Bird Behaviour in Action
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I'd gone to Bempton to try to catch up with the albatross after a less than satisfactory first visit, almost 2 months earlier.
I'd been photographing Gannets and Fulmars and the odd gull in flight in front of the platform at Staple Newk, when one of the Gannets flew in and landed relatively close to the platform and joined its mate on the cliff. Both promptly embarked upon lengthy greeting and bonding behaviour. Without thinking about the camera settings (as ever), I banged off a number of shots on reflex. This is one of those photos - it had an obvious appeal as soon as I saw it back home...
Thank you for your faves and comments - always much appreciated.
the horbills are quite large birds used to feed on fruit and mainly insects,arachnids and small vertebrates.
but they are not used to kill aduld birds.
in this case an African Grey Hornbill (tockus nasutus) has cought and killed a social weaver.
"a strange behaviour"
Etosha National Park ,Namibia
original 3K file here:
Seagulls are fondly remembered in Utah for helping Mormon settlers deal with a plague of crickets. The seagull is now the state bird of Utah and a monument in Salt Lake City commemorates the event, known as the ‘Miracle of the Gulls’. Seagulls are very clever. They learn, remember and even pass on behaviours, such as stamping their feet in a group to imitate rainfall and trick earthworms to come to the surface. Seagulls’ intelligence is clearly demonstrated by a range of different feeding behaviours, such as dropping hard-shelled molluscs onto rocks so that they break open so they can eat them, and following ploughs in fields where they know upturned grubs and other food sources will be plentiful.
A black Swan attacking a Muscovy duck.
Hope you will enjoy this shot.
Many thanks to everyone who chooses to leave a comment or add this image to their favorites, it is much appreciated.
©Elsie van der Walt, all rights reserved. Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. If you are interested in using one of my images, please send me an E-mail (elsie.vdwalt@gmail.com).
I was observing a group of sea gulls next to the Yarra River when I took this shot.
I am sure you would have seen these postures and calls before.
I was also curious about these postures and their meanings.
Here you can see two common postures.
The gull in the front is showing the Forward Posture.
As the name implies, this posture is all about displaying a forward motion by holding the body roughly horizontal or slightly diagonally with the neck kinked characteristically.
The tail can sometimes be spread; the bill is either slightly opened or closed.
The Forward posture is used in the following situations:
1) hostile encounters
2) pair formation sequences
3) as a response to a bird approaching in flight
When used in hostile encounters on land, it often includes running towards an opponent, whereas in a pair formation sequence both gulls move parallel to each other
The Gull behind is doing the Mew Call
The Mew call is accompanied by a characteristic Arch-posture in which the head is held down and the wings are held slightly away from the body.
It is usually performed while walking but can be performed while standing, flying, or swimming as well.
The Mew call is used in both aggressive and non-aggressive situations:
Aggressive
1) In defense of food or territory, aimed at an opponent
2 )To attract a mate for support in territory defense
Non-aggressive
1) To attract a partner (also for courtship)
2) To call chicks that have wandered too far from the nest
3) To gather chicks for feeding or after they have been hiding after a disturbance
4) As a nest-relief invitation
5) As a call performed upon landing.
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Peaceful Sunday
Grey seals often fight and can be seriously hurt during mating. The cow is the one about to munch on the side of the Bull's cheek.
Dove and Red-headed Finch.
Many thanks to everyone who chooses to leave a comment or add this image to their favorites, it is much appreciated.
©Elsie van der Walt, all rights reserved. Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission. If you are interested in using one of my images, please send me an E-mail (elsie.vdwalt@gmail.com).
RKO_8179. A pelican showing its catch!
Copyright: Robert Kok. All rights reserved! Watermark protected.
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RKO_9069.
Copyright: Robert Kok. All rights reserved! Watermark protected.
More of my work and activities can be seen on:
Please do not use my photos on websites, blogs or in any other media without my explicit permission.
Thanks for visiting, commenting and faving my photos. Its very much appreciated!
A pair of Northern Gannets at their nest.
The male on the left had just returned and the female started to shake her head from side to side as if saying "Where have you been for all this time?"
The male then started to dart forward excitedly towards the female, beak agape,but never got too close.!
