Snow buntings arrived Rusty, tan, white, and jet black - Hibernal gray sky High Arctic classy Aves (scientific/taxonomic name for birds) (Plectrophenax nivalis) in Peterborough, New Hampshire on a drab winter day. On a few visits over the past 2-3 weeks, there were 20 - 24 snow buntings. Today (3/6/26), there was one, foraging off of the edge of a road, next to a field.

Snow buntings arrived
Rusty, tan, white, and jet black -
Hibernal gray sky

Snow Buntings, High Arctic classy Aves (taxonomic name for birds) in Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, on a drab winter day, 3/6/26.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis), Mud Pond, Peterson Wildlife Management Area, Dublin, New Hampshire, earlier this year on 5/6/25, and gets its name from the outer wing feather's small hooks or points on their leading edges.

www.momeyergallery.com
#birds #wildlife #nature

Red-tailed Hawk juvenile, eyes on the prize, aka hunting, in the late afternoon sun, Pack Monadnock Raptor Observatory, Peterborough, New Hampshire, 10/1/25.

Red-tailed Hawk juvenile, eyes on the prize, aka hunting, in the late afternoon sun, Pack Monadnock Raptor Observatory, Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 10/1/25.

#red-tailedhawk #redtailedhawk #hawk #hawks #raptors #bird #birds #wildlife #nature #photography #naturephotography #nhaudubon

Eastern Tailed-Blue butterfly (Cupido comyntas), Hiroshi Loop Trail field, Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 8/8/25. Look closely and you'll see two little 'tails' at the bottom of the hindwings. These are very small butterflies with typical wingspan of only around 3/4" to 1 1/8".

Eastern Tailed-Blue butterfly (Cupido comyntas), Hiroshi Loop Trail field, Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 8/8/25. Look closely and you'll see two little 'tails' at the bottom of the hindwings. These are very small butterflies with typical wingspan of only around 3/4" to 1 1/8".

Eastern Tailed-Blue butterfly (Cupido comyntas), Hiroshi Loop Trail field, Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 8/8/25. See two little 'tails' at the bottom of the hindwings. These are very small butterflies with typical wingspan of only around 3/4" to 1 1/8".

#butterflies #nature #photography

Common Wood-Nymph butterfly (Cercyonis pegala), SuperSanctuary Butterfly Count, Welch Family Farm and Forest, Hancock, NH, 7/19/25

Clouded Sulphur butterfly (Colias philodice), SuperSanctuary Butterfly Count, Welch Family Farm and Forest, Hancock, NH, 7/19/25

Holarctic Azures buttterfly Genus Celastrina), SuperSanctuary Butterfly Count, field on Old Dublin Road, Hancock, NH, 7/19/25

Appalachian Brown butterfly (Lethe appalachia), SuperSanctuary Butterfly Count, field on Old Dublin Road, Hancock, NH, 7/19/25

SuperSanctuary Butterfly Count, July 19. I was in a small group, visiting a couple – new too me – locations. Loved it!
I photographed a few butterfly species, dragonflies, damselflies, robber fly, bees, etc, pics posted to www.momeyergallery.com/Journal/2025...

#butterflies #nature #photography

Nice surprise and a real treat while paddling on an undeveloped pond to run across a patch of Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides), a native orchid, growing on the edge of an island at Meetinghouse Pond, Marlborough, NH, 6/23/25. "Other common names for Rose Pogonia include Rose Crest-lip, Beard Flower, Snake Mouth, Snakemouth Orchid, Snake-mouth Orchid, Adder's Mouth, Adder’s-mouth Pogonia, and Dragon’s-mouth." (wildadirondacks.org). It occurs in wetlands, particularly bogs. NH Audubon's Kensan Devan Wildlife Sanctuary is on the eastern and northern edges of the pond. I hiked trails at and kayaked the pond earlier in the week, participating in NH Audubon's Nature Challenge 2025. "This weeklong event aims to document the birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, flowers, trees, mosses, mushrooms, and everything that either stops at our sanctuaries or calls them home." (nhaudubon.org)

Nice surprise and a real treat while paddling on an undeveloped pond to run across a patch of Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides), a native orchid, growing on the edge of an island at Meetinghouse Pond, Marlborough, NH, 6/23/25. "Other common names for Rose Pogonia include Rose Crest-lip, Beard Flower, Snake Mouth, Snakemouth Orchid, Snake-mouth Orchid, Adder's Mouth, Adder’s-mouth Pogonia, and Dragon’s-mouth." (wildadirondacks.org). It occurs in wetlands, particularly bogs.

Nice surprise, a real treat to run across a patch of Rose Pogonia, a native orchid, aka snakemouth orchid, adder's tongue, on the edge of an island at Meetinghouse Pond, Marlborough, NH, USA, 6/23/25 (kayaking). It occurs in wetlands, particularly bogs.

