photography | the alexfiles

Praying Mantis (Stagomantis)

This charmer found a nice little space on our porch light last night.
Praying Mantis on porch light, Central Texas

common name	Praying Mantis (or Praying Mantid)
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Animalia
phylum	Arthropoda
class	Insecta; subclass Pterygota; infraclass Neoptera
order	superorder Dictyoptera; order Mantodea
family	Mantidae; subfamily Stagomantinae
genus	Cyanocitta
species	unknown
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Not tracked

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

Yellow Houseplant Mushrooms (Leucocoprinus birnbaumii)

These appeared in one of my mother’s flower pots a day after we had our first rain in months. They grew rapidly.

Post-storm yellow mushrooms | Flickr – Photo Sharing!.

common name	Yellow Houseplant Mushroom
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Fungi
phylum	Basidiomycota
class	Agaricomycetes
order	Agaricales
family	Agaricaceae
genus	Leucocoprinus
species	birnbaumii
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Not tracked

Early morning local fauna

Seen on the stoop early this morning.

We used to have Mediterranean Geckos all around the house. Since moving back I rarely see them, but I do see this Texas Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus) regularly.

Agelenopsis (species uncertain), a.k.a. a Grass Spider. He’s lost a leg, possibly to one of the resident lizards. He’s fairly large; his body is about an inch long.

Last of the Seattle photos finally uploaded

I’ve been putting them off with a million reasons: getting a new job, still unpacking, visiting my mother (whom I only saw once the past three years), etc. But now I have a great job*, and the unpacking has slowed a little since the house is now habitable.

Highlights:

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*Update: the “great job” ended up not happening. Chickens, unhatched, counted…

Last of the work photos

Now that I’m no longer with Memory Lane/Classmates, I no longer have photo opportunities on my bus commute, over Elliott Bay, etc. I’ve finally uploaded the last of those to Flickr. Here are some highlights:

Crow attacks Bald Eagle, from my window at work:

Canada Geese, from my window at work:

Seagull, head-on, from the bus:

Seagull on train, from my window at work:

My old cube. When we moved I went from an office to a cube, but this view, and the neighborhood, was a complete joy.

Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)

Frequent visitors to our home in Washington.

common name	Steller’s Jay
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Animalia
phylum	Chordata; subphylum Vertebrata
class	Aves
order	Passiformes
family	Corvidae
genus	Cyanocitta
species	stelleri
location	Renton, Washington
IUCN status	Least concern

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

New York Times: One moment in photos

A ll over the world on Sunday, May 2, at 15:00 UTC, photographers took shots wherever they were. Some were planned, some not (there are rainbows, etc., that could not be arranged).

The New York Times has gathered it all into a global gallery – stacks of photos reaching out to the sky, browsable by stack. Beautiful images, and once again, beautiful UX from the New York Times.

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

common name	Northern Flicker
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Animalia
phylum	Chordata; subphylum Vertebrata
class	Aves
order	Piciformes
family	Picidae
genus	Colaptes
species	auratus
location	Renton, Washington
IUCN status	Least concern

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

Lined snake (Tropidoclonion lineatum)

You can’t see it clearly in this photo, but this snake is just finishing off what I think was an earthworm.
Lined Snake

common name	Lined Snake
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Animalia
phylum	Chordata; subphylum Vertebrata
class	Reptilia, subclass Diapsida
order	Squamata, suborder Serpentes
family	Columbidae
genus	Tropidoclonion
species	lineatum
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Least concern

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana)

The pampas grass provides a glorious border between our lawn and the neighbor’s.

common name	Pampas Grass
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Plantae; subkingdom Tracheobionta
phylum	Spermatophyta; subphylum Magnoliophyta
class	Liliopsida
order	Poales
family	Poaceae
genus	Cortaderia
species	selioana
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Not evaluated

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)

This young lizard was about 2.5″ long, hiding from the noonday sun under a flowerpot when I disturbed him. He or she was kind enough to wait on the wall while I got my camera.
Mediterranean Gecko

common name	Mediterranean Gecko
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Animalia
phylum	Chordata; subphylum Vertebrata
class	Reptilia, subclass Diapsida
order	Squamata, suborder Sauria, infraorder Gekkota
family	Gekkonidae
genus	Hemidactylus
species	turcicus, subspecies turcicus
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Least concern

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

Gulf Coast Toad (Bufo valliceps)

You can’t see it clearly in this photo, but this snake is just finishing off what I think was an earthworm.
Gulf Coast Toad

common name	Gulf Coast Toad
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Animalia
phylum	Chordata; subphylum Vertebrata
class	Amphibia
order	Anura
family	Bufonidae
genus	Bufo; synonym Incilius
species	valliceps
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Least concern

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

Carolina chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)

Carolina Chickadee

common name	Carolina Chickadee
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Animalia
phylum	Chordata; subphylum Vertebrata
class	Aves
order	Passiformes
family	Paridae
genus	Poecile
species	carolinensis
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Least concern

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)

We are told that the crape myrtle in our front yard is as old as the house, which was built in 1965. It’s a large, well-established, beautiful plant, taller than the roof, and I completely adore it.

Crape myrtles were introduced into North America in South Carolina, back in 1790, and have been tremendously successful. The genus originated in East and Southeast Asia.

Crape myrtle

common name	Crape Myrtle
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Plantae; subkingdom Tracheobionta
phylum	Spermatophyta; subphylum Magnoliaphyta
class	Magnoliopsida; subclass Rosidae
order	Myrtales
family	Lythraceae
genus	Lagerstroemia
species	indica
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Not evaluated

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

Begonia (Begonia)

My mother gave me a pot with several flowering plants in it, but it wasn’t until one of them died back a little from the heat that I discovered this struggling charmer growing beneath it.
Begonia

common name	Begonia
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Plantae; subkingdom Tracheobionta
phylum	Spermatophyta; subphylum Magnoliaphyta
class	Magnoliopsida
order	Cucurbitales
family	Begoniaceae
genus	Begonia
species	n.a.; garden hybrid
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Not evaluated

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

Yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)

We were surprised one day to see a flock of yellow and black birds descend on the feeders in the front yard. They appeared late in the afternoon and were gone that evening; this is the only sighting I’ve had of these birds in the area.

Male, female, and immature birds can be seen below. These are the only yellow-headed birds with a black body in North America, although there is an extremely similar bird, the Yellow-hooded Blackbird of South America, Agelaius icterocephalus.

Yellow-headed blackbird

An adult female
Female Yellow-headed blackbird

common name	Yellow-headed blackbird
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Animalia
phylum	Chordata; subphylum Vertebrata
class	Aves
order	Passiformes
family	Icteridae
genus	Xanthocephalus
species	xanthocephalus
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Least concern

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

The male of the species. Cardinals were named after the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical officials of the same name.

The female of the species.

common name	Cardinal
domain	Eukaryota
kingdom	Animalia
phylum	Chordata; subphylum Vertebrata
class	Aves
order	Passiformes
family	Cardinalidae
genus	Cardinalis
species	cardinalis
location	Central Texas
IUCN status	Least concern

Extremely local species are itemized species seen at our homes: on the actual property, or in the air above it. (Across the street doesn’t count!) I began by itemizing species seen at our house in Copperas Cove, Texas, and later expanded the project to include our home in Renton, Washington.