 William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- Genesis 1:20 Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.”  Canada Goose gander and Hen with gosling on Blue Water Pond in Monroe Georgia, Walton County Each year we’ve had a pair or two of Canada Geese raise their young on the pond behind the animal shelter. However, this year there is only one pair, and they have only one gosling. I suppose the other eggs became breakfast for a marauding raccoon while still in the nest. Each morning I try to start the day with a quick walk around the pond. Mom and dad stay quite close to their now nearly grown gosling, but stay within close enough distance for good photography. I bet they have previously been on a pond where they are used to free handouts from humans. Walton County, Georgia  Canada Goose gander and Hen with gosling on Blue Water Pond in Monroe Georgia, Walton County  Canada Goose mother and gosling  Canada Goose gander and Hen with gosling on Blue Water Pond in Monroe Georgia, Walton County
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 William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. "Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work." Psalms 111:2  Ruby Throated Hummingbird. Photo #201607018 It absolutely amazes me how a tiny bird weighing less than a penny can fly across the Americas each fall and always find its way precisely back to my backyard feeder. As I hadn’t seen “Myrtle” appear in May this year, I was getting worried. My daughter named her Myrtle last year because she would sit in the Crepe Myrtle tree next to the feeder and aggressively defend it from any other hummingbirds that tried to get a drink. This year, they finally showed up in June, and we’ve been treated to aerial battles of up to four hummingbirds at a time! I’ve only a few times seen a bright throated male attempt to brave her defenses for a drink. According to allaboutbirds.com, the Ruby Throated Hummingbird flaps its wings about 53 times per second! Athens-Clarke County, Georgia
 William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." Revelation 4:11  Desert Mountains panorama from Mount Lemmon Tucson Arizona Each year my wife and I take a trip to Tucson, Arizona for our Fellowship's annual Bible Conference. This year we were able to visit Mt. Lemmon. Just outside of Tucson, the winding road takes you to the top of this beautiful mountain with a spectacular view over the desert and the city of Tucson. There is a short ski lift that we took to the top. Imagine, skiing in Arizona! Although it was near 100 degrees in the city, it was a chilly and windy 68 degrees on top of the mountain.  Five photo panorama merge of the Santa Catalina Mountains from atop Mount Lemmon near Tucson Arizona. Desert mountains.  Desert mountain view from Mount Lemmon Tucson Arizona. Santa Catalina Mountains.  Summerhaven ski lift on Mount Lemmon in Tucson, Arizona. Ski chair lift on Mt. Lemmon located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States.  View of Santa Catalina Mountains from atop Mt. Lemmon located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States.  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Rough Green Snake hanging from a tree like a vine. Rough Green Snake, Opheodrys aestivus, Walton County, Georgia. Another frantic caller to 911 sent one of our officers out to catch this "highly venomous Green Mamba" that must have escaped from an exotic animal collection. Well, actually, it was just a Rough Green Snake; a very common and harmless garden variety snake found here in Georgia. But a very beautiful specimen nonetheless! Rough Green Snakes (Opheodrys aestivus) are probably the most arboreal snakes in our region and spend the majority of their time hunting for insects, spiders, and other invertebrates in vegetation well above the ground. When encountered, green snakes often freeze, relying on their green coloration for camouflage. (Source: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory website) Walton County, Georgia  Rough Green Snake, Opheodrys aestivus, Walton County, Georgia.  Rough Green Snake, Opheodrys aestivus, Walton County, Georgia.  Rough Green Snake, Opheodrys aestivus, Walton County, Georgia.  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- Genesis 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind  Texas Brown Tarantula crawling on rock Driftwood Texas Hill Country Aphonopelma hentzi While enjoying a Sunday morning outdoor breakfast at my parents' home in Driftwood, Texas, my daughter spotted this creepy-crawly scaling the screen of the patio. We gently knocked it down with a pool brush safely into a bucket. After finishing breakfast, I took him down the road for a photo shoot in a more natural setting before releasing him to do what Texas Tarantulas do. Aphonopelma hentzi, the Texas brown tarantula, is one of the most common species of tarantula thriving in the southern-most United States today. Texas brown tarantulas can grow in excess of a four inch leg span. The body is dark brown. Shades may vary between individual tarantulas and are more distinct after a moult.  Texas Brown Tarantula crawling on rock Driftwood Texas Hill Country Aphonopelma hentzi  Texas Brown Tarantula crawling on rock Driftwood Texas Hill Country Aphonopelma hentzi  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  There have been a couple of does and fawns each year in our neighborhood, but judging by this shot in my front yard this morning (11 deer total), last year was quite a productive breeding season with low mortality rate. I can only imagine the damage my landscaping will receive this spring and summer! There is no hope for the Day Lilies this time.
Athens-Clarke County, Georgia  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Redhead Ducks; photo #201602002 Nowhere near the numbers we had last year, but a dozen or so Redhead Ducks took to the shelter pond this season to join our resident Mallards. Walton County, GA.
