View allAll Photos Tagged ECOLOGICAL
I rarely get to see lakes in California, so I was excited to see a lake near a driving range we went to in Fresno, California. I tried to get to the water's edge...
© 2012 Lélia Valduga, all rights reserved. It is forbidden to read by any reproduction.
The Salar de Atacama is a salt desert in Chile. Place of breathtaking scenery, is located 55 km south of the town of San Pedro de Atacama in the Atacama desert, Antofagasta Region. It is surrounded by mountains and has no outlets for water drainage.
This salt desert is about 3000 km ², measuring 100 miles long by 80 wide, at an altitude of 2300 m.
Some areas of the saline part of the ecological reserve Los Flamingos. The region has species of flamingos and other birds, as nhandús, geese, ducks, and also mammals such as guanacos, vicuna, alpacas and llamas.
Chloe spent the day with me yesterday while her Mom picked up an extra shift at work.
We had a fun morning going to her Music Monkey class that happens to be held in the public room at the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust.
After class we took a little walk around the grounds.
We saw wild turkeys and Chloe got to see her 1st chipmunk.
She squealed and giggled every time one ran across our path.
This little guy hung out on a nearby rock for awhile so that she could watch him.
I think she was completely enchanted! 8-)
She said to me"I want to pet him!"
Supertrees are tree-like structures that dominate the Gardens landscape with heights that range between 25 and 50 metres. They are vertical gardens that perform a multitude of functions, which include planting, shading and working as environmental engines for the gardens.
Construction as of July 2011
The Supertrees are home to enclaves of unique and exotic ferns, vines, orchids and also a vast collection of bromeliads such as Tillandsia, amongst other plants. They are fitted with environmental technologies that mimic the ecological function of trees – photovoltaic cells that harness solar energy which can be used for some of the functions of the Supertrees, such as lightings, just like how trees photosynthesize; collection of rainwater for use in irrigation and fountain displays, just like how trees absorb rainwater for growth. The Supertrees also serve air intake and exhaust functions as part of the Conservatories’ cooling systems.
There will also be an elevated walkway between some of the larger Supertrees for visitors to enjoy a breathtaking aerial view of the Gardens. A F&B outlet has also been planned atop the 50-metre Supertree. At night, the Supertrees come alive with lighting and project media.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This pond is right in the middle of our county seat approximately two to three acres very near our courthouse in Lake County, Florida. Pen, ink and watercolor in my Strathmore 5.5 x 8.5 mixed media journal.
The empty shells of an Island Applesnail (Pomacea insularum) floats near the shoreline of a wetland in central Florida. These large gastropods are invasive, originating in South America, and have spread across much of Florida to become one of the dominant gastropods. The negative effects of this snail are not well known despite being widespread in Florida for the last 20 years, but it is hypothesized that they probably out-compete the native Florida Applesnail (P. paludosa). However, the growth and spread of these invasive applesnails have actually majorly contributed to the rebound in populations of the endangered Everglades Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus) and Limpkin (Aramus guarauna), which both now almost exclusively feed on these snails. These empty shells are probably the result of snacktime for one of those birds! Not often is there a situation where an invasive species has actually had an overall positive impact...quite the ecological paradox indeed!
I set up my camera and tripod in the marsh with a wireless trigger, in hopes of capturing one of the many dozen snail kites hunting in the background. After about 200 missed frames, I finally got the shot I was after with a female kite soaring!
Palm Beach county, FL
Yesterday was a gorgeous day in S. California. Blue skies and warm weather. I followed my impulses and it paid off. Something compelled me to park to park at a different location. And lo and behold, a Kestrel was perched near where I parked! How lucky is that?
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American Kestrel
Falco sparverius
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Member of the Flickr Bird Brigade
Activists for birds and wildlife
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Best in the Original size or when Viewed On Black
This summer I visited Tuscany. I stayed in an ecological farm and they had this incredible swimming pool which is completely ecological in the sense that the water is filtered by plants, so that you don't have to use chemicals. Somehow it mimics the natural cleaning of water from a river or a stream. Moreover it has the same smell, which I appreciate much more than standard swimming pool.
