By Mike Busch

Big thanks to Jim Botta for choosing this week’s shots!  I asked Jim to be an administrator last year and he has done a fantastic job of helping out with the Long Island Wildlife Photography page.  Besides his hard work he is a big part of the page, posting some great wildlife photography along with encouraging other members with great comments and support.

Jim had a huge selection to choose from and stretched this weeks feature to 6 pages.  It’s a great time of year for wildlife photography with the autumn color providing a great backdrop to many of the images.  As the leaves drop, it also provides a lot more light and visibility when trying to find and get a clear shot.

A few notable finds this week include the first Hooded Merganser of the season, American Pipit, Evening Grosbeak, Northern Wheatear, Scarlet Tanager, Cattle Egret and Saw-whet Owl.  We also included some great videos from Natalie Ann on page 6.  We encourage more video, if you have something good, post it on Vimeo or You Tube and let me know!

This weeks cover goes to Anita Regler who might have broken a record with over 1000 likes with her classic shot of a pair of Mute Swans.

Great Blue Heron – Mitchell Schlimer

Evening Grosbeak – Mari Michaelis

Hooded Merganser – Lisa Wollerstein-Whitmore

House Finch – Christopher Carl

Humpback Whale – Kathie Rokita

Kestrel- Steven Williams

Mute Swan – Pat DeLuca

Northern Cardinal – Natalie Ann

Northern Flicker – William Walsh

Northern Gannet – Brian Doherty