That Was the Week That Was...
It has been roughly three months (twelve weeks) since I started posting a photo of the week. Some weeks, I find that I have known as soon as I took the photo that "this is the one". Other weeks, it has been more difficult choosing just one photo. This particular week was one of the more challenging weeks, as I had several candidates. I thought it might be interesting to see which photos were in contention this week...
Saturday, May 26, 2108 California Nursery Historical Park, Fremont, CA
This is both a particularly favorite place for me to photograph, as well as being extremely convenient. I am within a five minute walk from the park. There's always something blooming there, no matter what the month, and the site has a surprising array of wildlife, as well. This week was no exception.
Honey bee - this honey bee was moving from rose to rose. I particularly like the sharp focus on both the bee and the roses. I was shooting at 1/1600s. The angle of the wings makes them almost invisible.
I'm not sure what species this medium sized butterfly is, but I managed to get a very clear shot when it landed briefly on a rock.
Bumblebee on roses. This bumblebee almost looks so weighed down with pollen that it decided to walk rather than fly to the next flower. (shot at 1/1600s)
I think this is an umber skipper, a small butterfly common to northern California[definitely a member of the skipper family]. I snapped the photo while it landed briefly on a leaf. (shot at 1/1600s)
I must admit that I'm a sucker for bee photos and the honey bee photo is a pretty good photo, though the skipper butterfly is notable in the sharpness of the focus.
Sunday, May 27, 2018 Alameda Creek Trail, Fremont, CA
Alameda Creek is another local favorite of mine. Depending upon the season, one can sport migrating waterfowl and other wildlife. I typically walk 4.5 - 5 miles in a loop, which provides opportunities to see different environments and viewpoints.
Basking turtle - Interestingly, I've only seen turtles in the creek in the last two weeks. Either I missed them previously, or the last couple of weeks have been good viewing opportunities.
This was a surprise; an eight point male black-tailed deer in the creek. The antlers appears to be in velvet.
At one point in my standard walk, I cross a pedestrian bridge over the creek. This time, a Cooper's hawk was perched on the side of the bridge. This time of year, there are a lot of cliff and tree swallows in the area, as well as sparrows. I suspect it was waiting to ambush one, but I didn't see if it succeeded.
Black-necked stilt and reflection. Nice overall composition.
Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, 2018 Coyote Hills Regional Park, Fremont, CA
This spring, I've made a concerted effort to visit as many of the local regional parks as possible. I finally made it to this roughly 1,300 acre park that sits alongside San Francisco Bay. The area has marshland, low hills, shoreline, and some great hiking trails.
Along one marsh, there are a number of bird boxes set up for tree swallows. I waited patiently for one swallow to leave its perch and fly off. When it did, it moved so quickly that I barely got the bird in frame!
While walking along a levee between marshland and Alameda Creek, I saw a raptor in a tree. As I got closer, it flew away, then hovered over a patch of marsh. At that point, I recognized that it was a white-tailed kite. It dove down into the marsh and then came back and flew off. Fortunately, it flew almost overhead and I was able to grab this shot of the kite with a small rodent grasped in its talons, along with some of the plants where the rodent had been. I like to think that the kite was able to feed its chick(s) a main course and a salad.
Western tiger swallowtail butterfly - there were a number of these at the park and this is my favorite shot of these butterflies that I took that day. Here the swallowtail has its proboscis sipping nectar from a wild radish flower. The right wing is pointing almost directly out of the frame at the viewer.
Wednesday - Thursday, May 30-31, 2018 Coyote Creek Nature Trail, San Jose, CA.
I walk part of this trail almost every work day at lunchtime. There is an amazing variety of wildlife to be seen here.
This photo of the full moon was actually taken around 6:00AM from the parking lot from where I work. I really like the sharpness of the image and how you can see the craters at the edges.
Cooper's hawk with a meal - When I took this photo, I didn't realize that the hawk had just caught a small bird and was in the process of eating it.
Coyote Creek is aptly named. This coyote seemed as interested in me as I was in it. The eyes and slight exposure of the canine teeth add to the suspense.
My precious, or one acorn to rule them all! Could a squirrel really take top spot? To be honest, probably only if it was in the mouth of the coyote you just saw.
I hope you enjoyed viewing these photo as much as I have. Check out this week's Photo of the Week to see who nabbed top spot. You can also view past selections in the tab marked Archive - Photo of the Week.
If you have a different photo you think deserved the top spot, leave a comment and tell me why.
