Painted distribution box
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Kingfisher - Alcedo Atthis
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The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) also known as the Eurasian kingfisher, and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.
This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptations to enable it to see prey under water. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank.
The female is identical in appearance to the male except that her lower mandible is orange-red with a black tip. The juvenile is similar to the adult, but with duller and greener upperparts and paler underparts. Its bill is black, and the legs are also initially black. Feathers are moulted gradually between July and November with the main flight feathers taking 90–100 days to moult and regrow. Some that moult late may suspend their moult during cold winter weather.
The flight of the kingfisher is fast, direct and usually low over water. The short rounded wings whirr rapidly, and a bird flying away shows an electric-blue "flash" down its back.
The common kingfisher is widely distributed over Europe, Asia, and North Africa, mainly south of 60°N. It is a common breeding species over much of its vast Eurasian range, but in North Africa it is mainly a winter visitor, although it is a scarce breeding resident in coastal Morocco and Tunisia. In temperate regions, this kingfisher inhabits clear, slow-flowing streams and rivers, and lakes with well-vegetated banks. It frequents scrubs and bushes with overhanging branches close to shallow open water in which it hunts. In winter it is more coastal, often feeding in estuaries or harbours and along rocky seashores. Tropical populations are found by slow-flowing rivers, in mangrove creeks and in swamps.
Like all kingfishers, the common kingfisher is highly territorial; since it must eat around 60% of its body weight each day, it is essential to have control of a suitable stretch of river. It is solitary for most of the year, roosting alone in heavy cover. If another kingfisher enters its territory, both birds display from perches, and fights may occur, in which a bird will grab the other's beak and try to hold it under water. Pairs form in the autumn but each bird retains a separate territory, generally at least 1 km (0.62 mi) long, but up to 3.5 km (2.2 mi) and territories are not merged until the spring.
Very few birds live longer than one breeding season. The oldest bird on record was 21 years.
They are also listed as a Schedule 1 species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act offering them additional protection.
Population:
UK breeding:
3,800-6,400 pairs
Masdevallia geminiflora, espêce á l'odeur de banane très mûre attirant ici un moucheron. Floraison in situ, département du Valle del Cauca, Colombie. Distribution: Colombie et Equateur de 650 á 1800 m anm.
Masdevallia geminiflora, especie con fragancia a banano muy maduro atrayendo acá una mosquita. Foración in situ, departamento del Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Distribución: Colombia y Ecuador desde 650 hasta 1800 m snm.
Vintage power distribution system in the mostly abandoned WWII Army Air Corps base, Wendover, Tooele County, Utah.
Happy Telegraph Tuesday!
To see more of this important atomic bomb base check out my album here: www.flickr.com/photos/19779889@N00/albums/72157601973705978
Seldom seen in daylight this time of year, Ohio Street's second shift workhorse Y233 delivers a single box car (ex-Amtrak) to the Sonwil Distribution Center, off of Ship Canal Pkwy near Tifft.
Sonwil is one of two customers located on "The Lehigh" (the other being CertainTeed), which connects Ohio Street Yard and CP Draw at the north end to Seneca Yard and the South Buffalo Railway to the south. This connection is used daily by CN L531, the daily Canadian transfer train from Port Robinson, ON to South Buffalo, and a few times a week by CSX to either serve their customers or as part of a wye move to turn covered hoppers for General Mills. (Certain hoppers can only be unloaded from one side inside their plant.) The lone box car here is a far cry from the 10 spots available, which have been known to be completely full at times. Neighboring Sonwil to the left is their newly finished Four Square warehouse, which seems to finally have been completed in the last year. However, despite having been laid two and a half years ago, the brand new track alongside the building remains untouched, having yet to see any rail traffic. In fact, directly behind me was a mound of snow covering the start of that track. The lack of any cars here continues to be a puzzling move, following the discontinuation of rail service in September 2023 at their Depew location on the A Industrial, siding in favor of starting up the new warehouse. With locations connected by rail also in Niagara Falls and West Seneca via NS, there's certainly no lack of options for them. Of note, neither of those locations are rail active either, but the infrastructure exists. In the case of Niagara Falls, the track which leads to that location is presently out of service, near the end of the Junction Industrial line downtown. The building Sonwil occupies was formerly part of the Niagara Falls Nabisco plant, whose silos still stand empty today 20+ years since their last usage. Ironically this time last year in January 2024, the West Seneca location was actually looking to reactivate with NS, citing displeasure with delays in switching by CSX at Tifft. NS cleaned the track up and made sure it was in ready condition, but Sonwil never once received a car there either all year long. The West Seneca location was known to previously receive refrigerated box cars. For one reason or another, it's as if Sonwil can't seem to make up their minds on what they want, despite the railroads' willingness to work with them. In the meantime 'ol reliable at Tifft seems to get the job done just fine. To see some more rail traffic generated on their behalf would be a bright spot in a region which continues to lose a couple customers every year.
On the Great West Road. Opened in in 1936.its on what is known apparently as the Golden Mile of Art Deco -Syon Lane to Chiswick.
Single phase "pole pig" transformer feeding my house and 3 neighbors. Pole is around 8" diameter, for scale.
Symmetry in biology is the balanced distribution of duplicate body parts or shapes. The body plans of most multicellular organisms exhibit some form of symmetry, either radial symmetry or bilateral symmetry. A small minority exhibit no symmetry (are asymmetric).
In nature and biology, symmetry is approximate. For example, plant leaves, while considered symmetric, will rarely match up exactly when folded in half.
Flowering plants demonstrate symmetry of five more frequently than any other form.
Leonardo da Vinci determined that in many plants a sixth leaf stands above the first. This arrangement later became known as 2/5 phyllotaxy, a system where repetitions of five leaves occur in two turns of the axis. This is the most common of all patterns of leaf arrangement.
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