Ladybug and Butterfly by iPhone

I am still learning how to take photos with my first smart phone, but I am getting better. With patience and the instant feedback that you get from all digital cameras, it is possible to know immediately whether you captured the target wildlife or not. Unfortunately, for me, phone cameras produce so much glare on the screen that it is still very difficult to know if a shot is worth anyone else's time looking at it. That usually isn't discernible until you get home and upload to a computer. It is still hard for me to steady a hand-held iPhone to do a close-up of insects. The clarity achieved by shooting down on the ladybug exceeds that of shooting up to capture the butterfly. Still I am pleased with both efforts, especially the butterfly shot. Let's see what you think.

Photo taken at Blue Sky Ecological Reserve

Photo taken at Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve

Mallard Duck Tracks at Miramar Lake

Recently while at the lake, I stopped to video these mallards that were busy wandering around near picnic tables and people areas. In the soft dusty soil, bird prints abound, and in the attached video you can see them being made by two birds out for a day together.

Snowy Egret at Miramar Lake, San Diego

Sometimes I travel a great distance to see wildlife, but it's really all around us in San Diego. One of the local gems in my community is Miramar Lake.  On a recent visit, I was focused on birds and was delighted to capture this Snowy Egret foraging for food in the shallows at the edge of the reservoir. In the top photo, the egret had been stalking fish, I presume, but when I looked at this photo, the bird's neck or skin under the neck seemed to be either filled with something, inflated, or bunched up under the head. It could also have been a strange camera angle; the bird was on the move when I took the shot. Did he catch something and swallow it? Also, it appears that the other birds are respectful of the egret although I never saw it attack another animal.