View allAll Photos Tagged Behaviour
I witnessed some strange behaviour on Monday morning.
It was like watching a mating ball.
A large female and two males wrestling right next to a hibernacula.
I actually heard the commotion before I saw them.
I've seen this behaviour before on my old patch right at the end of the season.
Anyone else seen this or have any idea what is going on ?
Of course our gingers are on the best behaviour they can muster now that Christmastime is almost in sight.
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
My new girl, a Nu Face Perk Colette. I was going to re-root her but I'm in love with her as is. She's just stunning, and was my favourite FR girl before I got her, and remains so, if not even more enjoyable now.
She's going to be either Native American (I'm not sure where in America but bleh) or maybe even Hawaiian/Japanese. Not sure. Feel free to suggest names, you guys have lots of practice of naming girl dolls, I totally don't XD
I revisited this wonderful building Sunday 19th May 2019, I pass it every day, it always looks resplendent and dominating, it's history intrigues me, unfortunately vandals have also visited and created some damage, their behaviour boils my blood .
Relocated a short distance from Old Aberdeen and Aberdeen University, due to retailers Marks And Spencer's building a new store at its original location, happily the company funded the relocation and it was re-built brick by brick.
History - Benholm's Lodge
Benholm's Lodge, which is also known as Wallace Tower, was built between 1610 and 1616 by Sir Robert Keith. He was a younger brother of George Keith, Earl Marischal and pressured his elder sibling to grant him land and property. Robert seized Ackergill Castle and this seemingly prompted the Earl to relent and grant him the Barony of Benholm.
To mark his new found status, Robert changed his surname to Benholm and built a new lodge to serve as his family seat. Despite its current position, the tower was originally located just outside of Aberdeen Town Walls adjacent to Netherkirkgate (near the intersection between Union Street and Market Street).
The castle took the form of a three storey (plus attic) Z-plan Tower House. It was constructed from rubble with some ashlar dressing and the whole structure was originally harled.
The main block was a rectangular structure with storage at ground level, a hall on the first floor and accommodation above. A circular stair tower provided access to all floors.
Sir Robert Benholm died in 1616 and the tower reverted to the Earl Marischal. He had little use for it so converted it into the residence for the Principal of new Marischal College. It later passed into the hands of William Hay and thereafter was owned by various city merchants. The structure was expanded circa-1789 when a new wing was added.
It remained a residence into the nineteenth century although the ground floor was converted into a Public House. In 1918 it was taken-over by the city council and thereafter was neglected. Between 1963 and 1971, the tower was dismantled brick-by-brick and relocated to Tillydrone, some 1.5 miles north of its original site.
Site Name Aberdeen, Benholm's Lodge
Classification Public House (20th Century), Tower House (17th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Old Aberdeen; Wallace Tower; Benholm's Lodging; Netherkirkgate; Wallace Neuk; Wallace Nook; Putachieside
BENHOLM’S TOWER, in the Nether Kirkgate of Aberdeen, was a unique building in the evolution of Scots medieval architecture for the reason that, despite unfortunate 19th-century alterations and subsequent neglect, it is the only example of a ‘toun ludging’ planned on the 3-stepped or Z-plan shape so much favoured by the fortress home and castle-builders of NE. Scotland from about 1560 on.
Generations of Aberdonians have named the house as the ‘Wallace Tower’ – evidently not a reference to the Scottish Patriot, but perhaps a corruption of the name Well-house (local pronunciation would be ‘Wall-hoose’) – from the pyramid Cistern ‘Wallie’ which formerly stood at the head of Carnegie’s Brae. The house was built by Sir Robert Keith of Benholm, probably after 1610 and certainly prior to 1616 when Sir Robert’s death is recorded. He was the brother of George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal – founder of Marischal College in 1593 – and the nephew of Robert Keith, Commendator of Deer, who in 1587 was designated Lord Altrie being that same year confirmed by charter in the lands and Barony of Benholm, a property in the Mearns he had acquired by marriage to Elizabeth Lundie, heiress of the ancient family of Lundie of Benholm.
