Tag Archives: California

Argiope aurantia Spider – Your Common Black and Yellow Garden Spider

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Female Argiope aurantia - your Common Black and Yellow Garden Spider - Photo by Steve Troletti

Last Friday I received almost 400 visits from searches regarding yellow and black spiders with Zig Zag patterns in their web. With that in mind Ive updated this article and put it back at the front of the line as  little educational F.Y.I. Enjoy! If you live in North America chances are you’ve come across a female Argiope aurantia spider in your back yard, garden or in a field. They’re commonly known as the Common Garden Spider, Black and Yellow Garden Spider, Writing Spider, or Corn Spider. They span from Central America into Canada and various species of them are found across the planet. You will usually see the females as in this particular picture and they can be quite big and impressive. They weave a large transparent Orb Web with a vertical Z pattern in the middle. They’ll spend much of their day in their web waiting for prey. Continue reading →

Killdeer Photos added to the Gallery

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Killdeer in the water keepin on eye up on the sky!

This week I had the pleasure to come across a whole bevy of Killdeer and a few different Sanderling on the outskirts of Bolsa Chica Nature Preserve right here in Socal! Although the mid-day light was harsh and less favorable I had an absolute blast photographing these birds for a couple of hours. Like all good things the opportunity came to an end when one of the Killdeers took panic and the whole lot evacuated. Keep an eye on my Plover Photo Gallery: http://www.trolettiphoto.com/wildlife_photography_birds_plover_pluvier_charadriidae_limicoles as I’ll be posting a few more photos in the coming week. Don’t forget you can keep track of all the posted images by following my TWITTER, FACEBOOK and GOOGLE+

Spotted Sandpiper – Added to the Photo Gallery

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Lesser Yellowlegs on the run

Just added to the Photo Gallery: A Spotted Sandpiper on the run along the river jumping from rock to rock… More Bird Photography: http://www.trolettiphoto.com/birds-oiseaux-photo-galleries  

One Month After Earth Day Montreal is Still an Environmental Tragedy

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Snapping Turtle in Trash along Montreal River

A few years back I was appalled by Montrealers who carelessly threw their trash all over the city streets. Even more appalling was how they brought that same behavior into the surrounding Nature Parks. Coming from California this was a total culture shock. At the Time I decided to document the over abundant accumulation of trash on the banks of Montreal’s Back River (Rivières des Prairies) along the Île-de-la-Visitation Nature Park. With a bit of pressure from my videos and pictures it appeared that the overall problem was at least being addressed by park and city officials. Time Warp to 2012, 12 days after Earth Day 2012 (Aprill 22) and what I witnessed was even more shocking. On Friday May 4, 2012 I found myself in Montreal. It was a cloudy day that didn’t inspire me much as far as photography was concerned. I decided to go for walk and Continue reading →

The Call of the American Bittern (VIDEO)

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Male American Bittern Calling Out

What’s that deep bellowing sound in the marsh?The American Bittern is an elusive and timid bird that is rarely seen in proximity of humans. They are also experts at camouflage in marshes and wetlands regardless of their larger size. The only thing that will give away the presence of this medium sized member of the Heron family is its distinctive bellowing call. Almost everyone who visits marshes as part of a nature walk during the mating season is sure to hear this low billowy sound engulf the marsh. At first not everyone identifies the sound but once you know it you won’t forget it! Yesterday I took the time to visit a Marsh encompassed in a large natural preserve, a Nature Park! I hadn’t been to this particular Marsh in nearly a year and wanted to investigate the early spring arrivals. To my surprise both the female and male American Continue reading →

The sky is falling!

