Defenders of Wildlife Pool

Female Common Yellowthroat

nobody@flickr.com (Roger Hickey) — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 14:54:10 -0700

Roger Hickey has added a photo to the pool:

SW Ohio
May 7, 2026

Butterfly: Common Rose । আলতে ।

nobody@flickr.com (Anowarul Haq) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 09:32:27 -0700

Anowarul Haq has added a photo to the pool:

Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
www.alochhobi.net

Barred Owl

nobody@flickr.com (Roger Hickey) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:00:15 -0700

Roger Hickey has added a photo to the pool:

SW Ohio
June 6, 2026

Rainbow-bearded Thornbill

nobody@flickr.com (Jmawnster) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:00:23 -0700

Jmawnster has added a photo to the pool:

Rainbow-bearded Thornbill - Termales del Ruiz, Manizales, Colombia

Bird Species (# 678) that I photographed and placed on my Flickr Photostream. Overall goal is 1000.

My guide on this birding trip was Javier Zurita. I highly recommend him as a guide and friend. He can be reached via his website www.javierzuritaphotography.com

eBird Report and listing details - macaulaylibrary.org/asset/658940475

Firecracker skimmer.

nobody@flickr.com (Alexandra Rudge.California life!) — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 16:07:52 -0700

Alexandra Rudge.California life! has added a photo to the pool:

The flame skimmer or firecracker skimmer (Libellula saturata) is a common dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to western North America.

Male flame skimmers are known for their entirely red or dark orange body, this includes eyes, legs, and even wing veins. Females are usually a medium or darker brown with some thin, yellow markings. This particular type of skimmer varies in size but is generally measured somewhere between two and three inches long. These naiads are known for being rather large and chubby-looking due to their rounded abdomen. They are covered with hair but, unlike most young dragonflies, they lack hooks or spines.

Los Angeles. California.

Firecracker skimmer.

nobody@flickr.com (Alexandra Rudge.California life!) — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 10:53:15 -0700

Alexandra Rudge.California life! has added a photo to the pool:

Photo taking with my new EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Canon telephoto zoom lens. NO PHOTOSHOP.

The flame skimmer or firecracker skimmer (Libellula saturata) is a common dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, native to western North America.

Male flame skimmers are known for their entirely red or dark orange body, this includes eyes, legs, and even wing veins. Females are usually a medium or darker brown with some thin, yellow markings. This particular type of skimmer varies in size but is generally measured somewhere between two and three inches long. These naiads are known for being rather large and chubby-looking due to their rounded abdomen. They are covered with hair but, unlike most young dragonflies, they lack hooks or spines.

Los Angeles. California.

Black and White Warbler

nobody@flickr.com (Roger Hickey) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 15:30:04 -0700

Roger Hickey has added a photo to the pool:

SW Ohio
May 6, 2026

Cinnamon Bicard Los Cedros Reserve Ecuador

nobody@flickr.com (gordonsheret60) — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 04:15:44 -0700

gordonsheret60 has added a photo to the pool:

Eye to Eye

nobody@flickr.com (Roger Hickey) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 17:21:31 -0700

Roger Hickey has added a photo to the pool:

Barred Owl
SW Ohio
June 6, 2026

Clearwing at Los Cedros Reserve in Ecuador

nobody@flickr.com (gordonsheret60) — Sat, 06 Jun 2026 16:01:08 -0700

gordonsheret60 has added a photo to the pool:

Black Bear Boar

nobody@flickr.com (Roger Hickey) — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 17:10:41 -0700

Roger Hickey has added a photo to the pool:

Cades Cove, TN
May 2026

Dusty skimmer.

nobody@flickr.com (Alexandra Rudge.California life!) — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 16:12:28 -0700

Alexandra Rudge.California life! has added a photo to the pool:

Archaic name - dusty skimmer.

Size: medium, length 31 - 40 mm, wingspan 52 - 60 mm

Male: cardinal red head, thorax, abdomen, wing veins; red on wings diffuse, only close to body and near leading edge; wings have very small dark streaks at extreme base; thorax sides have two small white spots; body with no black, appears stubby; red legs

Female: less colorful, often reddish tan; stout; pale red legs

Sympetrum is a genus of small to medium-sized skimmer dragonflies, known as darters in the UK and as meadowhawks in the North America. The more than 50 species predominantly live in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere; no Sympetrum species is native to Australia.

Most North American darters fly in late summer and autumn, breeding in ponds and foraging over meadows. Commonly, they are yellow-gold as juveniles, with mature males and some females becoming bright red on part or all of their bodies. An exception to this color scheme is the black darter (Sympetrum danae).

