Observations "hiding" in other observations; Share your examples!

[rosabelmiro]

Ufff, I love this picture!

[teellbee]

That’s pretty cool. Is that an active dusky-footed woodrat nest? I’ve seen many nests over the years, but only one animal. I cannot even tell an active nest from an abandoned one. I supposed, a camera trap is the way to observe them… of course they would hide when an large animal is near by.

[naturalist_aditya]

I was photographing a River Tern, while I accidentally photographed a lifer, Gray Heron. I didn’t noticed it until 3 moths after taking the photo !

EDIT : It’s slightly on right of the centre, and it’s out of focus.

[eebee]

Here’s one from today! I took a photo of this unwell-seeming bee:

and didn’t realize until preparing to upload the photo here that the bee had hitchhikers of some kind:

[jasonhernandez74]

@fluffyinca

I wonder if other people’s thought processes work similarly…

I grew up learning that springtails are insects. They are considered to be such in old books my family had. I find that I am frequently behind the curve when it comes to reclassifications that happened after I finished school. Another example is cartilaginous fishes (sharks, rays, rattails) used to be in the Class Pisces together with ray-finned or “bony” fishes. I still think that way, and have to make mental translations.

[ocean_beach_goth]

@teellbee yes, it’s an active nest. I’ve had some luck with learning to ID an active nest versus an abandoned one: I look around the edges of the nest for exits and entrances that have signs of recent use like trampled vegetation, dust or gravel “fanned out” where the animal has passed in and out, etc. Active nests also look “maintained” in the sense that they haven’t collapsed, sagged, or broken open anywhere. These subtle signs have helped me find active nests. Also, if you come upon a latrine (often the top of a downed log with layers of scat, the topmost layer fresh), you can bet that at least one of the nearby nests is active.

[Jophophora]

Was taking pictures of a Heron in flight and didn’t notice any of the huge pile of turtles while I was out there until I got home to review pics. One of them even looks the size of the merganser! ha

[fluffyinca]

Here’s one I just found when uploading some of my older photos:
I was trying to photograph the seals, and didn’t even notice the fuzzy little birds (identified by @sedgequeen as gull chicks) in the center!

[fffffffff]

I found a better one, photographed a mushroom and just happen to capture 3 plant species, including one that never observed (consciously) before!

[captaintreerex]

I was taking a picture of the geese. Only noticed the merganser when I got home.

Also these ants pulling a beetle back to the colony

[echocreek]

Have you ever taken a picture, eg a flower, and later on discover that there is something else even more intriguing to see on the picture? here is one of my examples: a Black-tipped Darner( https://inaturalist.ca/observations/72106223 ) and looking closer you can see a small green spider at the appendages ( https://inaturalist.ca/observations/72114063 ) What did you discover after a closer look at you picture?

[tiwane]

(merged the above post from another thread)

[screedius]

I took this one in Estes Park, CO. I was looking at the flower and didn’t notice the little jumping spider until I got home and started combing through pictures from the trip. I think I must have thought it was just some chaff stuck to the petals at the time. Pity, too, or I would have tried get a better shot.

Observation listed here: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/53793772

[tiwane]

I “discovered” the “hidden” in the field, so I’m not sure if it counts, but I spotted a rattlesnake sunning itself by a den. I took some photos, approached a bit more, and it rattled and went into the den. I maneuvered to get an angle for another shot when a second snake started rattling - it had been resting under the first snake!

[lia_the_naturalist]

Such a cool thread! Love looking at all the great pictures!

[carnifex]

Regularly, I discover mites or springtails on photos of leaves or dead wood, where my focus was on a different animal.

This case is special, because my object of interest was another species of springtail and only at home I noticed its smaller cousin in the same depth of field.

[teellbee]

I was taking pics of a pair of lesser gold finches on the birdbath when an Anna’s hummingbird photobombed the pic.

[corunastylis]

This often happens to me. I have trouble remembering examples but the mention of springtails reminded me of this one.

[corunastylis]

Oh, I remember another one. It was years after photographing the plant that I recognised that there were a couple of minuscule bugs on it.

[a_awesome]

This is such a cool conversation. Here is one I found about a year ago. I had taken some pictures of the spotted sandpiper and when I got home I noticed there was a softshell turtle in one of the photos!