I nearly stepped on this caterpillar while hiking in early January. Legend has it the area between the black stripes on the woolly bugger or woolly bear caterpillar indicates how mild or harsh the winter will be. The larger the area between the black stripes the milder the winter is supposed to be. Since the rear black stripe can’t even been seen in this photo the caterpillar prediction is for a pretty mild winter.
This black bear slowly wandered through a meadow while we watched it from a safe distance. I wish the lighting had been better but that’s one of the challenges of wildlife photography.
Late one evening I discovered a large colony of ground squirrels living around a tree. I woke up early the next morning and quietly walked through their territory. Doing so I began to realize the core group remained together near a tree but several individuals acted as perimeter security. This one seemed to be warning the others of my presence.
This bison sat resting on a hillside in Yellowstone National Park when we saw it. Since most of the bison are dark brown we nicknamed this one Blondie.
During a hike near the James River, I came across a group of Forster’s Terns flying above a stream. I watched as they floated, effortlessly in the air above the water. After a few seconds they would dive out of view and then come flying back up, circle around, and start over. I assume they were catching small fish but I couldn’t get close enough to be sure. The tern pictured here is hovering in position, waiting to dive.
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