Wild Westhampton

I am going to tentatively call this a Herring Gull — hard to say for sure because I did not see its wing tips clearly, and I am certainly not an expert on gulls (they’re more of a nuisance than anything out here). However there are several things that bother me about the id — the head and throat are speckled with dots (is this a winter plumage thing?), and in some of the pictures I can find the eye bits are not red (I can’t really tell what they’re supposed to be in my ID book, because the picture is so small).

Help from anyone who knows more about gulls than I do?

The Gull on the Rocks
09 February 2009
Moriches Inlet, NY

At Mystic again. This sea lion decided he had bored of the talk being given and wanted more food. Here he is, trying to shuffle his way to the hidden door from which his feeders emerge.

The Sea Lion at the Aquarium
18 August 2008
Mystic Aquarium, Mystic, CT

At least I think it’s a Carolina wren. I’m not well versed in wrens, and actually had to go to the bird book to even id it as such — when it first appeared on the feeder, having chased away a chickadee (that it was only slighter larger than), I thought, What a strange looking bird. Hmm.

The Wren on the Feeder
24 February 2009
Quiogue, NY

This squirrel, like me, wants to join the circus. This squirrel, unlike me, is actually training for it.

The Squirrel at the Boardwalk
09 February 2009
Cupsogue Beach, Westhampton

This little girl is a Downy Woodpecker, a common sight around here. Much smaller than her cousin, the Red Bellied Woodpecker (also a common sight), I spied this one on a tree in my backyard. A male nearby was foraging at the feeder.

Fun Fact: Lure these fabulous birds to your own backyard with suet in your feeders — they love it!

The Woodpecker in the Wild
24 February 2009
Quiogue, NY

I remember the first time I saw the snow monkeys at Atlantis. “Snow monkeys? At an aquarium?!” It didn’t make too much sense to me. This was also at a time when Atlantis was still growing, and this was the only big exhibit outside — the only other exhibits were a “temple of doom” like building that children could explore, and a few reptiles and amphibians inside a separate, heated building.

It still doesn’t make much sense to me, but I do enjoy being able to see monkeys without having to travel very far, and I like knowing that they are very well taken care of by the staff at Atlantis.

The Snow Monkey at Atlantis
14 September 2007
Atlantis Marine World, Riverhead, NY

Again, not the best technically — but I was so focused on capturing the moment that I was not so focused on my camera settings. Oops!

Regardless, I was thrilled to see that I had indeed pressed the shutter at the correct time, as the seal itself was mostly just a big splash to my eye.

Part I – Part II – Part III

The Seals in the Harbor (Part IV)
09 February 2009
Westhampton Area, NY

Can you spot him? Okay, not too hard — but in the original, non-cropped version of this photo, this frog was very hard to see. If I remember correctly, for the first photo or so taken of the series that this photo comes from, I didn’t even realize the frog was there!

Lest we forget that we all too often forget about our froggy brethren, a quote from the X-Files episode Quagmire:

BAILEY: Frog populations are declining all over the globe, Dr Farraday. No one knows why. You can’t possibly place them all on the endangered species list.
FARRADAY: You’d find a way for the cute, furry little mammals we were talking about.
BAILEY: Regardless, your study remains inconclusive. Speculative at best. You’ve provided no concrete evidence that frog depopulation is the exclusive result of human impeachment.
FARRADAY: A frog holocaust is currently being executed Dr Bailey and man is the executioner.

(Quote transcript from Inside the X.)

The Frog in the Pond
18 August 2008
Mystic Aquarium, Mystic, CT

I love the large version of this photo (click the link below, just above the date taken). Its colors call to me, and the expression on the faces of the seals tell me that they’re just having fun! They’re just so playful and happy looking.

Part I – Part II

The Seals in the Harbor (Part III)
09 February 2009
Westhampton Area, NY

This penguin couldn’t get enough of hamming it up in front of my camera. Freaking adorable. There was a talk going on here at the penguin tank, too, but I was much too absorbed in his antics than listening to the talk. Dive again! Now swim to the others at the back of the tank! Now come back at the top of the water and gaze at us with one eye, you piratey penguin you! Arrrrr!

The Playful Penguin
18 August 2008
Mystic Aquarium, Mystic, CT