Five-lined Skink at Ramapo Reservation

Five-lined Skink
Ramapo Valley County Reservation
Bergen County NJ
June 2023

The blue coloration on immature skinks is always very striking! Five-lined Skinks are the only wild lizard found in North Jersey. Adult males have large orange heads while females are more of a bronze coloration. Adult skinks do not have blue tails.

Never seen a Skink? You’d need to be hiking near a natural body of water w/o pesticides or perhaps near rocky cliffs in New Jersey.

Canon 77D +Tamron 100-400mm

Red Milkweed Beetle at Greendell Marsh

Red Milkweed Beetle
Greendell Marsh Ecological Preserve
North Jersey
June 2023

A bugs-eye view of an agricultural section of the preserve.

Canon M5 + 28mm macro

Virginia Rail at Troy Meadows

Virginia Rail
Troy Meadows
Parsippany NJ
June 2023

A less than stellar shot of a secretive freshwater marsh bird.

Timber Rattlesnake in NJ

Timber Rattlesnake
Northwestern NJ
June 2023

I located this snake “by ear” after hearing some movement in crackling leaves below blueberry thickets.

This rattlesnake neither rattled nor coiled at me. We simply observed each other for a few short minutes. I believe this rattlesnake was on the smaller side as it was not much wider or longer than a common water snake.

When I am hiking into “snake country” I wear hiking boots + jeans and I bring a long telephoto lens for these chance encounters.

Canon 77D + Tamron 150-600mm

North Carolina Trip May 2023 Wrap-up

North Carolina Trip – May 2023

The remainder of the pics from my trip to coastal NC + OBX from May 2023

1-3 Springers Point Preserve
4-6 Ocracoke beaches
7 Ocracoke Light
8 Columbia NC Wheatfeld
9 Pea Island NWR
10 First New Inlet Bridge at Hatteras Island

Trail with Mountain Laurel, 2

Trail with Mountain Laurel, 2
Bass River State Forest
New Jersey Pine Lands

A different angle of the flowering Mountain Laurel from last week.

Canon M5 + 11-22mm lens

Trail with Mountain Laurel

Trail with Mountain Laurel
Bass River State Forest
New Jersey Pinelands
June 2023

I was not expecting to shoot a landscape at midday yet I had to try to capture the spectacle of peak blooms of the Mountain Laurel.

Canon EOS M5 + 11-22mm

Wildlife Drive at Pocosin Lakes

Wildlife Drive
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
North Carolina, May 2023

I enjoyed the scenery at Pocosin Lakes just as much as I enjoyed the wildlife on our visit.

In addition to seeing a small handful of bears I also observed Red-headed Woodpecker, Blue Grosbeak, and Indigo Buntings.

Canon M5 + 18-150mm lens