Thermal Imaging for Wildlife Spotting

In the 1987 science fiction film Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the predator uses thermal imaging to see the body heat of humans. This technology exists in real life. There are cameras and spotting scopes that focus on the infrared spectrum of light allowing users to see heat signatures of objects, rather than visible light. These […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Microfishing an urban Florida canal

Microfishing refers to a specialized form of angling in which very small fish species are targeted using miniature tackle (i.e. short rods, light line, and tiny hooks). The technique was developed in Japan, where anglers target the miniature Japanese Bitterling (also referred to as Tanago). This niche style of fishing has recently been growing in […]

La Chua Trail

A persistent dilemma for the traveler is whether to visit some place new or return to a place you have visited before and like. Of course, different individuals weigh these options differently. At a broad scale, two extremes could be: visiting the same place for vacation every year, versus always visiting someplace new. On an […]