View allAll Photos Tagged ATOP
This is an ash-throated flycatcher who flew fly-catching sorties from atop this ocotillo plant. This should probably be more about the bird, but ocotillos are kind of an interesting desert plant. They can grow quite tall - up to 10 meters / 30+ft. They are drought deciduous, meaning that they drop their leaves during periods of no rain and resemble a bundle of dead sticks. They are still quite alive, but simply conducting photosynthesis through their stems. When the rains hit, they leaf out again. Quite an adaptation, in my opinion.
Jasper in the Superstition Mountains in Lost Dutchman State Park. Only gold we found was the sunrise though.
Just east of Alden on the Wells line there is a long cut atop of a ridge that is notorious for drifting in with the legendary "snirt" found in this part of the world. Wind swept snow combines with fertile top soil off nearby farm fields, then it packs hard into these cuts forcing the railroad to use drastic measures. I lost count of how many passes they made before moving on. This day started out sunny and by nightfall we were experiencing near blizzard conditions.
I do not remember where we started the chase with this train but I do recall it covered two states. We followed east to CO as far as Grand Junction where this train changed crews and headed south on the Montrose and North Fork Branches. It was an epic chase.
Doug enjoying the views of the mountains and valleys beyond
More on the bluffs here...
bctreehunter.wordpress.com/2016/01/09/idyllic-winter-on-s...
Views of the Lake Louise area from atop Little Beehive....and believe it or not but all those little dots scattered about the lake are canoes. So exhilarating to feel like you are on top of the world. Lots of haze and harsh sunlight, but who can resist those views. Thanks to my sherpa for being a prop....he thinks this would be a good one for Backpacker Magazine :-)
Have an awesome weekend, and as always, thanks for all your visits and comments!!!!
© Darlene Bushue - All of my images are protected by copyright and may not be used on any site, blog, or forum without my permission.
One second you’re looking regal atop a fence post and the next a gust of wind tries to topple you from your elevated position. Isn’t that just the way it goes sometimes?
This triptych is 3 frames from the very first burst I shot with a brand new camera (Canon R7) and it captures a juvenile red tailed hawk atop a fence and displaying it’s amazing balance as a gust indeed challenged it for a second. The bird also appears to be giving a bit of the “stink eye” to the goofy looking guy in the mobile photography blind (AKA beat up Toyota Camry). Neither the wind nor yours truly denied the wonderful young raptor its hunting spot though and it was still perched there when I drove off.
The Hudson River can be seen to the left. West Point
Military Academy is just a little further up the river.
As a consolation prize after driving 9+ hours, and it was almost dark, Steve and I headed over to see if we could get out annual Snowy Owl. Little did we bargain on getting not only the owl but the closest I've ever been to an adult male Snowy Owl. Taken at sunset!!
Snowy Owl, adult male, located sitting atop an old barn building in Lee County, IL
Built atop 1,000 ft tall Talcott Mountain, the former summer home of food and alcohol distributor Gilbert Heublein stands 165 ft tall. Designed to withstand winds of 100 mph it was built to resemble the castles of the Heublein family's native Bavaria. Its top floor observation deck offers sweeping views for dozens of miles in every direction; on a clear day visitors can see Long Island Sound to the south and the Berkshires of Massachusetts to the north.
This is a shot of me in New York in 1979, I believe. I would have been 25 or 26. My girlfriend and I went to New York from Toronto and had a total blast. I gather you can't get up this high in the Statute of Liberty anymore.
Day 5/365
Atop the cliffs is the Gay Head Light. Completed in 1799, it is the only working lighthouse on the Island. There are a total of five lighthouses here. Through the years, storms have taken its toll on the cliffs. In order to save the lighthouse from falling into the water, the decision was made to move it in 2015. They were able to move it back by 150 feet. They are hoping to get at least 150 more years at the new location. You can take a tour up the stairs to the top and into the light. There have been several weddings at the lighthouse as well. From standing on the lookout across from the lighthouse, you can get a picture of the red light as it comes around. One light is white, the other red. It overlooks the beautiful clay cliffs at Aquinnah. The colors are greys, yellows, reds and several other colors mixed in between. The colors are the most vibrant after a rain. At the foot of the cliffs are the aqua colored waters of Moshup’s Beach.
A European Starling atop a crested saguaro cactus. Many consider the starling to be a nuisance bird, invasive and aggressive. I'm kind of indifferent. I like their iridescent plumage. Starlings were introduced to North America by an industrialist in the 1800s who thought it would be cool to introduce all the birds mentioned in the works of Shakespeare to North America. So he let loose a few in New York's Central Park and now Starlings can be found in the lower 48 states, a little bit of Alaska and most of the Canadian provinces. So I guess invasive is an apt description of this species.
At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that this starling is atop a crested saguaro. What's a crested saguaro? It's the same as a regular saguaro, but with an abnormality that makes the top of it kind of fan-shaped. I read that it's not real clear what causes this abnormality and it's relatively rare. There is one at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ, however.
Not easy getting such a shot... these little owls aren't very impressed when someone stands over them with a camera in their hand. Only got 4 shots like this in the whole shooting.
Well, who knew? I was led to this amazing spot by my good friend and photo companion Mr Shaw on the weekend. Barely five miles from my home and not even a lot of climbing to do!
We had ventured over to scout it out in the morning and conditions then were pretty appalling. But the weather reports were favourable for sunset so we headed back out again later on and eneded up having a pretty spectacular session!
The light wasnt quite the best and the clouds were a little in the way at points but I managed to work around the issues and think I bagged some particularly average shots!
Off out to do some astrophotography later on this week for the first time this year so fingers crossed the skies stay clear.
A juvenile merlin hit my patio door window August 30th, but was alert and after five minutes on the deck and the next ten atop the backyard umbrella surveying his surroundings, he ruffled his feathers, stretched his wings, and flew away. Photo shot through two panes of glass.
I've joined a new group. It's all about Walls.
After a few invitations from you Daniela, i hope this has enough wall in it to make the group.
This is taken from the Bishop's Gardens in Chichester on a recent flickr meet-up with friends. The subtle spire in the background is the Cathedral.
So, Happy Wall Wednesday and Happy Bokeh Wednesday to you all.
Gotta' be happy for a Wednesday, right? ☺
Please, have a bigger look, by hitting 'L' , then viewing Full Screen.
Handheld shot of the small falls at Swatara Falls. I need to stop forgetting equipment... like my tripod to camera mount. Still, I made the best of it.