View allAll Photos Tagged Combing
Comb-crested Jacana
(Lotusbird/ Lily trotter)
Irediparra gallinacea
Jacanidae.
Just look at the size of those feet!! That makes it possible for him to walk on Lily pads and other water vegetation.
Went for a walk near the Reservoir to capture sunset, this is what I got :)
Turns out I should have brought a torch and some bright clothing as the roads nearby didn't have Street lamps... Whoops...
... four brand new combs were hanging from the lintel - what a pity we couldn't have kept it like this as an observation hive. It was joke - but his wife hesitated for a moment as I showed her returning foragers doing their famous figure-of-eight dance. Out of the shower and into a bit of naked bee observation - not something you can often do! But he was not convinced. he wanted them out and I set about trying to transfer the colony to a hive ...
Comb-crested Jacana pair
Irediparra gallinacea
September 17th, 2019
Kununurra, Western Australia, Australia
Canon EOS 1D X Mark II
Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens
Canon EF 1.4x III Extender
One of my most wanted targets on our trip to The Kimberleys were these Comb-crested Jacana. Lily Creek Lagoon is well known for its bird life, particular these peculiar waterbirds.
I had no idea what I would witness on our first evening at the lagoon!
I was watching one particular Jacana fuss about a specific spot on the lagoon. After a few minutes, she started calling. Within seconds, her partner was on the scene & ready for action! Over the next minute or two I watched the male awkwardly try & stabalise himself on his partner's back, which was clearly a tall order with those fantastic feet! While those feet are an asset for walking over lily pads, they present somewhat of a challenge when attempting to reproduce!
This image was moments before the male made several attempts to mount the female.
Comb-crested Jacana
Irediparra gallinacea
September 17th, 2019
Kununurra, Western Australia, Australia
Canon EOS 1D X Mark II
Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens
Canon EF 1.4x III Extender
What a fantastic species - the curiously quirky Comb-crested Jacana! These birds spend their life living on bodies of water that contain waterlilies or similar aquatic vegetation. Their extra long legs & toes enable the Jacana to spread their weight evenly across waterlilies which gives them the appearance of walking on water. On our trip up North last year, I was particular keen to produce an image that show these wonderful feet!
High Crag to the left and High Style to the right. Sheepbone Butress leading up to High Crag. Comb Crags provide the backrest for the armchair. The ascent of Sheepbone Butress is an exhilarating and leg wearying way onto the ridge.
From Wikipedia:
A cirque (French for "circus") is an amphitheatre-like valley, or valley head, formed at the head of a glacier by erosion. A cirque also is known as a coombe or coomb in England, a combe or comb in America, a corrie (coire) in Scotland and Ireland, and a cwm in Wales, although these terms apply to a specific feature of which several may be found in a cirque.
A cirque is a landform found among mountains as a result of alpine glaciers. They may be up to a square kilometre in size, situated high on a mountainside near the firn line, and typically are partially surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. The highest cliff often is called a headwall. The fourth side is the "lip," the side at which the glacier flowed away from the cirque. Many glacial cirques contain tarns dammed by either till (debris) or a bedrock threshold.
As glaciers can only originate above the snowline, studying the location of present day cirques provides information on past glaciations patterns and climate change.
Suitably less wild on the Jurassic Coast this morning, after yesterday's storm.
Popped down to West Bay and enjoyed a gentle sunrise at the edge of the harbour. I like how the water gets combed as it withdraws from the nooks and crannys of the girders here.
A lovely morning, with some nice light, for a change.
Have a great weekend :)
Comb-crested Jacana
Irediparra gallinacea
September 17th, 2019
Kununurra, Western Australia, Australia
Canon EOS 1D X Mark II
Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens
Canon EF 1.4x III Extender
Comb-crested Jacana are perfectly adapted for life on freshwater bodies that are rich with floating aquatic vegetation such as waterlilies. Their most distinctive feature is their disproportionately long legs & extremely large toes. This unique anatomy allows them to effortlessly distribute their weight across the delicate leaves, creating the illusion that they are walking on the water's surface. This mastery of balance enables them to forage for seeds, insects, & other small invertebrates directly from the floating mat of plants.
A "Macro Mondays" submission on the topic "stripes". I could not find any natural stripes, but decided that two combs (plus the shadow of one of them) would make some suitable stripes. The Moire pattern is a bonus.
"Baby face don't grow so fast..
Make a special wish that will always last..
Rub this magic lantern...
He will make your dreams come true for you.
Close your eyes and you'll be there...
Where the mermaids sing as they comb their hair.
Close your eyes sleepy head, is it time for your bed".
Comb-crested Jacana
Irediparra gallinacea
September 21st, 2019
Kununurra, Western Australia, Australia
Canon EOS 1D X Mark II
Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens
Canon EF 1.4x III Extender
Hunting prey in the last light of the day.
Model: Sonia
Strobist info:
1x580ex @ 1/4 power from front into many scotch strips secured to a door frame