During the last half of the 16th century the Keith family as Catholics had gained immense possessions up and down Scotland from what had been church property, and the Marischal’s brother Robert obviously intended to share in the family spoils. Benholm was knighted before 1612, and by 1613, in addition to his Mearns estate, he was in possession of several tenements and lands in and around Aberdeen, including Seaton (the Bishop’s Ward in pre-Reformation times) and properties in the Upper and Nether Kirkgates. Sir Robert had Benholm’s Tower built in what had been virtually open country in the early 17th century. The Z-plan Fortress house he erected for his Toun Ludging was a building capable of defence, for it is actually sited just outside the medieval burgh boundary, some 20 yds. West of the old Nether Kirkgate Port. Of the 2 round towers, one commanded the street leading to the Mither Kirk and the steep inclined city entrance (Carnegie’s Brae is now the only medieval cobbled street in Aberdeen) leading to the Green and the harbour quay, and the other tower overlooked the courtyard and gardens sloping to the bed of the old Loch outflow the Putachie Burn. The Knight of Benholm‘s town house, befitting his early violent life, had in the 17th century appeared a veritable Laird’s Castle.
The earliest record of Benholm’s Tower occurs in 1616, the year of Sir Robert’s death, when the property is described as a new house with its garden in the Nether Kirkgate outside the Port.
The original tower-house, with its central oblong block and diagonally-opposite round towers at NE. and SW. corners, has been subjected to inevitable alterations externally and internally over its long history of almost 350 years. But the basic plan remains: the central block is about 34 ft. long by 20 ft. 6 in. wide over walls generally 2 ft. 6 in. thick. The Court round tower is about 13 ft. 6 in. in diameter over a wall thickness of 27 in. The Street Tower is smaller – about 11 ft. in diameter, the wall varying from 15-18 in. thick. The lowest storey of the house, now the basement forming the cellar of the licensed premises, was in the 17th century the ground floor. The walled courtyard or court (now partly built over by the south wing added about 1785 was entered by a gateway – of which the chamfered jamb stones remain. From Carnegie’s Brae, and westwards, where the flagstoned Tower Court is now enclosed by high buildings on 3 sides, lay the Laird of Benholm’s garden. Where the court round tower forms an angle with the main block is the main entrance door, long locked up, but the fine roll-moulded jambs and lintel are still almost complete. Within the door on the left, the toothings of the original stone steps in the wall indicate the position of the original circular stair. In the south wall of the central block are the cheeks of the original cellar door flanked by 2 windows, now built up – the chamfered jambs of the east-most window have been re-used in the later slapping at the corner of the cellar.
The north wall has 2 narrow window slits: these are interesting as indicating that the street level of the Nether Kirkgate is now much higher than in the 17th century: the re-levelling took place following the formation of St Nicholas Street (1805) when the hollow of the Putachie Burn was filled up.
Of the 3 openings on the east wall, the central one is a door of later date, the other 2 being originally window positions.
The lowering of the level of the ground floor joists in more recent times and the consequent dropping of the earth floor of the cellar explains the exposure of the ‘foonds’ or stone footings on north and south walls, and the original window soffit heights.
From basement level there is no access to the street tower.
Above ground floor level in the Court stair tower, the late 19th century wooden stair now gives access from the Nether Kirkgate to the upper floors of the house. Of the windows lighting the original stone stair, the lowest remains, with indications of the chamfered sandstone jambs of the 2 upper windows underneath the present openings. Projecting from one side of the old middle window was the square bracket for the gas lamp which, from the mid-19th century had given light to the Tower Court and to the pend leading from Carnegie’s Brae. When the ground floor was drastically altered some 60 years ago, the ceiling was heightened, the upper south wall of the main block was carried on a beam and the whole floor (including the lobby access to the stair) was laid out on one level to form the public house.
These alterations removed visible traces of what had been the hall (and possibly kitchen) of the tower house, and of the wide arched fireplace which probably occupied the west wall. In the main house the upper floors show alterations of the late 18th century, contemporary with the south wing added during John Niven‘s ownership (c.1789),
The central stair had led up from a door from Netherkirkgate, but the lower flight was removed during the ground floor alterations.
The 2 chambers at 1st floor – on either side of this central stair – have wall panelling to dado height, the doors have characteristic 18th-century details, and the ceilings have heavy plasterwork.
The house was occupied by Dr Patrick Dun, (1581-1652) appointed Principal of Marischal College in 1621; Dun was head of the medical faculty. Following Dun’s death about 1652,
Benholm’s Tower was acquired by William Hay of Balbithan and thereafter it belonged successively to Andrew Logic, William Wemyss and to James Abernethie, merchant. After the latter’s death in 1768, the tenement of land called ‘Wallace Neuk‘ and close was disposed to John Niven, a snuff and tobacco merchant.
