Tag Archives: nature

Costa Rica Scarlet Macaw In Flight

March 19, 2023 Jeff Haltrecht Leave a comment

Bucket list bird! Getting a good image of a bird in flight is arguably the hardest form of taking pictures… their moving fast!!! Off to Costa Rica we went recently for vacation and I had two types of birds to find (also was looking for monkeys in the wild and here too we did not disappoint): the Scarlet Macaw shown here and a Toucan which will be in the next post.

Macaws – also known as Scarlet Macaws and Lapas locally – are native to Costa Rica living in the tropical low land forests along the Pacific Coast. Its estimated 1,500 of the birds call this country home.

The one here has a mate (they mate for life which is roughly 60 years). I heard the pair flying into the area from their noisy unique call, and was able to walk the half kilometer to the tree they landed in. Very lucky to be shooting rapid sequences when this Scarlet Macaw took off towards me.

The second photo below is the pair leaving the area.

two costa rica scarlet macaws in flight lapas

toronto

Wild jungle animals in a rain forest at the Illumi light show

November 11, 2022 Jeff Haltrecht Leave a comment

wild jungle animals rain forest light show illumi

Kind of speaks for itself. This is less about the image and more about the work that went into preparing this detailed light show. Look at the depth in this picture… how many animals of all sizes from front to back, scattered amongst grass and trees. And the color combinations! How many animals do you see? And which ones? Shout out to the engineers who put this together.

muskoka

Watching the Ice Melt is a Canadian Pastime of Spring

Image March 7, 2021 Jeff Haltrecht Leave a comment

Who is ready for spring? This was not the harshest of winters to live through however it did feel like the longest due to the pandemic. We are hardy people and have gotten through it – yay! The Oxford English Dictionary says a pastime is “a diversion or recreation which serves to pass the time agreeably; an activity done for pleasure rather than work…”. That kind of sums up the scene here. Grab a hot chocolate, sit in the sun, and watch the ice melt.

muskoka

Twilight across the lake

December 6, 2020 Jeff Haltrecht Leave a comment

twilight time of day on the cottage life lake — Twilight

This COVID thing is changing the pictures I’m getting. There are less trips out and about or abroad and more images from the home, immediate community or lake front. Being home so much has also allowed the family to appreciate the smaller things that were previously overlooked. And there is more time to go back over earlier pictures and remember certain things or special celebrations. So while there is snow outside now (brrrr!), I can share this earlier picture taken at twilight looking across the lake and remember how hot that evening was and how silent the air was.

muskoka

You are being watched by the resident broad-winged hawk

November 25, 2020 Jeff Haltrecht Leave a comment

This hawk is very impressive to be around. Starting with it’s awareness, it knows where I am all the time and tracks my movement continuously. To a certain degree it finds me curiously entertaining and I would say definitely not a threat. It visits each year for roughly 3 weeks bridging end July and beginning August. Sometimes its by itself (like this year) while others years there are two of them… adult and juvenile. Here its perched high atop a 75ft dead Birch watching me with the camera.

muskoka

A good size Eastern Ribbonsnake checking you out

November 14, 2020 Jeff Haltrecht Leave a comment

eastern ribbonsnake thamnophis sauritus muskoka snakes — Eastern Ribbonsnake in Muskoka

We are fortunate to have a wide variety of wildlife living among us. This year alone I have seen this Eastern Ribbonsnake, a Northern Ring-necked Snake, a broad winged hawk (which I may post next!), a pair of fresh water otters, a beaver, a coyote, a red tailed fox, and sadly too many skunks (why are there so many skunks this year?). I have seen this Eastern Ribbonsnake for 3 consecutive years now. Each spring it gives birth to a few baby snakes, one of which I saw eat a juvenile frog. That is how life roles…

huntsville

son and his dad sharing moment at the waterfall, arrowhead provincial park

November 7, 2020 Jeff Haltrecht Leave a comment

Those moments where so much is said when nothing is said at all. A son and his dad having their time together will be the highlight of their camping trip this past summer.