williamwisephoto's Journal

Nature Journal entry, July 17, 2015...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 30164327 - White-tailed Deer; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. July 17, 2015. ©williamwisephoto.com

I love to see the neighborhood deer. It is good to know that we humans haven't been able to eradicate every habitat and animal on the planet yet. However, the deer love our Day Lilies. I wouldn't mind, except I paid money for them! And now I'm forced to spend more money on deer repellent to spray on the desired vegetation. I wish the deer would just be satisfied with the persimmon tree planted in our backyard.

I mostly see does and fawns, but this morning at 6:30 AM on my way to morning prayer, I managed to spot a young buck still in velvet chowing down at the better landscaped yard up the street. I'm sure when my neighbor awakes they too will make trip to Lowes in frustration to purchase some repellent!

​Athens, Georgia

Nature Journal July 7, 2018

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 91858801 - Osprey Nest; Greene County, Georgia. July 7, 2018. ©williamwisephoto.com

A few weeks ago I went to a small restaurant near Lake Oconee in Georgia, USA. I spotted several active Osprey nests. How badly I wanted to stop the car for some photos! But I didn’t want my photography addiction to get me in trouble again. Just have patience. Enjoy dinner with family. An opportunity will arise later, I told myself.

Patience paid off. After dinner, while my wife and kids went to a small store, I raced back and parked under pole #66 where a large Osprey nest sat atop the utility tower. Two hungry juveniles waited in the nest. It seemed their patience had run out as they squealed and cried for dinner. Patience youngsters. Mom and dad will soon be back with dinner. After a few minutes, an adult Osprey soared in toward the nest with a fish in its talons. Then the action began!

​The two juveniles and two adults shifted and bounced around the nest while eating their dinner and a few good shots became available. The longer I exercised my patience, the more shots became available. More Osprey circled the skies, some carrying large fish. I also shot a soaring Mississippi Kite. Patience pays off!

Getting my photos, I quickly sped back to the store to pick up my family. No problems! I had family time and photography time! You just have to have a little patience!

• July 7, 2018; Greene County, Georgia
• Today: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 4pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83.
• Sunrise Today: 6:28 am, Sunset Today: 8:47 pm
• Daylight Hours: 14 hours, 18 minutes (-43s)
• Moon: 37.1%, Waning Crescent

His thick green shell scarred with the signs of a brutal conflict, the giant beetle lay dead. Who knows how long he fought before being vanquished by the rival that disappeared into the night with the mate that the conquered had hoped to win...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 51727710 - Eastern Hercules Beetle; Walton County, Georgia. June 30, 2020. ©williamwisephoto.com

June 30, 2020; Walton County, GA - I couldn’t help but notice this massive Eastern Hercules Beetle on the sidewalk outside the back door of my office. With its large pronotal and clypeal horns, Dynastes tityus is fittingly classified into the “rhinoceros beetle” family. Both its common name and scientific name are steeped in Greek Mythology. No doubt a reference to the beetle’s size, Tityus was a Greek giant that was so large he split his mother’s womb. And Hercules is, of course, known to most of us as the Greek strongman who fought many battles, or labours. In similar feats of strength, there are many short videos on the internet of Hercules Beetles battling it out with each other.

Interestingly, the following morning I found another dead one about ten feet from where I found the first. Since they are reported to be active primarily in the pre-dawn hours, my imagination conjures scenes of battle campaigns between these horned brutes while the rest of us sleep. The only evidence of their nocturnal warfare is the carnage of vanquished foes that lie dead from exhaustion on our sidewalks.

• Walton County, GA

Proverbs 1:5 Let the wise listen and add to their learning...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 80639369 - White-eyed Vireo; Walton County, Georgia. May 30, 2018. ©williamwisephoto.com

Journal entry from May 30, 2018... Having heard a strange bird call while lunch-break birding in a small patch of woods near my office a few weeks ago, I kept after the little bird until I spotted his spooky white eyes. I looked up this White-eyed Vireo and listened to the call a few times to commit it to memory for future reference. Birding by ear opens up entire new realms. Often, you can’t get a clear look on the myriads of little birds flitting about the bushes, but if you listen, you can certainly hear them all around. Bird lists get even longer if you can identify their calls.