A few days later the female laid her first egg in the nest.
The head shaking is behaviour I have seen before but I have never managed to capture it on camera!.
Taken at RSPB Bempton.
Although they are not the only birds to engage in similar behaviour, gannets are famous for "billing" or “mutual fencing.” While it can happen any time both birds from a mated pair are at their nest site, it is quite routine when one bird returns to the nest after foraging for food or nesting material. The two gannets will face each other, often touching and calling. They then shake their heads side to side with their bills clacking together. They often bow, rub necks, and preen each other’s neck before taking up the more mundane activities of nesting in colonies, such as bickering and fighting with neighbors.
On this day 11 years ago I noticed this Goanna lizard hanging out at a popular picnic spot. Goannas are one of several species of lizards of the genus Varanus found in Australia and Southeast Asia.
Being predatory lizards, Goannas are often quite large, with sharp teeth and claws. They survive on smaller prey, but combine predatory and scavenging behaviour, which is why they are attracted to places where people gather and may feed them.
Like most lizards, goannas lay eggs. Most lay eggs in a nest or burrow, but some species lay their eggs inside termite mounds. This offers protection and incubation; additionally, the termites may provide a meal for the young as they hatch. Unlike some other species of lizards, Goannas do not have the ability to regrow limbs or tails.
I met this beautiful female common blue butterfly resting on kidney vetch while I was walking at Elliot in Arbroath with my mum and dad in June this year.
American Robin adapted to winter. Worms in the summer and minnows in the winter for the ones that stick around. Interesting but not such a rare behaviour as we might think.
The second side of Timmy is the tender cuddler who likes to lie in my arm in bed and lay his head in my hand.
Happy Caturday 2.10.2021 "Signature behaviour"
Never work with animals or children, they said... but they didnt have Azizi. From a very young age, he knows to pose when I have my camera. He gives me several seconds rather than nano seconds (the typical behaviours of my other Lesser Tenrecs!!). But I guess it means that of my 6 Tenrecs, I bring him out to photograph the most!!
This image made it as my choice of acrylic for my bathroom. Hope you like it. Tomorrow I will talk about how they really prefer to bathe!! (no water came into contact with my beautiful boy).
I had a day in Ottawa between work in Vancouver, and took a few hours to visit some wetlands. This bird was extremely well-sheltered from the shore, enabling it to hunt and rest without disturbance. Because it was pretty intent on the water, which it observed from a dead tree trunk, I was able to crawl through some bushes and young trees and park myself in a way it couldn’t see me. I had just enough space to set up my monopod and find a clean line through branches.
The Night-Herons around here have a way of hunting in deeper water that involves launching or pouncing off a branch or a dead tree trunk. They enter the water feet and bill first, with a great splash, and try to ambush their prey. (I have a few images of that I may post later).
The bird was successful, and emerged with a pretty decent-sized Catfish. What I hadn’t realized at that moment was that, around a small bay from where I sat enclosed in branches, there was a prospective mate. What followed was an amazing twenty minutes of this bird displaying mating behaviours, including a fairly flashy ‘watch me swallow this food that I can catch for all of us’ dance.
I will post more of those images as well.
The great thing about RSPB Bempton is that there are areas that you can get extremely close to the seabirds and capture some of their intimate behaviour.
Taken on my recent trip to Yorkshire.
This is the first time I am raising a female cat and the behaviour is so different from male cats. It's being such a joy to observe the female more discrete and subtle ways.
Akasha has a charming way of placing her irises on top of her eyes when she looks at you. I have seem some female actresses doing that.
Münchenstein
Switzerland
PB_M7184.2 - 24-105mm
Stag frantically digging up mud at the edge of a lake to cover its antlers before dressing them in vegetation. Not sure if this is to impress the ladies or threaten other males in the rut.
I made a quick trip to the nature reserve after work and met this beautiful and friendly girl. After moving to a very photogenic spot on the grass she spent several minutes turning, preening and generally showing off all her best sides for the camera! It was hard to pick a shot in the end :)
Although the Eastern Spinebill is sometimes called Australia’s hummingbird due to its ability to hover while gathering nectar - the diminutive Brown Honeyeater is no slouch in this department either!
