Monk sakis are really interesting looking primates. Although, they seem a bit over dressed for the hot and humid Amazonian rainforest weather — but to each his own. These two were keeping watch from high in the canopy of the northern Amazon basin in Peru. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/320th of a second.
A tiny little Uakari poison frog, sits in the leaf litter on the rainforest floor in the Peruvian Amazon. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 400, f/3.3 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash with softbox.
Here’s another pygmy marmoset from the first of two trips to Loreto, Peru in the upper Amazon basin. These guys are tiny little monkeys with their length (excluding tail) averaging between 4.5 to 6 inches. That said, they can jump about 16 feet from tree to tree. It was fun watching them do just that, right outside the jungle lodge I was staying at. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/160th of a second.
This is the ubiquitous smoky jungle frog. One of the reasons they are so often spotted in tropical rainforests is their size. They are huge frogs, about 7 inches in length and quite girth-y. I photographed this one in the northern Peruvian Amazon basin. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 500, f/8 at 1/200th of a second, Godox flash.
This will be my last post for at least a week, as I head to Guyana on Friday. I’m hoping for a variety of subjects, but my main focus will be giant anteaters, which I’ve seen once before but never photographed. This is the lesser anteater, known more specifically as the southern tamandua. I’ve seen lots of these guys, most recently in Peru. Unlike the giant anteater, which travels on the ground, tamanduas are mostly arboreal. In fact, the two species are very different, despite their shared penchant for ants. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/1250th of a second, Godox V860iii fill flash.
Boat-billed herons are characterized by their thick, and apparently boat-shaped beaks. But that’s not the only thing that makes them unusual. They are also strictly nocturnal, unlike most other herons and wading birds. I photographed this one on a night boating excursion in the northern Amazon basin of Peru. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/200th of a second, Godox V860iii flash.
I started the year with a trip to northern Minnesota and got a few good looks at a northern hawk owl.
In February, I was featured on a follow-up story on Fox 61 News.
In March, I ran into a few regulars down in Florida, including a burrowing owl…
And a great blue heron with breakfast.
In April, I traveled to Peru for the second time in two years to see what I could find in the northern Amazon basin. I certainly wasn’t expecting a dark morph of a southern tamandua.
I also got great looks at sloths, including this rather hungry three-toed sloth.
On my trip to Peru in 2022, I missed out on the Uakari poison frog, but I found him this time.
I also finally found Mowgli, a rather friendly woolly monkey.
Back home in June, I found a few suburban beaver dams near my house.
And was honored to have my image of a leatherback hatchling on the cover of National Wildlife magazine’s summer issue.
We led another tour to Africa in late June/early July where I captured these rhinos on day one in Kenya.
Toward the end of the trip, it was back to Uganda for mountain gorillas, including this playful two-year old.
My camera trap continued to record all the backyard action, and in November captured this young black bear out for a stroll in the middle of the day.
Here’s to another great year in 2024.
The Nancy Ma’s night Monkey is found in the rainforests of Brazil and Peru. I spotted this one (and a friend) on the first night of my trip to Peru in April. Check out those long fingers, and the permanent smile on the face. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/7.1 at 1/200th of a second, Godox V860III flash.
This woolly monkey was putting on quite a show for us and very nearly jumped into our canoe. We were paddling through the flooded rainforest of the upper Amazon basin in Peru when he came to investigate and say hello. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 78mm) ISO 1600, f/2.8 at 1/125th of a second.
I’ve posted a few photos of this guy before — a rare dark morph of the southern tamandua. Also known as the lesser anteater. It was nice to have come upon him while he was actively moving from tree to tree looking for termites and ants. In this image, he stopped for a few quick scratches with those giant claws (check out the one oversized claw on that left hand). Photographed in the northern Amazon basin of Peru. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/320th of a second, Godox V860iii fill flash.