#orchids #rosepogonia #flowers #photography

Two broad-winged hawk chicks, each tugging on the end of a small piece of prey, adult in the background.

Two broad-winged hawk chicks, heads up, adult on the right side, partially hidden by leaves.

Broad-winged hawk, adult, perched on a tree limb, beautiful with teardrop shaped brown barring on chest, thick dark and light tail bands.

Broad-winged hawk chicks squabbling over food while one of the adult pair watches over them, Southwest New Hampshire, USA, 6/27/25. I watched the adult fly in with a food drop. All in the nest ate and the adult flew off to perch nearby. Long lens, heavily cropped.

#hawks #birds #photography

Tagged Common Loon, lucky me! Male ‘territory holder,’ at least 12-15 years old, banded in 2016, present since then every year. Southwest New Hampshire, USA, June 2025. NH’s loons are at risk, ‘Threatened Status,’ thus no pond/lake name.

#loons #birds #NHAudubonNatureChallenge #LetsGoOutside

Yard hawk! Robins and catbirds making a lot of noise in the trees. I saw a beautiful adult Broad-winged Hawk perched on a limb approx 60' above ground. It took off with robins following closely. Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 6/18/25.

Yard hawk! Robins and catbirds making a lot of noise in the trees. I saw a beautiful adult Broad-winged Hawk perched on a limb approx 60' above ground. It took off with robins following closely. Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 6/18/25.

#broadwingedhawk #hawks #raptors #birds #nature #photography

Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia), male with larger more feathery antennae, North America's largest native moth, North Branch River, Stoddard, New Hampshire, 6/9/25. "To find a mate, the female cecropia moth emits pheromones which the male detects with its sensitive antennae. Male cecropia moths can detect these pheromones from up to a mile away." (wikipedia.org) "Adult [cecropia] moths don’t have a gut nor working mouthparts, and cannot eat. Their sole purpose is to find a mate and reproduce before expiring in just a week or two." (nps.gov)

Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia), male with larger more feathery antennae, North America's largest native moth, North Branch River, Stoddard, New Hampshire, 6/9/25.

Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia), male with larger more feathery antennae, North America's largest native moth, North Branch River, Stoddard, New Hampshire, USA, 6/9/25.

#cecropiamoth #crecropia #moth #nature #wildlife #photography

American Beaver (Castor canadensis) swimming back and forth near a lodge, North Branch River, Stoddard, New Hampshire, 6/9/25. "Trapping nearly eliminated beaver from New Hampshire by the late 1800's. Six beaver were released in the state between 1926 and 1930 as part of a restocking program. By 1955, the entire state was repopulated." (wildlife.nh.gov)

Beaver tail slap, a loud alarm call, North Branch River, Stoddard, New Hampshire, 6/9/25

American Beaver (Castor canadensis) swimming back and forth near a lodge, one of a pair, tails slapping an alarm, North Branch River, Stoddard, New Hampshire, 6/9/25.

#americanbeaver #beaver #wildlife #nature #photography

Roadside Broad-winged Hawk photo series, hunting in light rain along Route 101 in Dublin, New Hampshire, 5/23/25. The hawk is turning it's head skyward and shedding water, shortly after diving into wet grasses and brush.

Roadside Broad-winged Hawk photo series, hunting in light rain along Route 101 in Dublin, New Hampshire, 5/23/25. The hawk is turning it's head skyward and shedding water, shortly after diving into wet grasses and brush.

Roadside Broad-winged Hawk photo series, hunting in light rain along Route 101 in Dublin, New Hampshire, 5/23/25. The hawk is turning it's head skyward and shedding water, shortly after diving into wet grasses and brush.

Roadside Broad-winged Hawk photo series, hunting in light rain along Route 101 in Dublin, New Hampshire, 5/23/25. The hawk is turning it's head skyward and shedding water, shortly after diving into wet grasses and brush.

Roadside Broad-winged Hawk photo series, hunting in light rain along Route 101 in Dublin, New Hampshire, USA, 5/23/25. The hawk is turning it's head skyward and shedding water, shortly after diving into wet grasses and brush.

