Creature photos on Flickr

“Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world as universal as a bird?” - David Attenborough

This is a composite I put together for Sliders Sunday using the Tree Swallow images I took earlier this week. I used 2 images of the birds and 2 of different backgrounds to blend together with a few other slides to tweak the scene. I truly enjoyed watching the aerial dance these birds do while hunting for insects. They skim right over the water and sometimes engage with each other mid air. I am one of those people who likes birds.

Creatures of the mist by kikikentucky

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Facebook

Creature by Razor Cure

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swallow it whole ..... by Edinburgh Nette ...

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Creepy creatures by Carmen Correas Caba

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Smile on saturday

DSC8890 Grey Heron... by Jeff Lack Wildlife&Nature

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Grey Heron - Ardea Cinerea

The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged predatory wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water or stalking its prey through the shallows.

The birds breed colonially in spring in "heronries", usually building their nests high in trees. A clutch of usually three to five bluish-green eggs is laid. Both birds incubate the eggs for a period of about 25 days, and then both feed the chicks, which fledge when seven or eight weeks old. Many juveniles do not survive their first winter, but if they do, they can expect to live for about five years.

In Ancient Egypt, the deity Bennu was depicted as a heron in New Kingdom artwork. In Ancient Rome, the heron was a bird of divination. Roast heron was once a specially-prized dish; when George Neville became Archbishop of York in 1465, four hundred herons were served to the guests.

The grey heron has a slow flight, with its long neck retracted (S-shaped). This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes, and spoonbills, which extend their necks.

Fish, amphibians, small mammals and insects are taken in shallow water with the heron's long bill. It has also been observed catching and killing juvenile birds such as ducklings, and occasionally takes birds up to the size of a water rail. It may stand motionless in the shallows, or on a rock or sandbank beside the water, waiting for prey to come within striking distance. Alternatively, it moves slowly and stealthily through the water with its body less upright than when at rest and its neck curved in an "S". It is able to straighten its neck and strike with its bill very fast.

Small fish are swallowed head first, and larger prey and eels are carried to the shore where they are subdued by being beaten on the ground or stabbed by the bill. They are then swallowed, or have hunks of flesh torn off. For prey such as small mammals and birds or ducklings, the prey is held by the neck and either drowned, suffocated, or killed by having its neck snapped with the heron's beak, before being swallowed whole. The bird regurgitates pellets of indigestible material such as fur, bones and the chitinous remains of insects. The main periods of hunting are around dawn and dusk, but it is also active at other times of day. At night it roosts in trees or on cliffs, where it tends to be gregarious.

Population:

UK breeding:

13,000 nests

UK wintering:

63,000 birds

Thanks to all who take the time to view, Comment or Fav, It is Always Appreciated.

Creature by reviews tidebuy

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Strange Creatures Everywhere by linda delnaet

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The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which. by Frank Hendriks

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Amsterdam - Strawinskylaan

Copyright - All images are copyright © protected. All Rights Reserved. Copying, altering, displaying or redistribution of any of these images without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

Little sea creature by E D

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Seahorse

creature by Paolo Dell'Angelo (JourneyToItaly)

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it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anas_platyrhynchos

Creepy creatures by Pat

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Smile on Saturday

Magical creatures by Cory

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• CREDITS •