One of the pollinators we are most familiar with are bees. I love to take pictures of these gals — no idea why. But they have given me some of my very best photos. Bees are special among insects because they are covered in hairs. The hairs pick up pollen for them. Bees go fromContinue reading “Pollinator Week — Bees”
Tag Archives: natural history
Red-tailed Hawk Gets Mobbed
We have had a lot of red-tailed hawks in our back yard this spring. I saw another one yesterday. Of course I grabbed my camera and started shooting. This guy was in the Russian Olive, looking back at something behind him. Then I pulled back on the lens a little and saw that he wasContinue reading “Red-tailed Hawk Gets Mobbed”
Welcome to AmyLawSciGeek.com!
Thank you so much for joining me at my new blog location on my new website! I started this blog over ten years ago, with the intention of talking about nature in Colorado. While that will be my ongoing default, I’ve found that there are a lot of other areas of interest that I wantContinue reading “Welcome to AmyLawSciGeek.com!”
Less air = bluer skies
We all live in a thick layer of air called the atmosphere. On average it is about fifty miles thick. But as you go up, the atmosphere gets noticeably thinner. At the top of Mount Evans (14,130 feet or 4306.8 meters), there is 1/3 less air than at sea level. That means less air betweenContinue reading “Less air = bluer skies”
Nesting Lesser Goldfinches
We have just about every type of bird feeder in our backyard — tube feeders, sock feeders, platform feeders, house feeders, hummer feeders. The one that the birds don’t really pay much attention to are the suet feeders. I have spent a lot of time trying to get them interested, but no luck. So IContinue reading “Nesting Lesser Goldfinches”
Butterflies
Usually, butterflies are hard to photograph. They are wary creatures, and when you turn the big eye of your camera at them, they take off, flying erratically away. But this week, I’ve been lucky to get some photos of butterflies I’ve never shot before — in some cases, I’ve never heard of before. Case inContinue reading “Butterflies”
Monarch Caterpillers!
For years, my husband and I have nurtured milkweed in the lost corners of our yard. “Remember the Monarchs!” we chant, as we carefully work around the tall milk-sap plants. While Monarch butterflies eat nectar from a bunch of different plants, the caterpillars eat only milkweed as they grow. The milky sap of Milkweeds isContinue reading “Monarch Caterpillers!”
Hummer in Blue Spruce Tree
After an intense fast moving rainstorm yesterday, I happened to look out my front window to see something I’d never before seen — a female broad-tailed hummingbird zipping among the branches of our blue spruce. Although she stopped at the end of new spruce buds momentarily, she never stayed in any one place for veryContinue reading “Hummer in Blue Spruce Tree”
New Friends
We’ve had some new friends in the yard this week! A charming flock of chipping sparrows stopped by! I don’t remember seeing them before, but I suspect that is merely a reflection on my lack of recognition. Their name comes from the “chip! chip!” sound they make, which is the entirety of their song. ImagineContinue reading “New Friends”
Nectar Eaters on a Cool Spring Day
It’s a cool May day, and that has made animals cold and hungry. My husband and I found a white-lined sphinx moth on the sidewalk as we were out walking the dogs this morning, slowly beating its wings as it tried to warm up. Once he gets airborne, he’ll be looking for nectar. And weContinue reading “Nectar Eaters on a Cool Spring Day”
Amy Law, Science Geek 