View allAll Photos Tagged BLACKS
I don't know why but I love Black Skimmers. I had a great time in San Diego last month when I found a large number of them and they let me get fairly close. This one was playing with the seaweed.
From time to time it's refreshing to have a look at some older photos, to bring back memories, to find such cool scenes :)
The blacksmith lapwing or blacksmith plover (Vanellus armatus) occurs commonly from Kenya through central Tanzania to southern and southwestern Africa.
A common sight around water, including pans, lakes, rivers, dams, estuaries and salt pans, and also short grasslands, sports fields and wet pastures, Blacksmith Lapwings are noisy and conspicuous birds. They have a characteristic ‘tink tink tink’ or ‘klink klink klink’ call, which they make from the ground (where they spend most of their time searching for food or tending to chicks) or in flight. They can be found singly, in pairs or in small groups.
It is not difficult to recognise a Blacksmith Lapwing. Their plumage is boldly marked in black, white and grey, and they are unlikely to be mistaken for other species. They have grey and black wings, while the rest of the body and the head are boldly patterned in white and black - also the underparts. Females are on average bigger than the males, but both sexes generally look alike.
Photographed on a late evening game drive at the Athi Basin Dam in Nairobi National Park, Kenya.
Black Kite
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Not a bird that we generally associate with rolling over in a stoop to hunt.
This was one of several that were playing games It must have decided to drop in on its friend below.
For our friend that had a really terrible day-
Your love for nature & wildlife inspires many to respect this planet & all living creatures. So sorry that you witnessed not everyone shares the same compassion as you do. We are thinking of you.
Attractive black-and-yellow oriole of humid tropical lowlands. Favors forest edge, plantations, semi-open areas with tall hedges and flowering trees. Often in flowering trees with other species of orioles. Plumage rather variable, but note the rather small, slightly decurved bill. Male has black head and back in Mexico and northern Central America, female has black face and greenish back. Sexes look alike in southern Central America. Not especially vocal.
Tico Rainforest B&B, Horquetas de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica
An incense stick, a couple of creative minds and some household items is all you need to create this.....
So happy to see the Black Scoters returning again to the Richmond Marina for another year! We first saw one in 2012 and he returned every year since. In 2019, a second male returned with him and they both continue. We don't go every year to see them but it sure is a treat when we do! My favorite little Black Scoter!
Black-browed albatross nest of the cliff edges of some of the Falkland Islands, mostly in areas untouched by the sheep.
They are monogamous, raising one chick a year. The egg is incubated for 70 days, and the chick fledges at about 120 days.
The mud nests are re-used each year creating a mosaic of mounds all just outside pecking distance of each other.
I tried yesterday for a while to catch a bird perched at the TOP of this pine tree but had to settle for a few quick visits to the edge from a Black-capped Chickadee. Hennepin County, MN 12/08/21
Today had my annual day out at Donna Nook on the Lincolnshire coast to see the seals and was lucky enough to see this black seal the warden told me that they only have 2/3 born per year but he was not cooperative he was enjoying the sun and was sleeping in the long grass (that was the seal not the warden ) and was not going to move for any one this snap was about the best I was able to get
Already on my gallery, but it's one of my favourite pic and I tried a new editing!
Taken in the central place of Bordeaux, France
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Clocher de l'église Saint-Claude du Casset dans la vallée de la Guisane (Hautes-Alpes). Eglise reconstruite au XVIIIe siècle.
The last nearly four years have seemed like eons for me. Every day that I can bear to pay attention, I am horrified by what atrocities Trump is responsible for. I have gone to so many protests in so many places for so many causes/reasons, both well attended and scarcely attended in good weather and in the middle of a freezing cold winter. There are times I have really questioned what good it even does but a little voice in my head has still told me it was the right thing to do.
But, then the Coronavirus hit and I wondered seriously if protesting was the right thing to do…after reading the statistics in my own city about people of color being killed by the Coronavirus at a much higher rate than white people, I had to ask myself, is it actually a case of white privilege if I protest? This seems like such a strange thing to ask when you are protesting your outrage about a man being killed only because he happened to be Black and existing in America but still I had to ask. Because, if I am part of the problem of spreading this virus and my presence results in more deaths of more people of color, isn’t that defeating the purpose? In addition, how about all of the healthcare workers who have been burdened for so long? Why should I make a choice for them that could affect the survival and treatment of myself and others? It just seemed too risky for this die hard protestor.
