Birds, Insects, Reptiles…. And plants!
They're all there waiting to be admired!

Live and let Live

I’ve always been very live and let live when it comes to nature. As long as you don’t come into my house or try to attack me we are friends. That counts for spiders, bees, birds and even rats/mice.
As I got used to my new routine I spend more and more time out in my backyard.
It’s not big at all but it’s enough space to hang out and feel ‘one with nature’. I know I sound like a guru but you know what I mean!
I take my time out there as a great way to relax. I put a table (yes a table) in the middle of the yard where I can either sit or even lie on it. So this is currently where my reading happens and where I meditate… or just sit there and drink some coffee.
I do always bring my camera because you’d be surprised how much life is happening around you.
I wrote a blog about the insects I spotted here:
@gvkanten/experimenting-with-insects

I realize there is a whole eco system out there and it’s centered around the Noni tree and around the flowers of the local plants.

Everything is getting comfy there…. If you sit there long enough you can observe the behavior (and some of the routines). Pro tip, seems the mosquitoes are also comfy so these days I actually were a long pair of jeans to keep these bastards off my legs

Bees and Wasps

These guys are there from morning till nightfall. They seem less active during the hottest time of the day but you can see them all day. They fly from flower to flower doing what they do best!
The bees (I found out) probably come from the neighborhood. On one of my runs I saw a couple of man-made beehives on an empty plot. This is just my guess but I’ve noticed an increase of them lately so it would make sense.
The wasps are always kind of around and if you don’t pay attention they’ll build a nest on any wood in the area (right below your roof).
Both of these are not aggressive at all and if anything they just fly around you….Or just pose for pictures if you want them to 😀

And sometimes you get a random grasshopper!

Reptiles

These guys are trickier; they really only stay still if they think you haven’t seen them (or they freeze out of fear). Most of the time though, they move if I get closer.
I’ve spotted Iguanas, Salamanders, Geckos….

Spot anything?

He's there!

This one acted like he was invisible 😀

Feathered Friends

To be honest I’ve been slightly obsessed with the hummingbirds lately. I’ve now seen two of them that constantly come back. I’ve been lucky enough to get a few shots (even if it was with my 50mm lens) but they……they just love to tease me! I'm telling you I can sit out there for a 20 min and they don't show up but as soon as I get back inside I can look out the window and see two of them happily chirping away!
I’m really looking to buy or borrow a zoom lens because they do sit still (believe it or not) but they just do it out of range!
But again, if you stick around and stay still they’ll come with 0.5m of you. Guess the flowers are too sweet to pass up.

That being said, there are other feathered friends around too.
Pigeons, Parakeets are around a lot, and still some others which I have no scientific name for (yes I need that zoom lens).

This is one of my favorite shots!
But they don't all look like this...
Most of them look like this 🤣

Or this 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

Yes he's there! Just teasing me!

The rest:

No offense to any little insect but I didn’t mention the ants, the little butterflies… There are different species of ants around so bear with me while I investigate!

Signing off with today's sunset!

That's it for me today!
Hope you enjoyed the pictures and as always comment/questions are welcome below!

Cheers!
@gvkanten