By 1789, Niven had ‘lately erected’ the wing fronting Carnegie’s Brae, thus building over the old courtyard, and in that year the property passed to James Coutts.
Subsequent owners were John Donald Taylor from 1851-78, thence to his heirs until 1895, when James Pirie, Spirit Dealer of 59 Nether Kirkgate, h. 6 Forbesfield Rd acquired the property – at this time the basement and ground floor were converted into licensed premises.
Standing 27 ft. high from street to eaves, the tower has the subtle batter which is a characteristic of Scots military architecture, while the roof has a definite bell-cast lip round the eaves.
The original lead gutters were still in position at the wallhead of both circular towers.
The small turret projects out on 4 corbel courses resting on a carved spurstone terminating the roll-moulded stringcourse which encircles the tower at first floor level: linked to this by a similar surrounding moulding, smaller in scale, is the recess with the statue on the NE. face of the tower .
The recess is 5 ft. 7 in. high by 2 ft. 11 in. wide by 15 in. deep at the top. The stones forming cheeks and lintels are tied in to the tower walls and have every appearance of being original work.
The statement, attributed to Andrew Jervise, that the figure itself was taken from a tomb in St Nicholas kirkyard and set up in the recess by John Niven, may explain this extremely interesting piece of sculpture.
However, despite the accumulation of paint and patching on the statue, close inspection reveals that the dress and armour are contemporary with that of the first decade of the 17th century: the theory cannot be dismissed that here we have a portrait in sculpture of the founder of the building, Sir Robert Keith of Benholm. Also at 1st floor level, and facing west along Nether Kirkgate, is an armorial panel displaying two coats-of-arms.
The upper shield (there are no supporters or crest) is now indecipherable but there is the possibility that it bore the cross of St John below the simple motto ‘Pro Fide’: the Knights of St John, although disbanded at the Reformation, retained the superiority of several properties in Aberdeen.
The larger part of the heraldic panel has the shield of the Keiths – argent, on a chief paly of 6, or and gules with crest and supporting stags, all under the motto ‘Veritas Vincit’ (Truth Conquers).
The whole panel is completely overpainted and requires expert cleaning. Of the weapon-holes which must originally have defended the tower-house, only one is now visible – a fine example of a gunport of the quatrefoil type.
Thanks to the magnificent Wikipedia and Doric Columns for the history facts on this great building .
A Tawny Frogmouth trying to "hide".
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While in Ohio at the Midwest Birding Symposium we saw ring-billed gulls landing in dog wood trees and eating the berries.
Gulls are scavengers but I didn't know they would eat fruit.
It may be possible they were eating insects and not the berries but that isn't what it looked like.
Scientific stuff
Larus delawarensis
From Cornell Lab of OrnithologyFamiliar acrobats of the air, Ring-billed Gulls nimbly pluck tossed tidbits from on high. Comfortable around humans, they frequent parking lots, garbage dumps, beaches, and fields, sometimes by the hundreds. These are the gulls you're most likely to see far away from coastal areas—in fact, most Ring-billed Gulls nest in the interior of the continent, near freshwater. A black band encircling the yellow bill helps distinguish adults from other gulls—but look closely, as some other species have black or red spots on the bill
Many, if not most, Ring-billed Gulls return to breed at the colony where they hatched. Once they have bred, they are likely to return to the same breeding spot each year, often nesting within a few meters of the last year's nest site. Many individuals return to the same wintering sites each winter too.
The documentary shots one gets late at night...
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Northern Flicker NOFL (Colaptes auratus)
Pendray Farm (Private Property)
North Saanich
(Saanich Peninsula)
Capital Regional District
Vancouver Island
British Columbia
DSCN1670
Taken on May 1, 2020
Pair interactions and seemed to be checking out possible nest site
Looks like springs on the way with these Chaffinch squaring up to each other in an attempt to gain the upper hand.
Scrutiny and harassment by a group of crows on Parksville Bay, Vancouver Island. We had a peaceful walk in late morning along with a few paired residents and many varieties of birds. The structure was erected by an anonymous person on an island in the bay that comes and goes at the whim of the tide, currents, and wind.
Usually as in this case the Black Headed Gulls plunge in and grab a piece of vegitation or if there lucks in perhaps a small fish such as a Stickleback either way any gulls in the vicinity will begin the chase to try and steal it's prize.
The documentary shots one gets late at night...
