Lens on Nature Photography

See write up below. Here is a close up of what I thought was the face but I have since learned that apparently the big blue nobs on top are the eyes. The bottom part is the mouth and it looks like a mustache and eyes above it! I like the nice detail of the hairs.

We were hanging out at our pond the other day and noticed this dragonfly being born out of the water. It climbed onto my finger and I put him on a rock. He proceeded to spend a lot of time running his arms over his head cleaning it and flapping its wings while I took pictures with my macro lens. Then a short flight onto our sundeck where he continued the same cleaning routine (along with more picture taking) until it finally flew off. A beautiful process!

Two horses from a semi-wild herd taking a break from grazing to drink from a pond near a Habitat Reserve.

Four baby Robins going to fly from the nest in not too long. We have suddenly had an influx of newly launched Robins all around our gardens and pond. At one point there were 4 having a bath on the pond "beach" and 2 in the waterfall, plus several more seeming to be waiting their turn! Not to mention all the ones in our gardens eating the worms!

I took this photo last Fall while driving to Meadow Creek. Beautiful colors and reflections. A friend titled it "Fall Flavors".

This buck had a harem of 14 does that he kept a close eye on. At the same time, he was kept busy monitoring the young bucks and keeping them in line while I quietly took photos hoping I wouldn't be discovered.

A nice capture of a brown bear in our yard.

A painted turtle and wood duck enjoying the sunshine together like good buddies. It was a long log and they chose to sit close together on one end of it. Earlier a Heron was resting on the log too.

A storm was brewing at the end of Duncan Lake at low water time. The sand was blowing and the mountains were totally obscured creating a mysterious aura. The darkness of the approaching storm magnified all the colours.

I am not really excited about the barn in the background but I love this action shot of 8 year old Zara!

This Western Toad was about to exit the water and I was able to seize the moment to capture a photo.

This osprey is sitting on her nest with her beak open to cool herself in the hot sun. She occasionally stands up and pushes her chicks around with her beak to organize them underneath her. They are still so small they are hidden deep in the nest.

This butterfly appears to be getting something from the pebbles at water's edge. Salt? Minerals? Water? I am not sure. I have been unable to find the type of butterfly this is, particularly because of the bright round circle (eye?) on its head. I googled it and nothing matched. Anyone know??