The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. San Marino. California.

Gold find.

nobody@flickr.com (Alexandra Rudge.California life!) — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 16:28:42 -0700

Alexandra Rudge.California life! has added a photo to the pool:

Perithemis intensa - Mexican Amberwing.

Size: very small, length 23 - 29 mm, wingspan 40- 45 mm.

Male: very small & stubby; all bright orange including legs and wings, orange stigma; thorax tawny, no distinct spots; very unwary; tend to perch on twigs; immatures more yellow.

Female: yellow-orange body; wings - amber-orange bands with dark spots, darker stigma than male.

Behavior: very unwary.

Habitat: ponds, lakes, slow streams, pools of rivers.

Los Angeles.California.

Heermit Thrush

nobody@flickr.com (Roger Hickey) — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:30:45 -0700

Roger Hickey has added a photo to the pool:

SW Ohio
April 11, 2026

A monarch butterfly.

nobody@flickr.com (Alexandra Rudge.California life!) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 22:13:14 -0700

Alexandra Rudge.California life! has added a photo to the pool:

The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae), in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer. It is resident in the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira, and is found as an occasional migrant in Western Europe and a rare migrant in the United Kingdom. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 centimetres (3½–4 in). (The Viceroy butterfly is similar in color and pattern, but is markedly smaller and has an extra black stripe across the hind wing.) Female Monarchs have darker veins on their wings, and the males have a spot called the "androconium" in the center of each hind wing[8] from which pheromones are released. Males are also slightly larger than female monarchs.

The Monarch is famous for its southward migration and northward return in summer from Canada to Mexico and Baja California which spans the life of three to four generations of the butterfly.
The Monarch’s wingspan ranges from 8.9–10.2 cm (3½–4 in.).The upper side of the wings is tawny-orange, the veins and margins are black, and in the margins are two series of small white spots. The fore wings also have a few orange spots near the tip. The underside is similar but the tip of the fore wing and hind wing are yellow-brown instead of tawny-orange and the white spots are larger.

The male has a black patch of androconial scales responsible for dispersing pheromones on the hind wings, and the black veins on its wing are narrower than the female’s. The male is also slightly larger.

A color variation has been observed in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and the United States as early as the late 19th century. Named nivosus by Lepidopterists, it is grayish white in all areas of the wings that are normally orange. Generally it is only about 1% or less of all monarchs, but has maintained populations as high as 10% on Oahu in Hawaii, possibly due to selective predation.

Like all insects the Monarch has six legs, however it uses only four of its legs as it carries its two front legs against its body.

Natural History Museum. Butterfly Pavilion. Los Angeles. California.

Hungry and intense

nobody@flickr.com (Doug Greenberg) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:45:27 -0700

Doug Greenberg has added a photo to the pool:

Our local Cooper's hawk dropped by the back deck raling in search of a meal. The birds that were feeding detected it and fled, leaving the hawk frustrated. Tough life.

A mexican amberwing.

nobody@flickr.com (Alexandra Rudge.California life!) — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 15:59:23 -0700

Alexandra Rudge.California life! has added a photo to the pool:

Mexican Amberwing.

Size: very small, length 23 - 29 mm, wingspan 40- 45 mm.

Male: very small & stubby; all bright orange including legs and wings, orange stigma; thorax tawny, no distinct spots; very unwary; tend to perch on twigs; immatures more yellow.

Female: yellow-orange body; wings - amber-orange bands with dark spots, darker stigma than male.

Behavior: very unwary.

Habitat: ponds, lakes, slow streams, pools of rivers.

Los Angeles. California.

Yellow-throated Vireo

nobody@flickr.com (Roger Hickey) — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:40:40 -0700

Roger Hickey has added a photo to the pool:

SW Ohio
May 30, 2026

Blue-headed Vireo

nobody@flickr.com (Jmawnster) — Sat, 30 May 2026 08:22:44 -0700

Jmawnster has added a photo to the pool:

Blue-headed Vireo - Warbler Road, Blue Ridge Parkway, Acadia, VA, USA

Bird Species (# 677) that I photographed and placed on my Flickr Photostream. Overall goal is 1000.

eBird Report and listing details - macaulaylibrary.org/asset/658714162

Kentucky Warbler

nobody@flickr.com (Roger Hickey) — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 15:36:10 -0700

Roger Hickey has added a photo to the pool:

SW Ohio
May 30, 2026