Walking in the same area again today and listening to the various calls and songs, I could hear the little Vireo in a Bradford Pear tree. I did a little playback on my phone. He was listening and popped out to the edge of a branch long enough for a photograph! I have a few previous photos of White-eyed Vireos, but this one was finally close and clear enough for a high resolution shot. Glad he listened!
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Walton County, Georgia Wednesday, April 30, 2018, 12:47 PM

• Partly sunny with a chance of thunderstorms; high 86°
• Sunrise 6:24 AM, sunset 8:38 PM
• Day length: 14 hours, 14 minutes
• Moon: waning gibbous, 99% illumination

Phinzy Swamp Nature Park in Augusta (Richmond County) Georgia, is probably the closest habitat for wading birds and alligators I can get to on a day trip. I like making a trip to Phinizy to get my fix on alligators and wading birds that I can't photograph where I live in the Piedmont. There are always plenty of photo opportunities in just a few short hours of walking at Phinizy Swamp!

• Sunny, with a high near 75
• Sunrise 7:18 AM; Sunset 7:46 PM
• Daylight hours: 12 hours, 28 minutes (+2m 4s)
• Moon 82% Waxing Gibbous

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 206304034 - White-eyed Vireo; Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Augusta, Georgia. March 29, 2024. ©williamwisephoto.com

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 211931229 - Pied-billed Grebe; Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Augusta, Georgia. March 29, 2024. ©williamwisephoto.com

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 211931236 - Red-winged Blackbird; Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Augusta, Georgia. March 29, 2024. ©williamwisephoto.com

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 212630147 - American Alligator; Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Augusta, Georgia. March 29, 2024. ©williamwisephoto.com

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 213155963 - American Alligator; Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Augusta, Georgia. March 29, 2024. ©williamwisephoto.com

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 213384617 - Little Blue Heron; Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Augusta, Georgia. March 29, 2024. ©williamwisephoto.com

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 213658521 - Western Cattle Egret; Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Augusta, Georgia. March 29, 2024. ©williamwisephoto.com

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 214969311 - Little Blue Heron; Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, Augusta, Georgia. March 29, 2024. ©williamwisephoto.com

The May 15th end of Turkey Season gave this Tom a reason to strut!

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 78817029 - Wild Turkey; Walton County, Georgia. May 15, 2018.

Tuesday 7:44 AM - This tom has a reason to rejoice and strut his stuff. He has made it through (almost) one of the longest Turkey seasons and lived to brag about it!

As I drove into work, I saw a gathering of Wild Turkey in a field off to my left where I’ve frequently seen the gobblers. But today, a male was really giving a show to several females. This boy was all fired and decked out in puffed plumage, red wattle, and widespread fan. Not only was he impressing the gathering of females, but he made me pull over to get some photos!
​
Because of high reproduction in the previous years, the GA Department of Natural Resources predicted a “good supply of vocal 2-year old gobblers across much of the state” and allowed an extended hunting season from March 24 through May 15; each hunter being allowed a bag limit of three gobblers. So this Tom had about 12 more hours and then smooth sailing until next season.

Walton County, Georgia May 15, 2018

• Cloudy, high 77°; 50% chance of afternoon storms
• Sunrise 6:33 AM, sunset 8:26 PM
• Day length: 13 hours, 55 minutes
• New Moon

Flashback from May 14, 1998...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 18828028 - Red Fox; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. May 14, 1998.

In May of 1998, while working at Athens-Clarke County Animal Control, we received an inordinate number of calls about a Red Fox (Vulpes fulves) walking down the streets of the wooded subdivision near the mall in broad daylight. A few callers even stated the fox was bold enough to enter carports to feast on the free bounty of cat food.

