Welcome to Rick Marsi Online
For the past three decades, Rick Marsi's name has become synonymous with excellence in the following fields:
- Visually stunning slide programs on nature and travel
- Guided nature walks that educate and inspire
- Professionally escorted nature tours in the USA and beyond
Purchase Rick's books and photos, hire him as a speaker for your next meeting or special event, or engage him to lead you on a guided nature walk.
Available for sale here now...
Rick's new book of nature
essays, "Log Cabin Year",
48 Reflections from Our
Seasons Past with illustrations
by Jan Mars
Price reduced to $19.95
Click on the book cover to view sample pages
View Rick's log of January nature sightings by clicking "diary" at left.
------------------------------------------------------"Caught in Flight" photos in "Bonus Content" at left.
------------------------------------------------------
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
My best from 2019. These are from January through March.
Osprey. Walking beside a bay in coastal South Carolina, we came upon this Osprey dispatching a fish it had just captured. Amazingly, it did not fly away as we approached. Eventually, it did take off, landing on top of a nearby telephone pole. There, it finished its meal in private.
Belted Kingfisher. Kingfishers are difficult to photograph because they are difficult to approach. I can’t get within 30 yards either walking or paddling my kayak. Although they often will hover while looking for minnows, this rarely happens within camera range. Photo taken at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge adjacent to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Pileated Woodpecker. Another rarity: A visit to your suet feeder by this amazing, crow-sized bird. This was the first pileated to do so in my yard in 40 years. I think I know why. The bird had been digging ants out of a dead tree in the forest by my house for two weeks. My theory is it just craved a little variety when it came to the suet.
American Oystercatcher. Right place, right time. I had been shadowing these showy shorebirds for around 15 minutes, using a long lens to photograph them as they wandered the sand surrounding a tidal pool on Kiawah Island, SC. Then, this happened!
Pine Warbler. Late winter in Central New York is already springtime in Maryland. Thus, we weren’t surprised on a late March day to hear a Pine Warbler singing as we walked through a grove of old pines at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the edge of Chesapeake Bay. These lovely warblers are one of the first of their kind to return north in spring from southern wintering grounds.
Forster's Tern. When my camera freezes a bird in flight, stopping time to allow for a complete inspection of every feather, I’m happiest as a nature photographer. This Forster’s Tern was one of two dozen loafing at surf’s edge near The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, SC. Every few seconds, one or more birds would lift from the sand, wheel over the water, dive for minnows and then return.
American Sycamore. This riverbank-loving tree sheds its bark as it grows toward the sky. Walking along the Chenengo River in upstate New York on a gray winter’s day, I photographed this sycamore, pale and ghostlike in contrast to the darker trees behind it.
White Ibis. Portrait please! These all came together on the wildlife drive at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida: Perfect bird, perfect light, perfect pose, perfect background, plus right time and right place for yours truly.
Speaking of ibis, let's...
FOCUS ON THE IBIS FAMILY
You can't see it here, but the Glossy Ibis features a long curved bill used to extract invertebrates from wetland muck such as this. Formerly found mostly in southern states, Glossy Ibis have steadily expanded northward in recent decades. I took this photo in central New York in early spring. Another Glossy Ibis photo is in "Bonus Content" at left.
Prior to swallowing it, a Glossy Ibis tosses a prey item it has extracted from the wetland bottom.
A group of Sacred Ibis probe a wet meadow on the floor of Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania.
Red legs, red bill, blue eyes and snowy white plumage - a striking combination exhibited by this White Ibis against blue Florida Sky at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
White-faced Ibis inhabit a limited range in the far west, including here, in the Sierra Valley north of Lake Tahoe.
Photos by Rick Marsi
All rights reserved.
DESCRIPTION OF NEW AND REVISED "WALK THROUGH THE RAIN FOREST" PROGRAM NOW AVAILABLE. CLICK ON "SLIDE SHOWS" - (3/20/2015)
Show All News Headlines