Animals

Awesome Photos of Praying Mantis’ Visit to JP Resident’s Flowers

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It's not every day that you see a praying mantis in Jamaica Plain. Yet alone on the porch of a third floor apartment. "I went out on the porch because I saw that my plants had blown over and when I picked one of them up, I noticed a huge praying mantis hangin out on one of the flowers. I probably spent a good 20 minutes watching it (and taking pictures!)," said Rebecca Glucklich. It's almost as if Glucklich had a personal photo shoot with the praying mantis as it let itself be seen amongst her flowers.

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Animals

7-Year-Old Finds Wandering Ball Python in Jamaica Plain

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Despite not having any experience with snakes, a Jamaica Plain man and his 7-year-old daughter were able to locate a small ball python snake that they captured with another local. On Sept. 4 Madison Sargeant and Jeffrey Kimball both tweeted photos of a ball python in Jamaica Plain. The two strangers seemingly came across the snake at the same time. Hey Madison, we're that couple!

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Animals

Photos: Wow! Great Blue Heron Nabs a Frog for Breakfast in Arnold Arboretum

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Wildlife photographer Chris Lang captured this spectacular scene of a great blue heron grabbing a frog for breakfast at the Arnold Arboretum. "The frog was doing all it could to make itself as big as possible in hopes that the heron would decide it was too big to swallow. It wasn't," said Lang. Click here to see more photos by Chris Lang Photography.

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Animals

Photos: Beautiful Black-Crowned Night-Heron at Jamaica Pond

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Check out a rare sighting of a black-crowned night-heron that was photographed by a local resident at Jamaica Pond.  

Ben Achtenberg provided Jamaica Plain News with these photos of the black-crowned night-heron he recently spotted at the pond. Here are several facts about them from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

They are not on the national endangered birds list. All migratory birds are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The North American Waterbird Conservation Plan says they are a species of moderate concern
As their name indicates, they feed mostly at nighttime through dawn
They are the most widespread heron in the world

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Animals

Photos: Wow! Blue Heron Caught a Big Catfish at Jamaica Pond

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Nature abounds in Jamaica Plain. For example check out the amazing fishing expedition a local resident captured at Jamaica Pond. "My husband and I saw this blue heron eating a catfish. It took a long time but the heron did manage to swallow the whole thing," wrote Dianne MacPherson-Laffey on the Jamaica Pond: Sightings, Stories, & Snapshots from an Urban Oasis Facebook page. MacPherson-Laffey said the heron caught the catfish on the Perkins Street side of the pond.

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