Eye for the Wild

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Eye for the Wild

Jay Sliwinski, a Raleigh-based hobbyist photographer, with a wildlife focus

12/19/2022

Winter has definitely set in here in NC and one of the things I love most about these cold months are the waterfowl that migrate south. While they are year-round residents of the state, Hooded Merganser numbers really pick up in winter, making early morning trips out into the cold worth it.

Hooded Merganser (male)
December 2022

07/28/2022

This little guy has been a local celebrity for almost two weeks here in Raleigh. Painted Buntings, while common along the coastal areas of North and South Carolina, are rarities further inland. I've spent several muggy early mornings out watching him and while a photo is great, sometimes a video is even better.

07/14/2022

It's summertime, and that means it is time for all the interesting insects to start hanging around, which means I get to pull out the macro lens.

Today we have a praying mantis, who has taken up residence in the Butterfly W**d I have in my front yard. While being good pest control insects, eating damaging critters, like aphids and caterpillars, they aren't picky and will eat other insects that might be beneficial, like ladybugs and bees. They also will eat each other, with larger mantids consuming smaller ones. That said, if you find them in your gardens, leaving them be is probably best as they do not damage plants. In general, they tend to be more helpful than harmful.

06/04/2022

Occasionally, while I'm out photographing wildlife, something totally unexpected happens. This young River Otter crawled out of some rocks near me on a recent trip. As I got closer, a second one popped out and they started chasing each other in and out of the rocks. They were super fast, but eventually, I caught up with them just as they dove into a hole. I figured, if I sit and wait patiently, they might pop back up again. Several minutes later, eventually one did, for just a few seconds.

05/19/2022

With the total Lunar Eclipse this past weekend, I decided couldn't miss the opportunity to photograph the entire event... Except for some clouds that blocked the moon at the beginning of the eclipse, the weather cooperated, and I was able to piece together the entire four-hour event in one image.

05/14/2022

It has been awhile since I've posted, so here's a shot from a recent trip to one of my favorite areas for wildlife photography, the beaches, coves and marshes of Murrell's Inlet, SC. I was checking out a nesting area near Huntington Beach State Park the wildlife service had set up to see if they had any luck attracting Least Terns to the site. I didn't see any Terns nesting, but many Wilson's Plovers were hanging around the site. I spotted several recently hatched young ones hiding in the grasses and running about. As I was leaving, this adult came out of the grass on one of the paths leading away from the site. I carefully laid down on the sand and managed to get a number of shots of it and another, younger plover with tracking bands on its legs.

03/23/2022

Black Bears are the only bear species that lives in North Carolina and along the U.S. East Coast. In North Carolina, they are primarily found in the forests of the Appalachian Mountains or in the coastal areas. This cub was orphaned at some point in the last year, but has done remarkable well surviving on its own.

I managed a rare one-on-one morning encounter a few weeks back, during which it ran about playing on its own and eating a morning meal of corn cobs and stalks. This shot is just before it emerged out into the open, checking for the presence of threats like other bears, hunters, or other possible predators. It was amazing to be alone with it for almost hour since, aside from the moment when I got this shot, it ignored me and went about its routine.

Black Bear Cub
Eastern NC
March 2022

02/23/2022

A Snowy Egret on the lookout for a morning snack in the marshes of Huntington Beach State Park.

Snowy Egret
December 2021

02/16/2022

The sun was just barely peeking over the tree line when I managed to snap this Tricolored Heron strutting its stuff.

Major kudos to only other person out on the deck that early in the morning who waited patiently while I got this shot.

Tricolored Heron
December 2021

02/02/2022

It's been awhile since I posted a photo, but been working on a backlog of photos from last year.

Today's photo is Willet that was wading in the shallows at Pawleys Island, SC this past December.

11/25/2021

It seemed fitting to re-post this female turkey who appeared near my home unexpectedly last year, right around this time. This is a scene that the pilgrims might have seen when hunting for their dinner, assuming they ate Turkey - one of these majestic birds pecking their way around the forest floors or fields surrounded by the late autumn colors.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

11/18/2021

Sanderling practicing a yoga position on the coast last month...

Sanderling
Nags Head, NC
October 2021

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Raleigh, NC
27511, 27518, 27529, 27545, 27560, 27587, 27591, 27601, 27603, 27604, 27605, 276

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https://www.eyeforthewild.com/

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