Hovering behaviour actually occurs more frequently than thought, not only in terms of the range of avian species but also in its occurrence within species. Recent research found that neither the geographical distribution of bird species nor their traits (size, body mass) are a limiting factor for hovering behaviour, but that plant traits are important. Quite simply when perches at the plants are inadequate or lacking, hovering is then more appropriate or necessary
Many thanks for your visits, faves and comments. Cheers.
Brolga
Grus rubicunda
Gruidae
One of the most obvious features of the Brolga’s behaviour is its courtship display, an elaborate dance. The dance begins with a pair of birds picking up grass, tossing it into the air and catching it again. This is followed by the birds repeatedly leaping a metre into the air with wings outstretched, followed by stretching their necks upwards, bowing to one another, bobbing their heads, walking about and calling. Sometimes the dance is done alone or in a group, with the birds lining up opposite one another.
Description: The Brolga is a large grey crane, with a featherless red head and grey crown. The legs are grey and there is a black dewlap under the chin. Females are shorter than males. The energetic dance performed by the Brolga is a spectacular sight. Displays may be given at any time of the year and by birds of any age.
Similar Species: The Sarus Crane, G. antigone, another species of crane found in Australia, can be identified by its dull pink legs and the red of its head extending down the neck.
Distribution: The Brolga is found across tropical northern Australia, southwards through north-east and east central areas, as well as central New South Wales to western Victoria.
Habitat: The Brolga inhabits large open wetlands, grassy plains, coastal mudflats and irrigated croplands and, less frequently, mangrove-studded creeks and estuaries. It is less common in arid and semi-arid regions, but will occur close to water.
Feeding: Brolgas are omnivorous (feeding on both vegetable and animal matter), but primarily feed upon tubers and some crops. Some insects, molluscs, amphibians and even mice are also taken.
Breeding: Brolgas probably mate for life, and pair bonds are strengthened during elaborate courtship displays, which involve much dancing, leaping, wing-flapping and loud trumpeting. An isolated territory is established, and is vigorously defended by both partners. The white (blotched with brown and purple) eggs are laid in a single clutch. The nest is a large mound of vegetation on a small island in a shallow waterway or swamp. Both adults incubate the eggs and care for the young birds.
(Source: www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/brolga)
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© Chris Burns 2022
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Not sure what,s going on here.At first i thought the ants were moving their larvae to another location,but the first larvae is clearly a plant hopper nymph! So moving plant hopper larvae for security,or food?
Thanks for your comments and faves,they are truly appreciated.
Swallow Tanager is an unusual species and the only member of its genus. (It was formerly placed in a family of its own.) It is unique among tanagers in the behaviour of sometimes digging a nesting hole in a bank. It is primarily frugivorous but will also sweep out (swallow-like) after insects. This is a male with a black mask and mainly blue plumage with white breast. It was seen near the town of Minca in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia, South America.
I wonder if it's the environment that does my birds look like they have rather a special attitude
Could it be me.....
hehehehe
This magpie was rather frenetic in her behaviour, very eager to eat at my food tray and having her mouth open for most of the time.
She actually missed my food tray too, poor lil one - well she was quite big actually
She is a tough one
She lets her Man eat first
If other chicks are trying to stop by and eat while he is eating
Hehe, well
She comes like a lightning
Like
Swoooooooooosch
And takes a little nibble of their feathers
And off her competitors go
Wether she is jealous or just looking after her Man
Well its a bit difficult to say
I can definitely relate to looking after my Man, and I hope she does that
I hope she isn't jealous
I bet that is more like a human way of behaving
We tend to think that animals have human feelings and behave like us, but they really don't do that
But its a bit fun tho, to give them all kinds of human behaviours
The Harris hawk or Harris's hawk is unique amongst the raptors for hunting in family groups. This co-operative behaviour allows it to capture larger prey than would otherwise be possible.
Found from the southwestern United States down to Chile and central Argentina, Harris hawks are medium to large birds of prey with dark brown and chestnut plumage and a white-tipped tail. They occupy sparsely covered habitats including semi-desert, woodlands, marshlands and mangroves. Some individuals are sighted in Britain; however these are likely to be escapees from falconry, a purpose for which they are one of the most popular hawks.