous mating system, multiple males and females share the same tree nesting cavity in which they all breed together. Yes you read that right — it is basically an avian orgy. Then the female who lays the first eggs experiences the ignominy of having her eggs pecked apart and eaten by the colony’s other adults. In a bizarre twist, the egg-laying mother often joins on this soiree of feathered cannibalism. But —not to fear — after the first clutch is devoured, the nesting females all lay additional eggs which are then judiciously nurtured.
While this nesting process would make even Casanova blush, the end result is usually quite successful. That’s because all of the adult and sub-adult “helper birds” pitch in to make sure the hatchlings are kept well-fed, safe, and secure until they can fend for themselves.
Adult acorn woodpecker © Budd Titlow
Adult acorn woodpecker holding extracted pupa © Budd Titlow
If you’re visiting San Diego County, acorn woodpecker colonies can be found throughout such high elevation locales as Laguna Mountain Recreation Area and Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Based on my personal experience, these birds are extremely easy to find in both of these areas. Just keep your eyes peeled for the large granary trees packed with acorns. They’re just about everywhere you look — along roadsides and even bordering picnic areas and campgrounds. Once you successfully locate a few granary trees, wait for the wacha-wacha-wacha calls. Then watch as the sky fills with woodpeckers.
A professional wetland scientist (emeritus) and wildlife biologist, Budd Titlow is also an international/national award-winning nature photographer and a widely published writer. He has authored five natural history books: Coming Full Circle—A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across America, Protecting the Planet—Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change, Bird Brains—Inside the Strange Minds of Our Fine Feathered Friends, Seashells—Jewels from the Ocean, and Rocky Mountain National Park—Beyond Trail Ridge. Budd has also published more than 500 photo-essays and 5,000 photographs. He is currently using his writing and photography skills to focus public attention on the climate crisis and world-wide biodiversity loss—two of the most serious environmental threats our planet has ever faced.
Erica Spotswood, the science director of the San Francisco Estuary Institute’s Urban Nature Lab, got her dissertation studying seed dispersal on the French Polynesian islands of Tahiti and Moorea. A kind of low-growing fruit tree named Miconia calvescens had arrived … Read more
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A hazy African dust cloud from the Sahara Desert has reached the Atlantic Ocean and could reach the Gulf Coast, including Louisiana, by the weekend.
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