Rare Sightings in Nature: Weekly Photo Challenge
“At the critical moment it is the rare few who can do what needs to be done.”
Icarus
COLORFUL CRAWLER
This week my husband and I returned to Kiawah after our summer adventures. As always, it was great to travel and just as great to get home! Soon after our return my neighbor called to invite me to photograph the gorgeously-colored monarch caterpillars (technically called larvae) which had taken up residence on her parsley plant. These little creatures are true eating machines, bulking up in preparation for their time in their chrysalis stage. Sadly, monarch sightings are becoming more rare every year. Scientists have noted their numbers have dropped 10-fold in the last decade.
SINISTER SMILE
“They’re so rare, those hearts that carry the blessing and lavish it over everything.”
Rumi
We all know the American Alligator is NOT rare. However, it is (happily) rare to find one in your backyard. Yep, this guy was sitting in our back yard earlier this morning. Perhaps he just came by to welcome us home. 😀 And yes, I was using a 200mm zoom lens to capture him. Our local gators do not typically attack humans but I see no reason to test that theory!
BIG BEAVER
“Everybody talks, nobody listens. Good listeners are as rare as white crows.”
Helen Keller
Kiawah is known to have otters but as far as I know we do NOT have beavers. I captured this guy in our travels when I should have been paying more attention to my golf game. Combining photography with golf isn’t particularly good for scoring but it does add a different element of interest to the sport. As for rarity, the beaver is another species on the decline, with numbers estimated to have dropped from 60 million to less than 12 million. Especially in my neck of the woods, beavers are a rare sighting indeed.
Have a great week everyone, and as always, thanks to Ben for his interesting challenge.
Oh my word! A Gator in the backyard. I wouldn’t test to see if it snaps or not. Great photos.
Great shots 😀
Thanks JWD
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Your first photo is an absolute winner ~ crisp and colorful, and should be entered into a competition as the lighting/contrast from the top right to bottom left makes it pop. Your second shot surprised me perhaps as much as it did you…a contrast of characters from larvae to man-eater was quite drastic 🙂
LOL on larvae to man-eater Randall! Thanks for the lovely compliment on my little critter. He was eye-popping in person 🙂
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Clearly Mr. Alligator missed you guys sorely and couldn’t hide his excitement on having you back 😀 Beautiful shot of the caterpillar.
The monarch caterpillar is quite a beauty – just look at that colour:) Not sure I would be very happy to wake up with an alligator in my back yard, but fortunately that wound happen here, unless they convert to like ice and snow anytime soon:)
LOL Inger. No, I don’t think we’ll see a skiing alligator any time soon!
Witaj Tina
Wspaniałe zdjęcia.
Pozdrawiam i życzę szczęśliwego weekendu.
Thank you Marko!
Beautiful rarities in nature, Tina! I love the sinister smile…when it’s looking at me from a photo 🙂
LOL thanks Tiny!
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Wow! So beautiful! My photography extends to my iphone and instagram. That’s about it. I always love seeing what others can capture in such beautiful and creative ways. I try to capture the world around me with words: through poetry, essays, short stories, etc. It’s always amazing to me how we can capture and try to preserve moments in so many different ways.
Thanks so much Abarn, I loved your perspective on this one. It is amazing indeed. >
I’ll take photography over golf any day, but that’s just me 🙂
😊 me too!
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Great shot of the alligator. Like you, I would’ve been excited to get a shot but I’d keep a respectful distance. I wonder what I’d do if I found one on my balcony !
LOL, call the newspaper!
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I haven’t been able to work out the camera on the golf course with a good score yet either but I still bring it along sometimes…lol. Like the alligator shot Tina and I’m glad to hear you used a zoom. 🙂
😀 Thanks Andy. >
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It’s always great to be home after travelling, however memorable the trip may be. However having an alligator there to welcome you must have been a first. None here in the Pacific North West fortunately. Have a great week 🙂
Ah true Andrew – but then you have orcas and we don’t! Although I doubt you’ll find any in your backyard LOL
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Just checked – you’re right 😊
Great choices for the challenge, Tina. Love that ‘gator’s toothy grin. 🙂
Hey, just found this in spam–thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for rescuing me. 😀
The picture of the alligator is very impressive and terrifying at the same time. The tooth look so powerful !
Their jaws are amazingly powerful. Definitely not creatures to fool around with. I saw one on the attack once and it was unbelievable how fast it could thrust itself out of the water!
I’ve seen some video of them attacking cattle that were drinking water and it was so scary !
The swallowtail is the best in the bunch with a pleasing composition, great colors and focus. Pretty creature. Nice one, Tina.
Thanks Jane, they really are pretty w their brilliant coloring aren’t they?
Great photos – really love the monarch caterpillar. 😀
Thanks so much El
Our posts are very similar, Tina. But, you’ve had better luck at spotting these beauties! Beautiful captures as always. The alligator looks scary! 🙂
A bit easier to capture a gator in one’s backyard than a wild animal in it’s natural habitat! But thanks for the compliment 🙂
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what a FUN post!!! I love all of these shots especially your neighbors ‘larvae’…..the details are stunning!!! so enjoyed!!!! welcome home!!!😜
Thanks April! See you soon–feels great to be back
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Great photos.
