Wildlife near you :)

Salty.Reefer · Aug 6, 2017

Tahoe61 said:

Nice!

Maritimer · Aug 28, 2017

Took a little boat ride last Saturday . . .

We are headed for a spot thirty miles out into the Atlantic Ocean, off Martha's Vinyard, Massachusetts, having left the port of Galilee, Rhode Island. The plan is to spend much of the day swimming in clear blue water. We'd been sailing into the rising sun for over an hour, when the Captain Charles Donilon slowed his 46' charter fishing boat, the Snappa. First Mate Katie invited four to come up to the bow.

We were about to have an unscheduled rendezvous . . .

This rollicking crew and the Captain played tag for over half an hour . . .

But they weren't the reason we'd come. We were looking for apex predators, graceful and magnificent creatures with a reputation that keeps some folks awake at night with dread, and others with anticipation . . .

We'd come to swim with sharks.

There were two that day - this fellow was the larger, and dubbed "Hook" for a souvenir of a past encounter with a fisherman. "Hook" was about seven feet long, a blue shark - fast when they want to be, blues roam the oceans of the world. This fellow will likely return to the waters off the Azores to meet with his lady - they'll mate and part, each traveling with a loose group of their own gender through most of the year.

Let's get closer . . .

"Hook" has an entourage - a trio of banded rudderfish. Until I met these three, I didn't realize that rudderfish (which are small jacks) could be so very _blue_.

Closer, you say? What - you want to pet a wild shark in the open sea?

Okay, then . . .

Yes, that soft hiss you heard was the shark's dermal denticles scraping against the housing of my handheld action-camera.

I don't have video of the shark that came closer than that one ... but there are scrape-marks on the frame of the mask I was wearing . . . smaller, five-foot shark slipped up from down around my fins, and brushed by so close that all I could see through the mask was his eye, regarding me with curiosity.

_Nobody_ got photo or video of the biggest creatures we encountered - they surfaced about 20 minutes apart with a "Whoosh" - about fifteen feet from the boat; black, polished, like obsidian with a sickle-fin - and they were gone, almost before we could react. Minke whales.

~Bruce

dbl · Sep 3, 2017

That is so awesome Bruce @Maritimer. You're much braver than me....I would have been the one in the cage!!!

Maritimer · Sep 3, 2017

Thanks, David!

Having spent a small lifetime working as an educator (lite) in a Public Aquarium helps develop an understanding of their behavior - being in a boat with a dozen passionate divers _may_ have had an influence on mine.

~Bruce

Salty.Reefer · Dec 5, 2017

Thread RESURGANCE! This thread is way too great to just let die. I know it is winter so a lot of animal activity has decreased but lets get this thread going again.
I have significantly less photos now that I don't have the same job as before. Went from a restoration technician to environmental planner so from the field to the office. Ill try to get some pictures soon.

dbl · Dec 5, 2017

Alright, I'll get the resurgence going with a taste of the Everglades. These were taken about 25 to 30 miles from my front door.

Hogan · Dec 5, 2017

This little fawn was in my driveway.

These dragonflies are everywhere in the summer.

Cutthroat Trout (yes, my wife's fish is bigger than mine...)

Honeybee

Mallard Duck

Canadian Goose on her nest (she's mean when she's awake)

Desert Spiney Lizard (this guy was on the side of the house and was cold so extremely docile. He'd also lost his tail but not by me! His tail was on the ground.)

Yellow scorpion
Every been hunting for scorpions with a black light? In southern utah, there are little yellow ones that are florescent in the light.

Salty.Reefer · Dec 5, 2017

dbl said:
Alright, I'll get the resurgence going with a taste of the Everglades. These were taken about 25 to 30 miles from my front door.

Hogan said:
This little fawn was in my driveway.

These dragonflies are everywhere in the summer.

Cutthroat Trout (yes, my wife's fish is bigger than mine...)

Honeybee

Mallard Duck

Canadian Goose on her nest (she's mean when she's awake)

Desert Spiney Lizard (this guy was on the side of the house and was cold so extremely docile. He'd also lost his tail but not by me! His tail was on the ground.)

Yellow scorpion
Every been hunting for scorpions with a black light? In southern utah, there are little yellow ones that are florescent in the light.

Wow great posts guys. The everglades are so rich in biodiversity.

Spiney lizards are one of my favorites.

Katrina71 · Dec 5, 2017

@dbl if you have any early morning swamp photos please share. I really miss that.

Salty.Reefer · Jan 31, 2018

Went tide pooling the other day after a quick surf. Found a lot of the same rock anemone but still beautiful non the less!
I also saw this weird animal right at sunset. So strange! Last picture for ID guesses.

cracker · Jan 31, 2018

Nothing like the local fauna taking care of business as usual !

Oleshp · Jan 31, 2018

I see very similar critters when I go fishing on Assateague Island. Somehow whenever one is there, it hitch hikes back home

Salty.Reefer · Jan 31, 2018

Oleshp said:
I see very similar critters when I go fishing on Assateague Island. Somehow whenever one is there, it hitch hikes back home

I love Assateague! Such a cool spot. Lost time I was there we were on the road out and an elderly guys got a flat. I pulled over to help and as we were changing the tire a group of 5 or so horse came over to help too! Didn’t get too close but still awesome that they were interested in us.

Oleshp · Jan 31, 2018

We had a horse steal a cheeseburger from us once. Lol. That was good of you for stopping. I thoroughly believe in "beach buggy karma". I drive my escalade on the beach there (all the way to the VA border sometimes) and I have pulled or helped dig out a bunch of people who got stuck in the sand, in hopes that someone would do the same for me.

Salty.Reefer · Jan 31, 2018

Oleshp said:
We had a horse steal a cheeseburger from us once. Lol. That was good of you for stopping. I thoroughly believe in "beach buggy karma". I drive my escalade on the beach there (all the way to the VA border sometimes) and I have pulled or helped dig out a bunch of people who got stuck in the sand, in hopes that someone would do the same for me.

Totally agree. I too believe in Beach buggy karma. Haha just used to call it karma but I like it

Oleshp · Jan 31, 2018

Salty, how often do you make it there? Ever fish while you're there? We pull some pretty big sharks onto that beach in the summertime.

Salty.Reefer · Jan 31, 2018

Oleshp said:
Salty, how often do you make it there? Ever fish while you're there? We pull some pretty big sharks onto that beach in the summertime.

I have only been like 5 times over the last 4 years. My Gf has house on the Easter Shore of Va and a house in Nags head NC. Never fished there. Mainly went for beach days, off-roading and surfing