🔥The 9th Round of Easy Loan, Earn $40 Reward is in progress❗️ ⏰ Promotion Period: January 15th - Feburary 15th, 2025 👉 Register now and check more details at gate.io/campaigns/358

Marsh Fritillaries quite easy to find when the sun came out today at Prestbury Hill near Cheltenham.

I saw a really vibrant female Northern Cardinal recently at a #nature preserve west of #OrlandoFL. Part of the vibrancy may have been the morning light being at a nice angle vis a vis the perch she picked. #birds #BirdsSeenIn2025 #ThePhotoHour #NaturePhotography #NatureBeauty

A cute Killdeer was skittering about a lakeside park west of #OrlandoFL recently. While thought of as shore #birds, seems like I see them more often like this, foraging grassy areas for bugs etc. #ThePhotoHour #nature #NaturePhotography #birdphotography #BirdsSeenIn2025

One of our larger #dragonflies is the Great Blue Skimmer, like this one last week at a #nature preserve west of #OrlandoFL. While some blue-ish aspects are seen in this individual, it is mature males with thoroughly blue abdomens that give the species its name. #ThePhotoHour

At a botanical garden south of #Orlando recently, a Monarch sampled nectar from various #Florida #wildflowers but unsurprisingly lingered mostly around their favored milkweed (swamp milkweed shown). #nature #ThePhotoHour #NaturePhotography #NatureBeauty #TitliTuesday #Butterfly

Fun sighting this week at the one neighborhood pond where I sometimes see a Black-Necked Stilt, and sure enough there they were! Low pond levels due to drought is maybe good for these #birds, making prey easier to find. #OrlandoFL #BirdsSeenIn2025 #ThePhotoHour #WildlifeWednesday

At a #nature preserve west of #OrlandoFL last week, life stages of the largest North American grasshopper, the Eastern Lubber, were on display! An adult is at left, and the youngster at right is eating its way thru a leaf! #ThePhotoHour #InsectThursday #nature #NaturePhotography

A young Purple Gallinule shows hints of the flamboyant colors it will soon sport, but for now blends in almost perfectly with the marginal vegetation along a lakeshore west of #OrlandoFL last week. #BirdsSeenIn2025 #ThePhotoHour #nature #NaturePhotography #TwitterNatureCommunity pic.x.com/WyTqopRuQS

Last week at a #nature preserve west of #OrlandoFL, a colorful creature caught my eye. A male Southeastern Five-Lined Skink I do believe! Heads of the males turn a bright reddish orange for mating season. #nature #ThePhotoHour #NaturePhotography #lizard #TwitterNatureCommunity

Got derailed by health issues for a while but was delighted to be back outdoors a few days ago for a stroll at a botanical garden near #OrlandoFL, and was greeted by a beautiful and ever-fluttering Polydamas Swallowtail! #TitliTuesday #ThePhotoHour #butterfly #NaturePhotography

At a botanical garden near #OrlandoFL recently, a male Northern Cardinal was having a fantastic hair day, and posed proudly, albeit tucked away in quite a dense thicket of small trees. #nature #NaturePhotography #NatureBeauty #WildlifeWednesday #BirdsSeenIn2025 #ThePhotoHour

This Fiery Skipper was bouncing from bloom to bloom in a #butterfly garden near #OrlandoFL recently. This one is a male, with a more "fiery" orange look than the slightly drabber females usually have. #InsectThursday #butterflies #NatureBeauty #ThePhotoHour #NaturePhotography

On a neighborhood walk I was surprised by this Black-Bellied Whistling Duck group, as I have mostly seen only the occasional lone individual of this species here. They are fairly common to see in #nature parks further out of town though. #OrlandoFL #BirdsSeenIn2025 #ThePhotoHour

A young Purple Gallinule shows hints of the flamboyant colors it will soon sport, but for now blends in so well with the marginal vegetation along a lakeshore west of #OrlandoFL. #BirdsSeenIn2025 #ThePhotoHour #nature #NaturePhotography #TwitterNatureCommunity

The morning sun at this particular angle really lights up the "gold" in this Golden Winged Skimmer at a #nature preserve west of #Orlando recently! #Florida #dragonfly #InsectThursday #ThePhotoHour #NatureBeauty #TwitterNatureCommunity

Last day of our butterfly recce in Austria for Mariposa Nature Tours: on our way to the airport we stopped at a service station, 4 hours later we were back in the car! Dryad, Scotch Argus, Map and Scarce Swallowtail - the Dryad was a lifer for me 😊

At a small lakeside #nature park west of #Orlando, a male Four-Spotted Pennant perches prominently in the morning sun. As a bonus, we can actually see all four of the namesake dark brownish spots here! #ThePhotoHour #Florida #dragonfly #NaturePhotography #NatureBeauty #insect

Last week I saw a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in our back garden go from drinking nectar at russelia flowers to perching on a nearby live oak branch! The throat is "ruby" in males only, with the right light. #OrlandoFL #BirdsSeenIn2025 #ThePhotoHour #NaturePhotography #NatureBeauty

Had to make an "emergency caterpillar food" run to my favorite garden center this past weekend and a wonderful bonus was seeing a gorgeous male Black Swallowtail #butterfly enjoying penta blooms! #OrlandoFL #TitliTuesday #ThePhotoHour #Butterflies #TwitterNatureCommunity #nature

At a park south of #Orlando last week, a Roseate Spoonbill was busy with extensive maintenance work on those vibrant feathers! #Florida #BirdsSeenIn2025 #NatureBeauty #WildlifeWednesday #birds #NaturePhotography #TwitterNatureCommunity #ThePhotoHour