Nature Watch, Your Flora and Fauna Photos and Stories

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A content gang-gang cockatoo just outside our house. He was so interested in cracking tree nuts open that I was able to walk close for this shot. I wish I had had a better camera than my iPhone with me.


 
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Firecrest in West Sussex.

Only about 550 breeding pairs in the UK. High ISO, so not the sharpest pic, but very happy to get this.

 
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Owl that seems to enjoy daylight. Always out behind our house.

 
IMG_6418.mov - 7.2 MB
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I initially thought it was a black widow, but now not so sure.
Doesn't matter, as long as it's dead!
 
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I initially thought it was a black widow, but now not so sure.

May be a Red Spotted ant mimic spider. Definitely not a widow.
 
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Doesn't matter, as long as it's dead!
Haha! Yep. Right after taking the photo, I smooshed it and flushed it.

Then, I sent a photo to my wife, and she was googling and told me that she thought it was a black widow and that I needed to contact an expert. 😂
 
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May be a Red Spotted ant mimic spider. Definitely not a widow.
You may be correct. My spider just had particular geometrical red markings compared to most of the photos of the species. But it seem highly variable, and they are in Colorado.

They're harmless to humans and dogs, and they eat ants. So now I feel bad about killing it. 🙁
 
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You may be correct. My spider just had particular geometrical red markings compared to most of the photos of the species. But it seem highly variable, and they are in Colorado.

They're harmless to humans and dogs, and they eat ants. So now I feel bad about killing it. 🙁

Yep, those markings have high variation. Unfortunately, black widows also can have pretty high variation, including dorsal stripes or spots in addition to The Hourglass or spots on the underside. It's pretty common to confuse these two, the widow has a more rounded abdomen and is almost completely hairless.

Better safe than sorry- I don't recommend being bitten by venomous animals 🤣!
 
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These are some beautiful photos!

This was a lucky shot too. Happened to see it out the window and quickly grabbed the smart phone camera.

I used to think we had really bulky, well fed eastern blue jays until I looked up the Steller's Jay. I like them because they have attitude. Guides I've consulted call them sassy, nosy, intelligent and loud. Apparently they can mimic many other bird calls and will mimic birds of prey to scare of other birds competing for food.
 
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This was a lucky shot too. Happened to see it out the window and quickly grabbed the smart phone camera.

I used to think we had really bulky, well fed eastern blue jays until I looked up the Seller's Jay. I like them because they have attitude. Guides I've consulted call them sassy, nosy, intelligent and loud. Apparently they can mimic many other bird calls and will mimic birds of prey to scare of other birds competing for food.

Can confirm- We have some here that regularly mimic red-tailed hawk calls! They've done this a couple of times when I have taken the kids to picnic in the park, presumably to drive away other birds.
 
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You may be correct. My spider just had particular geometrical red markings compared to most of the photos of the species. But it seem highly variable, and they are in Colorado.

They're harmless to humans and dogs, and they eat ants. So now I feel bad about killing it. 🙁
We have have little house millipedes I hate. My wife calls them silverfish but don't think they technically are. Anyway, when I see a spider in the house, if it doesn't look dangerous or occupying an inconvenient space, I make it a deal that I'll leave it alone if it eats those millipedes.

The one pictured above looks kind of terrifying tho.
 
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Haha! Yep. Right after taking the photo, I smooshed it and flushed it.

Then, I sent a photo to my wife, and she was googling and told me that she thought it was a black widow and that I needed to contact an expert. 😂
I guess the Aussies are going "ahh thats cute".