Jack in the Box

One of the young birds disappeared before I was able to get the improvised shoe-box bird nest ready; but the other enjoyed this little refuge for a couple of days while the mother faithfully kept watch until it was able to fly.

Empty Nest Syndrome

These little birds hopped out of their nest before they were able to fly. The mother was frantically trying to keep them fed and attempting to distract any potential predators.

A picture of a turtle in hand...

Is worth a thousand words and 3 turtles in the bush.

This little terrapin was rescued from a busy street and placed in a turtle-friendly location at Phinizy Swamp.

Box Turtle

Box Turtle at Phinizy Swamp.

Mistletoe State Park Cricket

A gorgeous, very healthy and energetic field cricket that crossed my path at Mistletoe State Park in Georgia today.

Turtles at Phinizy Swamp

A picture to left-click on if there ever were one.
Turtles at Phinizy Swamp June 10th 2005

Snake on the Fence

A snake at Phinizy Swamp June 10th 2005

First Garden Spider of 2005

Here is the first Garden Spider (a very young one), that I've seen at Phinizy Swamp this year.

Metallic Green Wasp Preening

In this picture you can see this wasp preening its wings.
It appears from this picture that the wings are being held beneath the rear leg pair.

Metallic Green Wasp - Phinizy Swamp

This wasp was walking along the top of a wooden walkway that crosses the swamp. I was lucky enough to get a picture of this wasp preening. This is the wasp standing in its normal position. In the next picture, its wings are pushed down by the rear legs to a level below the abdomen.

Dragonfly

Dragonfly - Phinizy Swamp

Phinizy Swamp Jumper

Jumping Spider - Phinizy Swamp - 04 June 2005

This jumping spider was on a wooden bridge which crosses over a portion of Phinizy Swamp.

Grasshopper Guide

Grasshopper Guide - Phinizy Swamp - 04 June 2005

This grasshopper was guiding my path through Phinizy Swamp this evening. It seemed to be following me along my route, and at 3 different places where I had to decide which way to turn, it flew on up ahead of me as if to say: "This way! The good stuff is this way!" I chose to follow, and found many wonderful things. I was able to take some great nature shots which I will be sharing over the next few days. Thanks to this "grasshopper guide" for helping to make my time outdoors today exceptionally enjoyable.

Orthoptera Link

Gordon's Orthoptera Page

Caring for Crickets

Birds In a Bird's Nest

"Here we sit like birds in a bird's nest - waiting for our food! FOOD!"

My sisters and I used to sing that song sometimes while sitting around the dining room table and banging our utensils with the beat of the song on the table. There were other verses as well and it was all done in very good humor. So this nest was discovered in my apartment complex tonight. The mother bird was feeding them on a pretty regular basis at about 8:30pm.
I wasn't able to get any good pictures of her feeding them tonight.
I'll try again sometime in the next few days.

Bug On The Porch

This bug is something close to a milkweed bug (missing a hind foot); but it's not quite a milkweed bug. I'll try to identify it further and will update this post when I figure it out.
My Front Porch on 23 May 2005

Moonlit Cardinal Twilight

Moonlit Cardinal Twilight
Phinizy Swamp 2005

Ground Beetle Out for a Walk

This is a ground beetle that I found sharing the trail through Phinizy Swamp on the 21st of May.

Wasps in Phinizy Swamp - Close Up View

In the first picture (below) you can make out a few of these wasps under the lip in the top left hand corner of the section of fence in the foreground.

Wasps! Wasps! Everywhere!

I was walking through Phinizy Swamp today when I noticed something flying around the outer edge of this fence. I decided to get a closer look...

Phinizy Swamp in Augusta, GA

Phinizy Swamp is one of my favorite places to go for a nature hike.