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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Flighted Discoveries




Amongst the many bees currently feasting in our backyard there are a couple of much larger bees. Here's one of them caught mid-air. I have just discovered that it's a native Australian bee, there are over 1,500  species Australian native bees. What delights me most is it's name, a Teddy Bear Bee! (Taken with 55-250mm kit lens- image cropped)




A few days ago some of us noticed two large raptors flying overhead. My husband also saw them out of his window at work a few blocks away. Three of us were trying to identify them from this photo taken from our front yard. Master J, who had been away at school all day, was sitting on the other side of the room. He casually says "It's a Square -Tailed Kite, they've been around for about 6 months!" He was correct of cause, as he is with most things relating to flying!




Another recent front yard find, a Yellow-Faced Honeyeater having a feed on the Duranta.




We are all familiar with flies, but check out the weird head structure a macro reveals!




The hover flies really like the gerberas. Each insect type seems to have their favourite plants.




Did you know bees can easily be distinguished from flies as bees have four wings whereas flies only have two?
Photos help me learn so much more about the world, even the "world" of my very own house yard.

Sharing at World Bird Wednesday, Black and White Wednesday, NatureFootstep Winged.

68 comments:

  1. Stunning macro captures ... Dare I say it. ... that fly almost looks beautiful !

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  2. wonderful, just wonderful! you make my day :)

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  3. beautiful!!! very nice macros :)

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  4. Great shot of the teddy bear bee. Looks difficult to capture one in flight. Looks good.

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  5. Oh wie wunder-wunderschööön.
    Ich liebe deine Bilder.

    LG Mathilda ♥

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  6. Fantastische Makros! =)
    Macht immer wieder Freude deine Naturbilder zu betrachten.

    Liebe Grüße von Bina

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  7. Incredible! love the Teddy Bear Bee and the macro of the fly - fascinating!

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  8. These photos are beautiful...that bee almost looks hairy in the first shot! I'm glad I finally stopped by today, your photography is wonderful!

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  9. Amazing macros! Insects are incredibly beautiful if you have a closer look.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Greetings

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  10. wow the bee in the first one is amazing. the click at the right time.

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  11. Просто чудово! скільки прекрасного можна побачити в саду... якщо уважно придивитися)))
    xoxo, Juliana

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  12. Adoro as tuas fotos, e que belas descobertas.
    E a foto da mosca é uma excelente macro.

    Beijos.

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  13. Bellissime fotografie, quella con l'ape mi piace tantissimo!brava! buona serata....ciao

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  14. You are just using your abilities and that new DSLR to the fullest! So amazing!

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  15. Excellent macros. The last shot is brilliant!

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  16. The Teddy bee is brilliant - well all your Pics are - !! In Switzerland dying so many bees at time....its very bad!! Wish you a good time Sarah

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  17. Love the teddybear bee, and what a gorgeous name for it

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  18. Love your Teddy bear, but especially your macros! They are stunning, so thanks for sharing.
    Best regards, Marion

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  19. Fantastyczne zdjęcia!
    Pozdrawiam.

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  20. Wow - you're doing that macro proud! Makes me want to practice more.

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  21. Hi, we found your lovely blog today and we like it. The pictures are really nice and detailed.
    J+C

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  22. Wow ... spectacular shots, each photo is a masterpiece,
    you're an artist of photography
    Best regards, Karin

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  23. Super pictures, I am so amazed that you can take all these pictures. I have been trying a lot for a macro of an insect but not sucessful until now.

    Greetings,
    Filip

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  24. Wow!!! That's all I can say about these incredible shots... (Love the macro fly :)

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  25. Amazing shots! The flight shots are awesome and I love the Honeyeater, just gorgeous.

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  26. I have to tell you that I just love popping in here and seeing your photos. They are amazing. They should be in a magazine or a book.. They are that good! I am so glad I get to see them here in blog land...

