Lunge feeding in the American Alligator

Whales are the largest mammals on earth. Amongst whales, those with the largest body size are a group of baleen whales called Rorquals that includes the blue whale, fin whale, and humpback whale. The defining feature of this group is a series of longitudinal skin folds that run from the chin to the stomach; these […]

Notes on Species Identification

One of the challenges of taking lots of photos of different animals (i.e. mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects) is later identifying all the species you photographed. This can be a time-consuming task. On my Flickr page I have uploaded over 6,500 photos, mostly of wildlife, and I have attempted to identify all of them […]

Alligator camouflage and stick display

Crocodilians are largely ambush predators that rely upon stealth and patience to capture prey. They typically don’t chase down mobile prey by running or swimming for long distances, but instead sit and wait for prey to come within striking distance before lunging. Concealment and the choice of strategic ambush point play a big role in […]

The Wildlife of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is a biodiverse country with 215 amphibian species, 895 birds, 1151 fish, 252 mammals, and 269 reptiles. This ranks as the 27th most biodiverse country in the world (Brazil has the highest overall biodiversity index). Yet, Brazil is 167 times larger than Costa Rica. When land area is taken into account, Costa Rica […]

New Underwater Camera Setup

This week I received my eagerly awaited new underwater camera equipment. After first setting everything up on land, the following day I headed to Ichetucknee Springs to test it out underwater. This post details my new setup and its performance in the field. Prior to getting my new setup, all my underwater photography and video […]

Fiftieth post recap

This is my 50th post on Reason and Nature, which seemed an appropriate occasion to provide a recap of prior posts, summarize a few statistics, and ponder the future. My rationale for starting this blog was that while exploring I would sometimes see interesting natural history phenomena – and I felt compelled to share these. […]

North America’s ancient freshwater fishes deserve respect

On a foggy January morning I walked a riverbank in north central Florida, with telephoto lens around my neck and fishing pole in hand. I stopped to photograph a river otter as it bobbed and weaved amongst the riparian structure, hunting for fish. Herons lining the bank occasionally squawked, protesting my presence. It was the […]

Bison and wild horses in Florida

There is a place in Florida where wild American Bison and horses roam free. This place is Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, a 23,000 acre seasonally flooded prairie just outside Gainesville. Here, I have had numerous encounters with wild horses, but until recently the Bison offered only glimpses at great distance. But that changed this […]

NHM Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

The Natural History Museum (NHM) in London holds a prestigious annual wildlife photography contest aptly named the ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition’. It is currently in its 62nd year. You can enter a maximum of 25 photos in one of 13 different categories. Across all categories, 100 photos are selected as finalists. I entered […]

The aquatic ecosystem of an abandoned swimming pool

In late April of this year, I found a Florida softshell turtle trapped in an abandoned outdoor swimming pool. In a previous post, I recount how I drained the pool, captured the turtle, and returned it to the nearby lake from which it came. This pool is part of a shuttered hotel, and is near […]