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Not sure what species. Took it at a falconry display. To be honest I don't like any form of captive bird. I consider falconry as just that. Sorry if that offends anyone. We had an interesting discussion some months back. Perhaps if it's a rescue animal and hand reared, but otherwise it seems rather unkind to deny a wild animal of such high intelligence it's freedom. Nice photo opportunity and these birds are beautiful.
Dill, the African Spotted Eagle Owl (Bubo africanus), doing his bit to raise funds for the Swan Rescue Sanctuary in Wimborne, Dorset.
Stinging Nettle Slug Caterpillar (Cup Moth, Setora baibarana, Limacodidae) "The Clown"
The stinging spines of the stinging nettle caterpillar unfurl when threatened. At other times, they are neatly folded away like a well-gelled hair-do or (appropriately) a Chinese calligraphy brush (see comments for image).
Pu'er, Yunnan, China
On Alert. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.
A flock of Ross’s geese raises their heads in response to a distraction
A group of us started 2018 the same way we started 2017 and several years before that — with a New Year's Day visit to wetlands to photograph migratory birds and engage in a few other fun activities. Among these were: arising hours before dawn, driving long distances in pre-dawn darkness, sharing a champagne toast to the New Year well before noon, and much more. To be honest, I've had been photography days out there at this time of year... but I haven't had a better time.
This photograph shows a behavior that I've learned to watch for when photographing Ross's and snow geese. Much of the time when they are settled in on a field on in a shallow pond they are fairly passive, perhaps with their heads down to feed. But when anything worthy of attention happens — a raptor flies over, a plane passes by too low, someone gets too close or starts a vehicle engine — the flock's sound changes and all of the heads rise with necks vertical. If the threat passes or is deemed unimportant the heads quickly drop. But if it is seen as serious, this might be an indication that the entire flock is about to dramatically take flight.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, "California's Fall Color: A Photographer's Guide to Autumn in the Sierra" is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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this was taken a couple months ago. tyson has grown up so fast, it seems just like yesterday that i picked him up. he was so tiny i could hold him in one hand. now he's huge and has such a big heart.