#broadwingedhawk #hawks #raptors #birds #nature #photography

Broad-winged Hawk juvenile perched near the top of a tall snag tree, roadside in Peterborough, New Hampshire, 5/6/25. "Bulk of a Buteo plus their characteristic long wings and short tail, unlike Accipiter/Astur hawks. The tail’s pale spaces being wider than the dark tail bands fit juvenile Broad-winged, so do the plainer secondaries - lacking multiple high contrast bands like Red-shouldered. Some chunkier marks looking like barring on the sides of the underparts are ok for juvenile." (comments by Shane Brown on Facebook Raptor ID group, 5/15/25)

Broad-winged Hawk juvenile perched near the top of a tall snag tree, roadside in Peterborough, New Hampshire, 5/6/25

Broad-winged Hawk juvenile perched near the top of a tall snag tree, roadside in Peterborough, New Hampshire, 5/6/25

Broad-winged Hawk juvenile perched near the top of a tall snag tree (on right side), roadside in Peterborough, New Hampshire, 5/6/25

Broad-winged Hawk juvenile perched near the top of a tall snag tree, roadside in Peterborough, New Hampshire, 5/6/25

#broadwingedhawk #hawks #raptors #birds #nature #photography

Hi Al! Suggestion... you could edit/write content into your Bluesky profile that might help others 'find' you. Example... on FB your name is shown, "Al Stoops." On Bluesky, it's just "alstoops.bsky.social. See bsky.app/profile/mome... with my name and location in the Profile.

Mourning Dove taking flight, Peterborough, NH, 5/3/25

Mourning Dove taking flight, Peterborough, NH, 5/3/25

"Great ideas, it has been said, come into the world as gently as doves... Some will say that this hope lies in a nation; others, in a man. I believe rather that it is... millions of solitary individuals... ." ~Albert Camus lecture "Create Dangerously," 1957.

#mourningdoves #doves #birds #nature

They were pretty far out on a pond... binoculars and long telephoto lens necessary. It's one of many similar locations in the Monadnock Region in southwest New Hampshire, USA, a great location for nature related activities!

Two common snapping turtles, look at the massive claws! Looks like egg laying going on at a pond in Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 4/29/25

Two common snapping turtles, look at the massive claws! Looks like egg laying going on at a pond in Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 4/29/25.

Two common snapping turtles, look at the massive claws! Looks like egg laying going on at a pond in Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 4/29/25.

Two common snapping turtles, look at the massive claws! Looks like egg laying going on at a pond in Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 4/29/25.

Two common snapping turtles, look at the massive claws! Looks like egg laying going on at a pond in Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA, 4/29/25.

#snappingturtles #turtles #nature #photography

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) male in breeding plumage at a pond in Swanzey, New Hampshire, USA, 4/28/25

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) male in breeding plumage at a pond in Swanzey, New Hampshire, USA, 4/28/25

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) female at a pond in Swanzey, New Hampshire, USA, 4/28/25

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) male in breeding plumage (left) and female at a pond in Swanzey, New Hampshire, USA, 4/28/25

Stunningly beautiful... Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) male in breeding plumage (left) and female at a pond in Swanzey, New Hampshire, USA, 4/28/25

#woodduck #ducks #birds #nature #photography

Common Loon on a lake/pond in Nelson, New Hampshire, 4/25/25 (two loons foraging)

Common Loon on a lake/pond in Nelson, New Hampshire, 4/25/25 (two loons foraging)

Common Loon on a lake/pond in Nelson, New Hampshire, 4/25/25 (two loons foraging)

Common Loon on a lake/pond in Nelson, New Hampshire, 4/25/25 (two loons foraging)

Nice to see loons returning to New Hampshire lakes and ponds! Common Loon on a lake/pond in Nelson, New Hampshire, USA, 4/25/25 (two loons foraging)

#commonloon #loon #birds #nature #photography #addBirder

Hi Daryll, and yes, please add me as a contributor to the Birds Feed! Thanks!

Nice Cooper's Hawk photo. Cooper's heads are a 'cap' vs sharp-shinned 'ice cream scoop' shape. Beak high with smooth transition to head, warm buff/brown cheeks (a sharp-shinned has more dark top of head color down back and side of neck). Adult due to bluish on top vs brown and red eye color.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) incubating on nest, Monadnock Region, southwest, New Hampshire, 4/25/25. "Disturbance and predation can also sometimes cause herons to abandon a colony during the nesting season. For this reason, it is recommended that human activity be minimized within 200-300 yards of an active colony." (stateofthebirds.nhaudubon.org)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) incubating on nest (closeup with long telephoto lens), Monadnock Region, southwest, New Hampshire, 4/25/25

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) incubating on nest, Monadnock Region, southwest New Hampshire, USA, 4/25/25 - a different location from similar photos of 4/14.

Disturbance and predation are issues... view briefly and from 200-300 yards.

#greatblueheron #heron #bird #nature #photography

Great Blue Heron, Mud Pond, Peterson WMA, NH, USA, 4/14/25 (my first sighting this year, "foy")

Great Blue Heron incubating on nest, Monadnock region, southwest New Hampshire, USA, 4/14/25

Great Blue Heron incubating on nest, Monadnock region, southwest New Hampshire, USA, 4/14/25

My first of year "foy" Great Blue Herons, Monadnock region, southwest NH, USA, 4/14/25! The heron on nest was photographed from a very long distance.