    Hugs~

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  27. So, so cool!! Love the teddy bear bee! What a great name! :)

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  28. I have tried so many times to get the big bumble bees in flight, to no avail! You really nailed the focus on that shot. Kudos!!

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  29. Your bug macros are unbelievable...so much detail and texture. You definitely had the right lens, good light, and the eye of a good photographer. WOW! You did a great job. Glad I am not squirmy about bugs. The head of the fly is filled with color and detail. This is a fab post. genie

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  30. All great photos but the first one of the bee is especially good.

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  31. What amazing captures!!!Love the bee shot.Thanks for sharing and have a great day!

    Shantana

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  32. Wow! Such beauty to be found in your garden. The bee in mid air is exquisite! You have an amazing talent. :)

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  33. Beautiful shots, but the macro of the honey eater is absolutely amazing.

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  34. The photo of the first bee is a fantastic still capture. Gorgeous as always. Thanks for sharing :)

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  35. These images are all amazing.

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  36. Such a rich backyard! I love especially the macro of the fly and the gerbera center with the wasp :)
    Have a beautiful day... it's snowing here, the world is upside down!

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  37. Ok, they are all stunningly beautiful pictures but the bee is a shot I could not imagine ever being able to do. How on earth did you manage to even capture the wings? You have an amazing ability... and we are blessed that you show us the pictures you have taken.

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  38. Wow, what a great assortment of images, really beautiful, well done~

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  39. Nice set of pictures - and a nice addition to WBW - Winged Beast Wednesday!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  40. Your macro shots bring the world up close and personal. That Teddy Bear bee shot is amazing and the fly's head shot, they make for spectacular shots!

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  41. Oh wow...that b/w is mesmerizing! Love the clarity and the DOF.

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  42. Fantastic photographs, beautiful colours, unusual views. I am greeting

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  43. Great insect shots!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  44. These pics are all quite amazing but I'm especially jealous ;) of your bee one! I've tried and tried but...maybe I just need to learn more about my own camera!
    Love the bird one, too, she's a beautiful thing.

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  46. Wonderful photos!! The fly is fantastic:)

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  47. Stunning photos! The macro of the fly is just amazing! Nice work!

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  48. wow!!!!!!! So wunderschöne Fotos!!!


    Liebe Grüße Eva!

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  49. That fly and flying bee are amazing!

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  50. wow! they are amazing!

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  51. Fantastic photographs, beautiful colours, unusual views. I am greeting

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  52. These are absolutely amazing, especially the first shot! So glad you linked up this week!

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  53. Micro-world is fascinating... A bee in flight for heavens sake!
    Phenomenal!
    Cheers!

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  54. Wonderful macro shots Karen - Dave

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  55. Fantastic photograph's Karen.
    Have a great weekend.

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  56. so magical nature pics again! thank you for this beauty...love the name of the bee too;-))

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  57. so very beautiful photos of both birds and bees. I never heard of that Kite before. But the tail really looks squared. Nice. :)

    Have yop seen my meme NF Winged. It is out today. It is not so big and I would be honored if you joined. :)

    http://nfmemes.blogspot.se/2012/05/nf-winged-40.html

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  58. Love theese :0) Just say wwooooow :0) Have a nice day ! :0)

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  59. Okay . . . You are like the MACRO GODDESS. Unbelievably brilliant photographs, Karen! WOW!! The fly! WOW! The BEE! WOW!

    WOW...

    You're an amazing photographer with an amazing eye for detail! Well done!

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  60. Unbelievable photos!! I think these are the best macros I've seen EVER!!!
    Just AMAZING!!

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  61. I love the 55-250mm kit lens... when you don't have a macro lens, it will suffice and I find cropping still allows great detail.

    I too have learned so much through my photography, like bird identification (and insects and flowers). It's given me a whole new perspective on creation.

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  62. Great photos.. I really love the first and last photo in the post. Wow!

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