Many thanks LV >
Amazing pictures, Tina. The caterpillar is beautiful. What a shame they are becoming rare. I see it was an exciting day with your visitors 😉
I’d call them “neighbors” rather than visitors, as they live here too LOL. Thanks Ms. D >
At least Mr. A took time to smile for his photo. 🙂
The last time I saw a Monarch was when I was a kid, and that was very long ago. These days, we see plenty of Painted Lady butterflies which is often mistaken for Monarchs.
Thanks for stopping by David. Turns out it’s a swallowtail, not a monarch. But we do get monarchs here on Kiawah–unfortunately fewer every year.
A gator in your backyard would certainly be a rarity in my neck of the woods. These are wonderful pictures as ever Tina and a very interesting post to read. It’s so sad to see so much of our natural wildlife and environment under stress in the way that it is. We really need to do more but sadly the share price of the multi-nationals is king and that means cutting costs and that means damaging the environment in the pursuit of profit rather than caring for it.
Thanks Adrian. Agree whole-heartedly with your comments about our natural environment and its wildlife. At least here on Kiawah there is tremendous focus on it. We’re in the midst of quite a legal battle over the area where our dolphins strand-feed. It’s been an interesting fight which after several years seems nowhere near ending! >
Great images and it’s probably rare to see beavers out of water. At least for me. I take it you have no small pets in your backyard. 🙂
LOL Maverick, I almost included that in my text but was afraid pet-lovers might take offense. Let’s just say no one walks their small dogs anywhere near our lagoons! >
Enjoyed these shots. Looks like your pet alligator missed you!
Thanks Jane 😎 >
So thoughtful of your neighbour to invite you over to photograph the monarch caterpillars. Very clean shot and it looked like you captured it mid-crawl. It boasts very stunning colours, very nice outfit 😀
Love the quote by Helen Keller. Don’t we all like to talk as we all have an opinion and something to say. Then again, when we listen we reflect and think more, and so learn so much more. Always love how you pair your images with such wise sayings 🙂
Thanks Mabel. Even rarer than the critters is a kind, generous, thoughtful neighbor. We are extremely lucky on that front! >
You are never off duty with that camera in hand . Aren’t we the lucky ducks??? Welcome home !!!
Quack quack! Thanks Miss Linda. Are you guys around? >
The first photo reminds me of the ten horn worms I took off my tomato plants this week but they didn’t have the dark stripe. Nice picks. 🙂
Thanks Judy – since I’m not a gardener I depend on my neighbor’s generosity when it comes to plants! >
Love the photos and the variety of creatures. Interesting facts too.
Thanks very much Cynthia. Appreciate the visit and comment. >
You’re welcome!
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Love the caterpillar Tina but don’t think I’d want an alligator in my backyard!!!
Thanks Nicole – as for the gators, they’re kind of celebrities for our tourists so we don’t mind them a bit! >
I am sure they are! I know they are quite fast too!
I guess the rarity of alligator in the yard depends upon where you live. Here in Naperville, Illinois, it would be a miracle; in Florida, not so much. 🙂 I love that first shot in particular and the hidden beaver as well.
janet
Thanks Janet – yes I think you’re right. It would be news-media-worth if you’d see one in Illinois. Here on Kiawah they only make the news if they show up in the suburbs, and only then if they’re monstrously large! >
Great shots and narrative Tina. Jealous of your back yard gator!
LOL, thanks Nick. I think you’re the only voice voting for having a resident gator! >
It warms my heart that you saw the caterpillar stage of the monarch. If we get more than a few this autumn, I still will be happy to see them. WE need to spread the word to plant milkweed that is their number one plant of choice. More than that there is a worldwide effort to assist their return. To an extent it seems to be working; I hope that “they” are correct.
Thanks Sally. Sadly I’ve since learned they are not monarchs. Although they are virtually identical at that stage, monarchs do not eat parsley. They are swallowtails. But yes, many folks here are planting milkweed for the monarchs and hopefully their decline can be reversed worldwide. >
That’s what I thought. I recall a few times that I thought the same about the swallowtails and parsley. Let’s hope and hope more for the monarchs recovery.
I love the vivid colours of the caterpillar. I would be much happier seeing that than the Alligator in my back garden.
LOL Annette! Now you know why there aren’t many small dogs on Kiawah! >
Wonderful pics! The opening shot is a beauty!
Thanks Moon – they’re beautiful little creatures >
Welcom home, Tina!
Thanks Sharon – always great to be back home. Are you coming in Sept? >
See you second week of October.
👍 safe travels!
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Good entries for the theme!
Thanks very much K >
Incredible photos as always!
Thanks Laurel – nice to see your name pop up! >
Great photos Tina. Glad you kept your distance on the alligator. I had to smile your comment regarding photography and golf. I don’t play golf – but I do attempt to take photos while bike riding. It makes for an interesting experience.
Thanks Nora – LOL on the biking/photography combo. Have tried that myself rather unsuccessfully! >
Excellence as usual.
Many thanks MythRider >
Great blend of grasses and porcupine hair!
LOL, beaver/porcupine who cares?! Definitely a fairly little beast 😀 >
OK it’s an alligator 🙃
Beautiful photos of species at risk. Crocodiles in your back yard! Hard to top that 🙂
LOL, I see you discovered they are alligators, not crocs. While I surely wouldn’t call them friendly they are a bit less aggressive than crocs! >
I’ll have to remember that 🙂
Excellent photos.
On this grey day I especially like the fresh greens in picture #1.
Thanks Rabirius. Hope your day is a bit sunnier today! >