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Canada Goose - The Sky is Falling

“O Turkey Lurkey!” says Goose Loose ” the sky is falling”Photographing a Canada Goose can get very mundane for a wildlife photographer. By the end of Spring the abundant numbers of these large and vocal birds make photography less than challenging. We can however not resist the temptation as we get excited to see them arrive early Spring year after year. Although I try hard not to publish too many photos of Canada Geese, I found this one way too amusing to keep for myself. MORE CANADA GOOSE PHOTOS ON WWW.TROLETTIPHOTO.COM I observed her on her nest staring into the heavens with what seemed to be a look of worry. The Chicken Little story, claiming the Sky is falling, immediately came to mind. When I proofed my photos the result was better than I had expected. I quickly searched for the phrase “The Sky is Falling” and found plenty of Continue reading →

3 New Red Fox Pictures added to the Photo Gallery

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Red Fox Profile View by Steve Troletti

The Mammals photo gallery has recently been updated with three new pictures of a Male Red Fox. One photo is of a chase scene as the Red Fox hunts a Grey Squirrel. This male Red Fox is a newcomer to the area. He’s got a stare that’s like no other, kind of grumpy serious looking. He’s an outstanding hunter who’s currently sharing this territory with a Female Red Fox. If we’re lucky we might see some kits this year! You can visit the Mammals Photo Gallery on trolettiphoto.com by following this link: http://photos.trolettiphoto.com/mammals-mammiferes     Related articles Sierra Nevada Red Fox to be Considered for Endangered Species Act Protection (yubanet.com) Mount Rainier Park: Don’t feed the Cascade foxes (thenewstribune.com) Biodiversity: Sierra red fox considered for endangered list (summitcountyvoice.com) Is a red fox’s habitat threatened (wiki.answers.com) Sierra Red Fox May Get Endangered Protection (naturalhistorywanderings.com)

Brutal Response to Peaceful Protest: OCCUPY

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Queen Victoria w/ "V" Mask - Occupy Montreal

Are Government’s Growing Fears Prompting Police to use Violence?Is Wall Street Really to Blame? Occupy Wall Street may be the growing detonator to our very own “Arab Spring”! The movement may be targeting Wall Street but the fuel behind all this financial chaos is Alan Greenspan‘s era of lowering interest rates. That catapulted the nation in a real-estate feeding frenzy. The collapse of that market lead to a world wide financial crisis. One thing I know for sure is that money, unlike water, doesn’t evaporate. It only changes hands! What happened to all does Billions of Dollars lost from the US housing scam? Why hasn’t anyone asked the Question? Some creative accounting is hiding all that Hard Earned American Money in someone’s back pocket. Today the interest rates are still too low, leaving Governments in a situation were they can’t finance themselves while banks are rolling dough. The banks, not Wall Street, are charging Continue reading →

Backlit Photography – The Translucent Feathers of Birds

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Ring-billed Gull In-Flight - Backlit

Applying Proven Backlit Photography Techniques to Bird Photography Ring-billed Gull In-Flight – Backlit With the advent of Digital Photography there seems to be a madness in Nature and Wildlife Photography to capture the perfect, flawless, tight cropped image. This is especially true in North America and greatly contrasts with our European counterparts. French photographers have a talent for capturing the essence of a natural scene. The wildlife subject immersed in it’s natural habitat. Oftentimes a dreamy Bokeh gives a surreal and gentle look to the overall composition. In North America you get the up close, no distracting element, count every feather/hair on the subject, with perfectly balanced light, image. With that said it’s a little easier to understand why we completely miss out on artisitic compositions, especially those with birds in flight. Bird photographers are notorious for beating themselves to the ground when they just don’t get that perfect shot. That’s why many Continue reading →

Double-crested Cormorants at Parc des Rapides de Lachine

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Double-crested Cormorant

The Double-crested Cormorants is not a rare sight in and around the island of Montreal. There’s plenty of shoreline and habitat for these birds to strive as they migrate through the area or stay for the nesting period. You can observe these wonderful birds from May through October. They can often be found on rocks along rapids or inland within large well stocked ponds and lakes. The Double-crested Cormorants is found in greater numbers were the water flows more rapidly and rocks provide shelter away from the shoreline. The Montreal Back River (Rivieres des Prairies) and Parc du Centenaire in Dollard-des-Ormeaux are two great local spots to observe these wonderful birds. Unfortunately for the photographer the Back River population is too distant for photography.  Parc du Centenaire in Dollard-des-Ormeaux offers a closer look but in a less natural environment as they spend all day on wooden platforms. Parc des Rapides de Lachine, in Lasalle offers the Continue reading →