As if the titmouse wasn't already cute enough ...

Winter is here

Swiss snow! In Kilchberg, just outside of Zürich where it has been snowing for the past 24 hours and still falling.

Great tit! One of the year-round birds in Zurich, easy to find and strikingly colorful. In the same family as chickadees.

A Eurasian Jay stopped by this afternoon

Jupiter & 4 moons, one obscures part of the planet (1/13s) Venus: per area now brighter than the moon, at 1/20s and 1/1600s. It follows phases just like the moon and looks around half full this week

First time seeing the moons of Jupiter! Visible through binoculars too though having a tripod would help

Gangly yet graceful, white storks flying over Greifensee nature reserve in Zurich canton, Switzerland

Money might not grow on trees... But Great Cormorants seem to. 9 nests up there and over 50 cormorants in the tree and on the water nearby, at Greifensee, Zurich canton.

A tiny common blue female and male butterfly paused their twirling dance for a moment. Near Greifensee, Zurich canton. Manual focus stacking from 2 pics

Eurasian Coot - similar appearance to the American Coot, but with a large forehead shield

The stunning view of the Alps from Rigi Kulm, near Luzern in Switzerland

Bumblebees in Zurich have a white "tail"!

The stunning view of the Alps and lake from Pilatus-Kulm, near Luzern, CH

Staying in New Jersey before heading to Switzerland and amazed at the wildlife here. First time every seeing a groundhog! (They seem to be everywhere.) Some huge pileated woodpeckers that I haven't seen since childhood, a cicada molt and a juvenile wood duck!

Dragonflies of New Jersey wetlands

So I finally got better at shooting barn swallows by eye as my time in New York area comes to a close. Next chapter: Adventures in Switzerland

Saw my first horseshoe crab today in LIC - Gantry Park. Thought it was dead, until the legs moved. A little help to flip over and it crawled away to the depths

The Milkweed of Earthly Delights Red milkweed beetle mating season and a lot of asian lady beetle larvae at Central Park

Cool bug time: a six spotted tiger beetle, which flew in front of me while I was cycling in the palisades today. Super shiny green, looks like a small metal toy

Fast flier! Barn swallow at Central Park's Pool