Backyard and Beyond

This handsome osprey “caught breakfast on his third try,” said photographer Marguerite Eichelberger. Not bad, considering that osprey have been found to be successful in snatching a fish in about 25% of their tries.

A great horned owl landed in a tree near Deb Ranney, allowing her to take this excellent photo of a raptor and its prey, in this case an unlucky muskrat. It “seemed strange to see

Anyone lucky enough to encounter a cecropia moth will doubtless never forget it. These huge moths, the largest in North America, stretch as wide as your stretched-out hand. And they’re spectacularly gorgeous: Just look at

Sometimes a photo is just as captivating for what it doesn’t show as for what it does. Case in point: Scott Thiede is a very patient photographer, sitting in a blind out in a field

Nature goes into overdrive as summer begins to draw to a close: spiders hunt relentlessly for prey, young animals practice vital life skills, the avian world prepares for migration.
Consider the scene in David

Reading about these unusual creatures, I was struck by how beneficial they are, consuming insects, worms, snakes, frogs, mice, fruit, berries, carrion, and just about anything else they can find.