I just wanted to share that, I think it is a nice project if you intend to have a swimming pool :)
More information on: www.bioagriturismoilcerreto.it/eng/piscina.html
On 3 August 2013, a group of us was lucky enough to spend the day hiking on the Nature Conservancy of Canada land at the Beynon Ecological Preserve, a long drive east of Calgary. This area is not far from Drumheller, in the Badlands of Alberta. This is one of the views from the highest point that we walked - such a beautiful landscape, especially different views that show the more eroded canyons that are typical of the Badlands. Ha, we WILL have summer this year, won't we???
"Beynon is primarily a private 500+ acre ecological preserve. Located within a deeply sculpted portion of the Rosebud River valley, the area is recognized as being regionally significant. Due to its unique topography, picturesque valley setting, and relative rarity in terms of biodiversity, Beynon protected its surrounding area by permanently protecting over 400 acres (1.6 km2) from development. This protection was achieved by way of an outright donation of land by Beynon's founding family, who still own most of the unincorporated area called Beynon. The Nature Conservancy of Canada were the recipients of the 400-acre (1.6 km2) land donation in 1999." From Wikipedia.
By the way, the Beynon Canyon was featured in the cemetery scene from the 1978 film Superman: The Movie.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beynon,_Alberta
This photo is in the following SETS:
BEYNON ECOLOGICAL PRESERVE
www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/sets/72157634959405774/
SCENERY 3
Dungeness is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness is also the name of the power station and a few other nearby buildings near the beach, and of an important ecological site at the same location.
Dungeness is one of the largest expanses of shingle in the world. It is of international conservation importance for its geomorphology, plant and invertebrate communities and birdlife. This is recognised and protected mostly through its conservation designations as a National Nature Reserve (NNR), a Special Protection Area (SPA), a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) of Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay.
There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees and beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.
The short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, was last found in the UK in 1988, but has survived in New Zealand after being shipped there more than 100 years ago. It is to be reintroduced at Dungeness. It is planned that the first bees will be introduced in the spring of 2010.
The flooded gravel pits on Denge Beach, both brackish and fresh water, provide an important refuge for many migratory and coastal bird species. The RSPB has a bird sanctuary there and every year thousands of bird watchers descend on the peninsula to catch a glimpse of a rare bird from the bird observatory.
One of the most remarkable features of the site is an area known as 'the patch' or, by anglers, as 'the boil'. The waste hot water and sewage from the Dungeness nuclear power stations are pumped into the sea through two outfall pipes, enriching the biological productivity of the sea bed and attracting seabirds from miles around.
Beach fishing is popular at Dungeness, with the area being a nationally recognised cod fishing venue in the winter.
The name Dungeness derives from Old Norse nes: "headland", with the first part probably connected with the nearby Denge Marsh. Popular etymology ascribes a French origin to the toponym, giving an interpretation as "dangerous nose".
Elk, (Cervus elaphus canadensis), also called wapiti, the largest and most advanced subspecies of red deer (Cervus elaphus), found in North America and in high mountains of Central Asia. It is a member of the deer family, Cervidae (order Artiodactyla). Recent genetic studies suggest that the “red deer” may be three species: the European red deer, the Tibetan–West Chinese red deer, and the elk.
The word elk is derived from the ancient Germanic root word meaning “stag” or “hart.” In Europe, elk is the common name for the moose. In 16th-century Virginia the name was applied by English settlers to the native subspecies of the red deer, and that name also came into popular use in New England. An alternate name, wapiti (“white deer” in Shawnee), comes from the light-coloured coat of the bull elk. Although less ambiguous than elk, wapiti never became popular, and in North America today elk is the firmly established proper name. In Asia the elk, along with the red deer of Persia, is called by the Mongolian name maral.
Exceeded in size only by the moose, large male elk from Alberta average 380 kg (840 pounds) in early winter. Body mass varies considerably within and between populations and increases from south to north. Exceptional bulls exceed 500 kg (1,100 pounds) in weight; bulls from southern California average about 110 kg (240 pounds). Compared with other red deer, female elk are more similar to bulls in external appearance and body mass. During winter all elk have well-developed, dark neck manes that contrast sharply with their tan or light brown body colour.
Elk are classic red deer in their biology. However, they are more highly adapted to life in open plains, to grazing, and to cold, long winters. They evolved as fast endurance runners that are very difficult to catch even with the best of horses, particularly in broken terrain. Nevertheless, they get their chief protection from predators by forming large groups.