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Album Title: Exotic Behaviour
Model: 虹羚
Photographer: Edwin Setiawan
Place: 士林官邸
Date: 2009/07/12
Just about Photography: edwinsetiawan.wordpress.com
Edwin Setiawan Photography: www.edwinsetiawan.com
When some children are randomly selected and their teacher is told they are likely to bloom intellectually over the next few months, they do.
This is the self-fulfilling fulfilling prophecy.
(It happens probably because the teacher expects the child to learn faster so gives it more challenging tasks)
(Rosenthal, 1985)
CC image courtesy of: www.flickr.com/photos/doug88888/3010737565/
Podiceps cristatus
I crossed the Cheshire - Staffordshire border yesterday and visited Westport Lake with the hope of seeing a Water Ballet.
I managed to catch this pair in rehearsals for the main event. The ballerina and ballerino were practicing the head shaking and bobbing as a cold wind blew across the lake.
I should think they have got this part well covered now and are waiting for a warmer and calmer day to move on with their routine.
From Wiki:- The great crested grebe and its behaviour was the subject of one of the landmark publications in avian ethology: Julian Huxley's 1914 paper on The Courtship‐habits of the Great Crested Grebe.
@Natures_Voice @BirdWatchingMag @BritBirdLovers @wildlife_uk @Birds_UK @iNatureUK
A stereotypy is a repetitive or ritualistic movement, posture, or utterance, found in patients with mental retardation, autism spectrum disorders, tardive dyskinesia, frontotemporal dementia and stereotypic movement disorder. Stereotypies may be simple movements such as body rocking, or complex, such as self-caressing, crossing and uncrossing of legs, and marching in place. Several causes have been hypothesized for stereotypy, and several treatment options are available.
Stereotypy is sometimes called stimming in autism, under the hypothesis that it self-stimulates one or more senses. Related terms include punding and tweaking to describe repetitive behavior that is a side effect of some drugs.
Emperor tamarin
Saguinus imperator
Emperor tamarins are thought to have been named after the Emperor of Germany, Emperor Wilhelm II, due to their long, white moustaches.
Subspecies
Two.
Life span
17 years.
Statistics
Head and body length: 23-26cm, Tail length: 35-41.5cm, Weight: 350-450g.
Physical description
Emperor tamarins have long, white moustaches, and black hands, feet and caps. Their bodies are grey/brown with white under-parts and their tails are orange/red.
Distribution
Emperor tamarins range across Brazil and Peru.
Habitat
They prefer lowland, evergreen and broadleaf forests and densely-grown forest margins.
Diet
They mainly feed on fruit during the wet season, along with a very small proportion of nectar, sap and fungi. During the dry season, nectar becomes the most important component of their diet, along with fruit and a small amount of flowers, sap, ants, snails and insect larvae.
Behaviour
Emperor tamarins typically live in groups of four, usually with one female and three males. They run or walk quadrupedally (on four legs) across the forest floor, and are capable of leaping across branches. Emperor tamarins are diurnal and arboreal (tree-living). They have territories of up to 30-40 ha, which they patrol regularly and defend against other tamarins. They call loudly to announce their presence, particularly near territorial boundaries. At night, they sleep in large isolated trees, near to other group members.
Reproduction
After a gestation period of 140-145 days, females give birth to two infants. The young are cared for by all the members of the troop, including the males.
Conservation status
The black-chinned emperor tamarin subspecies (S.i.imperator) is considered to be Vulnerable by the IUCN.
Mute Swan - Courtship and Copulatory Behaviour
The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is a species of swan native to much of Europe and Asia.This large swan is wholly white in plumage with an orange bill bordered with black. The name 'mute' derives from it being less vocal than other swan species. The population in the UK has increased recently, perhaps due to better protection of this species. Around 5,800-7,000 pairs breeding annually in UK.
Mayesbrook Park (Barking), Britain’s first climate change park, is an attractive nature reserve with a newly restored river landscape. The Mayes brook has been brought back into the park within a widened meandering river channel creating an attractive river landscape to help the park to cope with more extreme changes in climate including heavy rainfall and drought. This new river system, with a gravel river bed and banks, provides an ideal wetland habitat for wildlife and at times of high rainfall it is able to rise in a controlled and natural way within a newly created floodplain.
The southern section of the park features two large lakes which are rich in wildlife. Aquatic plants such as reeds and rushes have been planted in ponds and backwaters, creating a rich habitat for wetland species. With over 40 hectares of open space, the park recently received a Mayor of London Safer Parks Silver award for high standards of site safety and policing.