 Williamwisephoto Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Whitetailed Deer Buck in Driftwood Texas Hill Country near Austin We didn’t spend as much time as previous years “deer hunting” while visiting my parent’s house in Driftwood, Texas for Thanksgiving. On a few short walks I managed to “shoot” a few bucks and one nice Axis Deer. I resisted filling up the SD cards with numerous other does and fawns that inhabit the subdivision in which they live in the Texas Hill Country.  Whitetailed Deer Buck in Driftwood Texas Hill Country near Austin  Velvet antlers Chital Axis Deer in Driftwood Texas Hill Country near Austin  Velvet antlers Chital Axis Deer in Driftwood Texas Hill Country near Austin  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  A rafter or flock of turkeys, Meleagris gallapovo, with several toms and hens strutting in the grass. Their range is spread throughout North America. There are five distinct subspecies of wild turkeys: Eastern, Osceola, Rio Grande, Merriam’s, and Gould’s. Adult male turkeys are called toms or gobblers and females are called hens. Wild Turkey are hunted at game birds. Several cloudy afternoons this week I’ve spotted the family of Wild Turkeys in their usual location at an empty house in a field at the corner of New High Shoals Road and Union Church Road in Oconee County, Georgia. There have also been two does and several fawns feeding alongside the group of turkeys making it look like a regular wildlife refuge! Last fall I spotted turkeys in this same spot.
 William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. "Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work." Psalms 111:2  Whitetailed Deer; photo #201509037 Taking my typical lunch break walk to the ponds and woods behind the shelter this afternoon revealed a gracefully bounding deer and one stealthy chipmunk. Because I wasn't quite prepared for an "action shot" with a higher shutter speed setting (shot at 1/250 sec.), and because I was firing as I was raising and panning the camera, there was already quite a bit of blur on the deer photo. So to mask the blur, and create a bit more of a dramatic, "artsy" effect, I added some motion blur to the scene surrounding the deer. You can even see a double image surrounding the deer. I also boosted the saturation of the colors. Overall, not a great shot, but why not keep it. A 3 MB file doesn't take up too much space! I thought the chipmunk photo was worth keeping because he has that "you can't see me" look on his face. He was sitting in such a tangled mess of blackberry briers I had to use manual focus to bring his eye in focus.  Chipmunk; photo #201509038  "When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from His storehouses." Jeremiah 10:13  Antique Vintage Chevy being restored at body shop. Photo #201509036. Support my work by downloading this photo at www.dreamstime.com. 100% of funds go back into shelter photography and education programs. Even though the hot and sultry “dog days of summer” technically have passed, the temperatures still remain in the lower nineties with an oppressively high humidity. This combination has made for some wonderful spectacles of thunderstorms each afternoon this week. Huge billowing mountains of clouds charged with electricity roll in each afternoon proceeded and accompanied by the echoing rumbles like giant avalanches down endless slopes. I have gone out each afternoon to watch the storms that march in, gazing around in wonder until being chased back indoors by the relentless downpour that eventually follows. Sitting out behind my office next to the county’s fleet maintenance shop is an old Chevy donated to the Sherriff’s office by and elderly Walton resident for use in the county parades. The car and clouds just seemed to go together and made for a wonderful photo opportunity.  Antique Chevrolet car restored to an old time Sheriff patrol car wtih red siren, star, chrome bumpers. Blue sky storm in background. Vintage automobile.  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. -- "What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at Your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations." Psalms 104 The Message  Young juvenile masked raccoon looking down from tree in Walton County Georgia “Spitfire” was a wily little raccoon that got himself stuck in a dumpster while seeking an easy meal. Such a cute young guy (probably equivalent to a trouble-making 12-year-old boy) but man he was full of zest! When Officer Johnny Legaspi brought him back to the shelter in cage, he had his ears pinned down, back hunched up, fur standing on edge and giving his best growls and snorts. I released him near the shelter to climb a dead tree and got some photos before bidding him “good luck” and warning him to stay away from those apartment complex dumpsters from now on! Walton County, Georgia  Young juvenile masked raccoon looking down from tree in Walton County Georgia  Young Raccoon in Tree  William Wise Photo Nature Notes is a wildlife, landscape, birding and nature photography blog documenting the beauty, design and wonder of God’s creation. "Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work." Psalms 111:2  Juvenile Wood Storks in pond Walton County Georgia Last week Shari came into my office and told me there was a stork on the pond behind the animal shelter. Never seeing a stork here before, and knowing Shari isn’t up to speed on much bird ID knowledge, I doubted her and figured it was an egret I've regularly seen back there. However, she said, "No, it wasn't an Egret. It had black along its wings." Could it really be a stork? I described and Ibis for her, but she stood firm that it was a large stork. But she said it had a white head. This threw me off, but it was gone when I got outside. This morning Johnny came into my office and said, “Did you see those two huge storks back there?” I ran straight back and had to see it this time. Sure enough, directly across the pond stood two large Wood Storks! After checking them out in my zoom lens, I could discern they were two fuzzy-headed juveniles. What in the world are they doing here? I checked the sightings map on ebird.com and found only one close-by sighting in Jersey, GA. This was a new one for me “on Walton Pond”. Walton County, Georgia  Wood Storks. Photo #201509028 |
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In December 1993 I came to know the Designer and Creator of this wonderful planet and its creatures: Jesus Christ.
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