Compared with European red deer, elk have longer gestation periods (255 days, versus 235 days in the European red deer), and the bulls retain their antlers longer (about 185 days, versus 150 or less in European red deer). In Asia elk are confined to cold grasslands found on the high plateaus of Outer Mongolia, southern Siberia, and the Altai and Tien Shan mountains, while more primitive red deer subspecies occupy the valley bottoms and upland forests. In North America, free of competing red deer, elk are found in diverse habitats from the Yukon to northern Mexico and from Vancouver Island to Pennsylvania. They thrive in coniferous rain forests along the Pacific coast, prairies, aspen parklands, sagebrush flats, eastern deciduous forests, the Rocky Mountains, and the once swampy valleys of California. Elk shun deserts, boreal forests, and tundra. Due to their wide distribution, elk from different regions in North America can differ considerably in size and antler growth. However, elk are remarkably homogeneous genetically throughout their range, even in their Asian populations.
While North American elk are uniform in coat markings and voice and thus cannot be differentiated by these features from some of their Asian counterparts, they are quite different from other subspecies of Asian elk, such as the Manchurian red deer (Cervus elaphus xanthopygos) and the small Alashan wapiti (C. elaphus alashanicus) of Inner Mongolia. These primitive elk have smaller bodies and antlers, less striking coat patterns, and a deeper voice than the North American elk. However, all male elk, American and Asian, have a high-pitched bugling call used during the rut. This call is a vocal adaptation designed to carry sound across long distances in open landscapes. On rare occasions, females bugle.
Elk are part of the old Siberian Ice Age fauna that crossed the Bering land bridge into Alaska. There they appeared along with caribou over one million years ago, but they were unable to establish themselves in the southern half of the continent, because of the presence of the native large fauna. Elk entered lower North America from Alaska, along with the grizzly bear, moose, and humans, only after the glaciers had retreated and most of America’s old megafauna was extinct. Elk then spread into some of the empty ecological niches, and about 12,000 years ago their southward spread was halted by deserts.
The archaeological record suggests that elk became very abundant after European diseases decimated Native American populations in the 16th century, thus greatly reducing human predation. Elk were valued by native peoples more for their hide and ceremonial value than for their meat. Although they were nearly exterminated by market hunting in the 19th century, elk have been widely reintroduced throughout North America and are now thriving.
Elk were introduced into New Zealand in 1909 in Fiordland, but they have been outcompeted by European red deer. Unlike the latter, the elk did not disperse, choosing to occupy higher elevations. They have also been introduced to Europe in the vain hope of creating larger antlered red deer. Although this effort failed and the elk went extinct, a parasite they brought along, the giant liver fluke (Fascioloides magna), has established itself in European deer and livestock.
Elk have been traditionally used on Asian deer farms dedicated to the production of velvet antlers, and this practice has spread globally. (Growing antlers are covered in a blood-engorged skin called velvet.) The velvet antlers are cut off bulls’ heads and are ultimately processed into folk medicines.
Say, what?!? Someone's dolly afloat @ Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, California USA
@ Luis Marco
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Cualquiera de las imágenes publicadas en este Flickr, estan registradas. El uso sin consentimiento por mi parte de ellas, reportará la denuncia al registro de propiedad intelectual.
Any of the images published in this Flickr are registered. Use without consent on my part of it, will report the complaint to the registration of intellectual property.
You almost need sunglasses to gaze upon this beautiful yellow wildflower under the August sun in Miller Ecological Park.
Botanic Garden, Oxford.
The Merton Borders.
The planting is based on an ecological study of natural plant communities to produce an ornamental yet sustainable display. 85% of the plants were established through the direct sowing of seed.
The plants have been selected for their ability to withstand drought conditions and originate from seasonally dry grassland communities in three regions of the world:
The Central to Southern Great Plains (USA) through to the Colorado Plateau and into California
East South Africa at altitudes above 1000m
Southern Europe to Turkey, and across Asia to Siberia
Selecting plant species from these drier plant communities will build in a greater tolerance of warmer, drier summers.
The planting is colourful from spring to autumn, and represents a dynamic style of planting. It is also drought-tolerant, requiring no artificial irrigation, staking or fertilisers. It is allowed to die back over a long period after the autumn, providing a rich habitat for many types of small birds and mammals.