I took this picture outside “The Patio” restaurant in Briarcliff Manor. I have no idea what kind of bird it is and, so far, my attempts to find out have failed. In terms of color, it’s rather plain, but I find it quite elegant.

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro

On July 4 I did a post about a small black bug with white spots, which turned out to be a Spotted Lanternfly nymph. They’re still around in quite large numbers, but they’ve been changing. They’re a little larger and have developed red coloring. And, if I’m not mistaken, they’ve started to develop wings. Seems like they’re on the way to becoming an adult.

Taken with a Sony A7IV and Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro

Crows belong to the genus Corvus. The collective name for a group of crows is a “murder”. Some people don’t like them, perhaps because they associate them with death.

Taken with a Sony A6000 and Tamron 28-300mm f/4-7.1 Di III VC VXD lens.

A few days ago, I was sitting on my balcony when I noticed a number of tiny spotted bugs. I found them not unattractive. Not surprisingly I wanted a picture. However, by the time I found the right camera they’d all disappeared.

I went out on the balcony to read today, and this time I took the right camera/lens combination. But there were no bugs. After some time, the one in the picture turned up. In fact, it jumped onto my knee (you can see it there in fith picture – included to give a sense of scale).

I didn’t know what it was, so I did some research. It’s actually the juvenile stage of something we’ve become familiar with the dreaded spotted lanternfly (see last picture).

Taken with a Sony A77II and Minolta 35-105 f3.5-4.5.