I have never dealt with this kind of moral dilemma before. My sense of right and wrong is usually pretty strong and doesn’t leave room for tons of contemplation and deliberation. I can’t really remember the last time I had to seriously ponder “What is the right thing to do in this situation?” asking myself again and again. I usually just know these things intuitively and then try to make my best ethical choice. I’m not saying that I don’t see layers of grey between black and white so much as just I have an idea of how to act in terms of what is right with my soul. I’m also not saying that I don’t learn new things and from the perspective of others and change based on being open to learning. But, the idea of what is fundamentally the ethical choice to make about whether or not to attend a protest for a cause I believe in has never been this difficult before.
And, there is the other side of things that I don’t really like to talk about-the more human side of things. I am unfortunately all too human in my fears about contacting Coronavirus/Covid19. To be honest, I’m the type of person that gets nervous taking a walk in my own neighborhood and gets frustrated when I see the joggers and dog walkers on my street roaming without a mask or groups of a few friends partying on a rooftop in close proximity. It seems pretty hypocritical to me that I’d also be finding myself amidst thousands of people in super close proximity sometimes under overpasses neck to neck, masks or no.
So, what I am saying is that I am actually probably a little paranoid. For a large part of my life, I didn’t realize I was any different from others in my fears until I went to college and learned about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and realized that my irrational fear of death that took hold of me if I didn’t do certain things when I was little-tap my fingers every time I saw a green car, squeeze my toes every time I passed a squirrel-that sort of thing-wasn’t what most kids go through. And, it was crippling. Most of the time, I would cry hysterically thinking I was going to die and great harm would really come to my family and I if I told anyone and voiced these fears out loud. I know, I know…it sounds crazy and doesn’t make tons of sense. And, even though I know that and have gotten better dealing with this side of my self as an adult, it still hasn’t gone away completely. There’s a real instinctual fear that makes me think the worst will happen to me.
The news, of course, doesn’t help…and consider that non essential businesses were shuttered and school was cancelled for the rest of the year, I am even more terrified about the damage this virus can do. Then, there’s also the choir study…where they found that one man in close proximity singing with a choir infected pretty much the whole choir and killed a few too. Of course, this is outdoors, but I still can’t help thinking about all of the times I opened my mouth to chant pro Black Life Matters sentiments even if I was wearing a mask.
And, in many ways, I feel like I am not even worthy enough to say the name of George Floyd or Breonna Taylor who should have turned 27 on Friday, the day that I joined these protests. Because, as someone who is white, I could never know the true horror of this. She was a hero, an EMT worker, and it wasn’t just her own life and her family that was robbed but all of our lives and the sadness is overpowering. So, I ended up saying her name a few thousand times and feeling like I was losing my mind because I couldn’t rewind time and change reality.
I don’t know the answer to all of this and I still don’t know if I contracted the virus or not. But, in any case, I hope that these protests meant something and continue to mean something. Maybe it actually means more to those in power that people would risk their lives to fight for Black Lives and, if those mayors and governors really care about the citizens of their city, they have to act on these social justice issues-hold police accountable, take police out of schools and bring in social workers, counselors, librarians, art and music creative outlets instead. Let’s have a dance class or a drama class instead of kids being subjected to cruel excessive force and mock prison cells from early ages. Surely anything that helps kids is better than something doing active harm. Let’s put more money into mental health facilities instead of incarcerations. Let’s make sure when someone is released from prison that they have a job to go to. Let’s make sure our citizens have healthcare and that there are valid low income housing measures. All of these things will reduce crime and improve the quality of life. That is the direction we need to think in instead of increasing a police force. We need to think about the disparities between communities and races and ensure these people are protected and treated with respect-the same respect and treatment white people have been taking for granted in my country for centuries.
Above: a new mural for George Floyd, murdered by a group of police officers in a complicit system where the police are protected from their evil racist acts.
This mural was recently completed in the past couple of days and is found in Humboldt Park, Chicago on Division Avenue just east of California Ave. Cristian J. Roldán and Esther Kovacs
***All photos are copyrighted***
It was such a privilege to see this endangered Black Rhinoceros!!!! I am proud to say that I am the one who spotted him and without my binoculars-haha!!!! This photo was taken in the Masai Mara, Kenya!
This black bear caught a salmon and is heading to the woods to eat. The mouth of this stream empties in to a large bay.
Common short lived herb that is edible. Also known as sunberry or wonderberry plant. Used in traditional medicine.
Origin: Eurasia.