An Arch

(166 views)
by Bryan Costales

An arch, at the Castro Street Fair, was decorated with the Day Of The Dead design.

Three "Girls!"

(166 views)
by Bryan Costales

This mural was titled, "Girls!," and was painted on one of the doors of the AC Hotel in downtown San Jose, California. It depicted three girls standing in front of a brick wall. The girls appeared to be friends.

American White Pelican

(165 views)
by Terry Costales

There was this one lone white pelican at the nature center that day. It was probably an injured bird being nursed back to health, or it just knew a good hand-out when it saw one.

Black Crowned Night Heron

(164 views)
by Terry Costales

It's breeding season again for the Night Herons and Snowy Egrets. Here is a Heron settling a property dispute with his Egret neighbor.

Black-Crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

(163 views)
by Terry Costales

A large fledgling appears mesmerized by the camera.

Heermann's Gull

(162 views)
by Terry Costales

This juvenile Heermann's gull exhibits its main identifying marks clearly: black feet, red bill and dusky body. As an adult, its head will become pure white.

White-bellied Bustard (Eupodotis senegalensis)

(161 views)
by Terry Costales

I was quite taken with this two foot tall, chicken-turkey-like bird. It's a ground dwelling native of eastern Africa.

Cormorant

(160 views)
by Terry Costales

This bird is resting on an urn placed next to a reflecting pool inside the Stuttgart Zoo. It isn't caged and flew in on its own. I witnessed many herons, storks and cormorants fly into various enclosures to take advantage of the plentiful food supply.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

(160 views)
by Denver Welte

Bald Eagles are very numerous in Dutch Harbor, where they live year round. They are used to people and you see them perched on dumpsters and piers, looking for an easy meal. Bald comes from the Old English "pie-bald", which means partially white.

Collared Aracari (Pteroglossus torquatus)

(159 views)
by Terry Costales

There were many of these toucans in the forest surrounding the volcano. They traveled in small flocks and were easily seen and heard.

Crow

(158 views)
by Terry Costales

This is not my typical bird photo. I usually prefer a close-up that reveals identifying marks of the species. But sometimes, you just get a cool shot.

Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus)

(158 views)
by Terry Costales

This is a beautiful female camel. She has very petite furry ears.

Grey Heron

(158 views)
by Terry Costales

The Grey Heron is the European version of our Great Blue Heron and quite plentiful in the city of Stuttgart. I saw this one in a large city park where I was lucky to get this in-flight shot. When we got to the Zoo, we discovered dozens of them perched in the trees. Others were perched on buildings ledges, while several were already nesting.

Amazon Kingfisher (Chloroceryle amazona)

(158 views)
by Terry Costales

The mangrove tour's pilot and guide were very supportive of our photographic efforts. This little bird either flew away as soon as the boat moved close, or hid invisibly in the bushes. Near the tours end, one bird thankfully stayed still long enough for me to get this photo.

Northern "Bullock's" Oriole (Icterus bullockii)

(158 views)
by Terry Costales

I observed this female oriole as it fed and then flew into its nearby nest. It would remain in its nest a few minutes, then fly out again. The nest would have been invisible if not for the white egret feathers the orioles had used in its construction.

Jabiru (Jabiru mycteria)

(158 views)
by Terry Costales

Our guide Jaime was very excited to see these migratory Jabiru because they were a very rare sight. Jabiru are storks which stand four and a half feet tall. The ones we saw were sedate and seemed to be resting in the shade.

Bare-Throated Tiger Heron (Tigrisoma mexicanum)

(158 views)
by Terry Costales

We saw a lot of these solitary herons on the trip. Although it's called bare throated, you can't see that detail in this flying shot.

Long-nosed bat

(158 views)
by Terry Costales

On a tour of the Canal of Palms, this was the first animal spotted by our guide. There were three of these tiny bats on the underside of a dead branch. How the guide even saw them was a mystery because they were perfectly camouflaged. The guide identified them as long-nosed bats.

Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)

(158 views)
by Terry Costales

This is a male Canvasback duck resting in the water. You can't see the long red neck in this photo but I like the pose anyway.

Butterfly

(157 views)
by Terry Costales

The Hall of Butterflies (Schmetterlingshalle) was one of my favorite spots in the Zoo.

Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope)

(157 views)
by Terry Costales

A very understated but beautiful duck. There is also an American Wigeon but I haven't personally seen one yet.

Green Iguana (Iguana iguana)

(157 views)
by Terry Costales

This prehistoric looking male Green Iguana appeared beautiful yet frightening.

Butterfly

(157 views)
by Terry Costales

A rare opportunity to see and photograph these colorful creatures. Butterfly in German is Schmetterling.

Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)

(157 views)
by Terry Costales

The Little Blue was the prettiest heron I saw in Costa Rica. Its body was blue, the neck a purplish color and it always appeared very graceful. We saw them in every region we visited.

Black River Turtle (Rhinoclemmys funerea)

(157 views)
by Terry Costales

There are numerous Black River Turtles in the canals and rivers of Costa Rica. We stopped to view a caiman near the riverbank and this curious turtle came up to the boat. It was definitely used to people and was looking for a handout. Of course feeding the wildlife is frowned upon. It makes them dependent on humans and puts them at risk of disease and abuse.