Unwelcome Occupier

[airboatr]

Mike has Foxes and wabbits. We have Iguanas, Pythons and monitor lizards

I went out today with camera in hand for a leisurely day at the park and spotted some Iguana perched on some concrete construct rising from one of the ponds.

these vermin have become a real threat to the ecosystem eating the indigenous vermin and foul ...

I made a trade for the camera I used today , a Samsung WB2200F.. I'm rather pleased with it's performance..

The perch was about 40 to 50 ft from were I was standing, and rises out of the water 15 or so... Sun low in the sky ISO at 100 and Smart setting on Program







Cropped from the image above







This is a picture of the moon at full power 60x optical and 2x digital zoom,

Original



Cropped and edited , a touch of unmask sharp, Curves and contrast



Nikon just came out with their P900.. it sports a 83x optical zoom and digital zoom on top of that giving a 35mm equivalent of 8000mm lens.
there are a few videos of the moon mars and Saturn on you tube ... the rings of Saturn plainly visible!

[petermcleland]

All great shots Joe...Seems like a fabulous camera

[Airspeed]

How did they get there, Joe?
Was it some Pacific Islander, homesick for his local wildlife?

Great shots, does it handle close up too?

[DaveB]

All great shots Joe...Seems like a fabulous camera

Agree.. all fine shots Joe
ATB
DaveB

[Filonian]

Agree with previous comments Joe, great shots.


Graham

[Nigel H-J]

Wow, those are certainly very good shots of the Iguanas Joe but especially the last one of the moon.

Regards
Nigel.

[Molyned]

Dddo they bite ??
Cccheers
Dave M(oly)

[nigelb]

Wow Joe, great shots. I am just glad that GEICO uses the geko rather than that scary looking creature.

Nigel²

[airboatr]

Gents, I'm pleased you liked them. A good camera always helps. My previous digital camera was just awful with reds, over exposure jpeg artifacts, focusing , just about everything really

The Iguana pictured is a Mexican Spiny Tail, One of the three in way of population wreaking havoc in Florida. The Green Iguana get the largest with potential length of 7 feet. The Black Spiny Tail is less prevalent in Palm Beach County . but are numerous on the south west coast.

And yes they will charge and bite if threatened. But it's the bacteria that will cause more harm than the bite.

As far as how they got here: warped people who thought they'd be cool as a pet, until the pet owner didn't want them anymore and decided it would be less cruel to release them than dispatch them, even though they cause more harm to the native species of plants and animals

cause, you know, they didn't want to be cruel ...

Anyway...

The moon would be a good place for them... I thought, when I posted the pic Nigel !
( rant over )

EDIT
Nigel B
Yes
Beside the gekos aren't rude looking

[Kevin Farnell]

Great photos Joe!

The sharpness and use of 'depth-of field' with the iguanas is extremely good.

In the UK, we are also suffering from invasive species. For many decades, grey squirrels have been ousting our native red squirrels. More recently our waterways have been invaded by the American signal crayfish (brought in as 'angling bait'), decimating populations of our natural (smaller) crayfish. Add to this, Japanese Knotweed and our rivers, streams and canals are under major threat.

The Iguana pictured is a Mexican Spiny Tail, One of the three in way of population wreaking havoc in Florida. The Green Iguana get the largest with potential length of 7 feet. The Black Spiny Tail is less prevalent in Palm Beach County . but are numerous on the south west coast.
And yes they will charge and bite if threatened. But it's the bacteria that will cause more harm than the bite.

Once thought to be how the mighty Komodo Dragon killed it's prey. Whilst bacteria in their saliva can be more than enough to cause septicaemia, they are now known also to be venomous.
Perhaps, the same applies to these lizards?

Kevin