Knowing it was late spring, the conclusion was made that she was a lactating female needing extra nourishment to feed her newborn kits. After narrowing down the location based upon calls of the last few weeks, a little investigation revealed the den site where I encountered several kits at play. I managed a photograph before they darted into their hole more afraid of me than I was of them. Mama fox was a not "rabid beast", but a caring mother just looking to support her family.

Backyard nature journal entry, May 13, 2017...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 43447499 - Green Anole; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. May 13, 2017. ©williamwisephoto.com

Saturday, 4:21 PM - The day started off damp and gray after the thunderstorms last night. Although it was 65 degrees, it felt a tad cool on my back patio this morning.

Still not seeing any regular appearances by the female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this year; just an occasional male. The Chipping Sparrows have begun building a nest in Crepe Myrtle tree by my grill. My regular Anoles scurry around.

How many green Carolina Anoles can I photograph on my back patio? As many as I want! Just because something is common, doesn't mean it isn't intriquing and wonderful to behold! I had fun watching this one. Instead of scurrying away from me, He kept doing his "push-ups" and enlarging his pink dewlap. It is obvious my back patio is his territory to protect. I'm glad he allows me some time to relax out here every once in a while!

Athens, Georgia; May 13, 2017

Working alongside an animal control department provides some good front-row-seat opportunities...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 45282441 - Timber Rattlesnake; Walton County, Georgia. May 8, 2020. ©williamwisephoto.com

A co-worker texted me after-hours and said, “I’ve got one for you!” Along with that text came a photo of a nice sized Timber Rattlesnake in a five-gallon bucket. The dark, v-shaped chevron patterns ran in regular intervals down its body while an orangish stripe ran along the spine, head to (almost) tail. And at the end of the black-tipped tail were six rattles. I couldn't wait to get to work the next morning to see this beautiful snake!

The animal control officer was called out to a rural farm property in Walton County, not too far from a recent clear-cut of several hundred acres. No doubt the logging activity drove the snake out towards human habitations. Normally the officers don't respond to snake calls unless they are in the residence. But instead of leaving this rattlesnake to face the possibility of being killed by the caller, the officer went and removed it from the property. After I did some photography and a short video, for which it put on a nice show, I released it in a forested area not too far from where it was originally picked up.

• May 8, 2020; Walton County, Georgia

Nature journal entry from May 5, 2018...

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 78372775 - Carolina Chickadee; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. May 5, 2018. ©williamwisephoto.com

Saturday, 8:00 AM - Yes, the squirrels are God’s creatures to. And yes, at times I do enjoy watching their antics and acrobatics at the bird feeders. But man, the little buggers can drive me crazy! Why do they have to sit there and entirely empty the feeder, spreading it all over the ground? Why can’t they just take their share and move on?

Even though I had to repeatedly run the squirrels off, I still had a nice day of birding. To be honest, until the following morning, I had totally forgotten that today was the Cornell Lab 2018 Global Big Day. Even so, I was still diligent to make a backyard ebird list. I also spent a large part of the day putting older blogs and photographs into ebird to get my total species count equal to my life list. Unless I missed some, my ebird total species stands at 121!

Most of the birds today were the normal backyard birds. The only less-than-usual visitors were a Summer Tanager and a Brown-headed Nuthatch. I also sat attempting to get a photo of the Carolina chickadee coming in and out of the camouflage color nest box in the backyard.

Athens, Clarke County, Georgia

• Sunny, high 83°; low 67°
• Sunrise 6:39 AM; sunset 8:20 PM
• Day length: 13 hours, 39 minutes
• Moon: 73% waning gibbous

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 78372773 - Eastern Gray Squirrel; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. May 5, 2018. ©williamwisephoto.com

Photographer: William Wise | iNat Observation: 78372774 - Brown Thrasher; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. May 5, 2018. ©williamwisephoto.com