More bird photos at www.momeyergallery.com/Photos/Birds

#greatblueheron #heron #nature #photography

Osprey hunting over Hunts Pond, Hancock, NH, 4/14/25. Wingspan 59.1" - 70.9". "The Osprey is the only hawk on the continent that eats almost exclusively live fish." (allaboutbirds)

Osprey hunting over Hunts Pond, Hancock, NH, 4/14/25. Wingspan 59.1" - 70.9". "The Osprey is the only hawk on the continent that eats almost exclusively live fish." (allaboutbirds)

#osprey #raptor #bird #nature #photography

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), most likely incubating in the nest, southwest New Hampshire, USA, 4/3/25

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) preening, treetop perch, southwest New Hampshire, USA, 4/3/25

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), treetop perch, southwest New Hampshire, USA, 4/3/25

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), treetop perch, southwest New Hampshire, USA, 4/3/25

Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), one incubating on a nest and another (mate) on a nearby treetop perch, southwest New Hampshire, USA, 4/3/25

#baldeagle #eagle #nature #photography

Key Deer closeup (Odocoileus virginianus ssp. clavium), Big Pine Key, Florida, 3/30/25. "The Key deer... is an endangered subspecies of the white-tailed deer that lives only in the Florida Keys. It is the smallest extant North American deer species." (wikipedia.org)

Key Deer (Odocoileus virginianus ssp. clavium), Big Pine Key, Florida, 3/30/25. "The Key deer... is an endangered subspecies of the white-tailed deer that lives only in the Florida Keys. It is the smallest extant North American deer species." (wikipedia.org)

Key Deer (Odocoileus virginianus ssp. clavium), Big Pine Key, Florida, 3/30/25. "The Key deer... is an endangered subspecies of the white-tailed deer that lives only in the Florida Keys. It is the smallest extant North American deer species." (wikipedia.org)

Key Deer (Odocoileus virginianus ssp. clavium), Big Pine Key, Florida, 3/30/25. "The Key deer... is an endangered subspecies of the white-tailed deer that lives only in the Florida Keys. It is the smallest extant North American deer species." (wikipedia.org)

#keydeer #deer #photography

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), viewed from the old Bahia Honda Bridge, soaring over Bahia Honda Key, Florida, 82d F, clear blue sky, 3/30/25, ten minutes of beautiful soaring and a few hundred photos to cull through. Wingspan: 85.4-88.2 in (bald eagle for comparison: 80.3 in).

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), viewed from the old Bahia Honda Bridge, soaring over Bahia Honda Key, Florida, 82d F, clear blue sky, 3/30/25, ten minutes of beautiful soaring and a few hundred photos to cull through. Wingspan: 85.4-88.2 in (bald eagle for comparison: 80.3 in).

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), viewed from the old Bahia Honda Bridge, soaring over Bahia Honda Key, Florida, 82d F, clear blue sky, 3/30/25, ten minutes of beautiful soaring and a few hundred photos to cull through. Wingspan: 85.4-88.2 in (bald eagle for comparison: 80.3 in).

Bahia Honda State Park, Bahia Honda Key, Florida, viewed from the Old bridge, 3/30/25.

Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens), viewed from the old Bahia Honda Bridge, soaring over Bahia Honda Key, Florida, 82d F, clear blue sky, 3/30/25, ten minutes of beautiful soaring and a few hundred photos to cull through. Wingspan: 85.4-88.2 in.

#frigatebird #birds #photography

Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) on a sarcophagus (stone coffin) at Historic Key West City Cemetery, Key West, Florida, USA, 3/27/25

Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) on a sarcophagus (stone coffin) at Historic Key West City Cemetery, Key West, Florida, USA, 3/27/25

Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) on a sarcophagus (stone coffin) at Historic Key West City Cemetery, Key West, Florida, USA, 3/27/25

Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) on a sarcophagus (stone coffin) at Historic Key West City Cemetery, Key West, Florida, USA, 3/27/25. They exhibit significant color variation and DIVERSITY!

#greeniguana #iguana #nature #photography #keywest

Pink-footed Goose in a field with standing water in Keene, New Hampshire, USA, with Canada Geese and Mallards, 3/14/25. Breeds in Greenland, Iceland, and Spitsbergen. Rare but increasing winter visitor to northeastern North America.

#pinkfootedgoose #bird #photography

Bluebird singing against a bluebird sky!
(Heald Tract, Wilton, New Hampshire, USA)

Bluebirds represent happiness, love, and hope.

#bluebird #bird #photography