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On our way back home last saturday we made a stopover in the South of Germany - Bavaria. I had managed to squeeze at least one day of photography out of Hans on this crazy one-week trip that led us 4500 km through half of Europe :-)
I knew that Bavaria harbors the wonderful National Park The Bavarian Forests (Bayerischer Wald), an area known for its vast forests, mountainous terrain and plentiful wildlife. (and the cuckoo clock! :-))
In that National Park there's also a Nature Park, where the animals that still live in Germany roam freely but also the animals that used to live in Germany but are now either extinct or on the red list, find a last resort. There are two 'Tier-FreiGelände', where you can walk amidst animals like Red Deer, Wild Boar (a baby boar used my tripod leg as a back-scratcher :-) and Wisent. The more dangerous animals like wolves and lynxes are behind fences but live in such large areas that they are able to live an almost natural life.
Of course it is kind of tricky to go photographing with your husband, who doesn’t photograph himself, especially when it’s -8C and the park is covered in about half a meter of snow. The adrenalin of seeing these beautiful animals kept me warm alright and I must say that Hans only urged me to walk on when his toes were halfway of freezing solid! :-)
The Lynx used to live in the German forests but in 1847 the last Lynx was shot. In the mid 1950’s occasional sightings of lynxes were reported again mainly coming in from the neighbor country Czechoslovakia. In an unofficial attempt to reintroduce the Lynx in Germany, 5-10 animals were set free in the 70’s but it was met with a very hostile attitude from farmers in the area.
In an official reintroduction program in the 80's 18 lynxes were set free in the neighboring Czech National Park Sumava. Nowadays the Lynx is back in the German forests, although still very rare, mainly alongside that Czech border. The Naturpark Bavarian Forests participates in a Lynx reintroduction program, supported by the European Community, set up for protection, education, raising awareness, breeding and reintroduction of the Lynx in Europe. I keep my fingers crossed for this magnificent Cat!
Incredible to think that future generations will see things like this in museums!!!
Happy Macro Monday
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Ammonites are an extinct group of marine invertebrate animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda.
April 15, 2013#391 Explore
Macro Mondays: Edge.
In this shot of the Pacific Tree Frog (Hyla regilla), there are two edges represented.
Edge 1: I was trying to capture the leaf edge to show how thin the support structure was for it's perch, a Blueberry plant; which nevertheless, is sufficiently strong enough to support the frog's small 3/4 - 2 inch frame.
Edge 2: The most important edge of all. Amphibian's populations worldwide are declining rapidly and becoming extinct (approx. 200 sp. to date), due to chytridiomycosis, a fungal infection. The fungus is in British Columbia, and from what data I could gather, the Rough-skin Newts and Western Toads are among those at risk.
The Pacific Tree Frog, so far, has not been affected. This could be due to the fact that the frogs with extra moist skin, who like to sun themselves for longer, kill the fungus on their skin with the sun's heat.
So, this shot, which I darkened the surroundings to represent the impending doom for so many species worldwide, stands for those amphibians hovering on the edge of non-existence.
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs, etc. without my permission.
Physiopolis was born in 1928, out of the idealistic vision of two hygienist doctors, the Durville brothers, who wanted to create a special place dedicated to the philosophy of naturism. They extolled life in harmony with nature, the development of mind and body by sports, and curing people by sun, water, phytotherapy, prayer and faith. It was the city of Nature, and perhaps the first idea of a natural resort. People could live in tents, later in bungalowas, participated in all kinds of activities and sports, celebrated the sun in a yearly festival.Physiopolis was first railed and mocked in the press because of nudism, but it was very successful. A hotel and pool were built, as well as cabins later (see my other photos, Hotel de la Plage). The complex was very popular until the 1980's and then the activities diminished and the hotel and pool were sold to a private developer to try to build again a huge leisure resort. Due to legal hassles and loss of economic activity and being situated in a flooding zone, the whole property is abandoned now.
Pentacon 6TL, Kodak Portra 400, CZJ Biometar 120mm
Now that I do not have my magic island to photograph, I am back in Paris and to my other interests, abandoned places, film cameras, portraits,photographying time, memory, beauty, life, and what remains.
The San Francisco Peaks are actually the remains of an extinct volcano. Millions of years ago this great mountain was shattered by an explosion similar to the one that devastated Washington's Mt. Saint Helens in 1980. Inside the now quiet caldera a lush alpine environment has blurred evidence of that cataclysmic event.
(text taken from the Coconino National Forest website)
So I go to Wal-Mart yesterday to do some shopping. I got a basket full of stuff and went to check out. There were only TWO check-out ladies working on a Saturday morning and about 15 of those self check-outs. I went to the self check-out with the shortest line. It turned out to be the 25 items or less line, but the lady in front of me had about 100. That didn't bother me because I too was over the limit.
If you haven't used these things, let me just tell you, they suck. It's a huge inconvenience. I mean, hell, they pay people to do this, they should give me a 10% discount for doing it myself, I think. And I always have problems. "Skip Bagging" is a message I get after every other item. If you don't drop your item into the bag from an elevation of about 3 feet, the little weigher doesn't register it. After 3 "skip bagging" messages, it locks up the machine and the lady, who looks after four of these self-check outs, has to enter a launch code or something to get it unlocked. And 75% of the time, she's assisting the other people, so you have to stand there and wait. Once again, it's a HUGE pain in the ass.
So after her 5th trip over to assist me, she has the gall to snidely say, "Next time remember this is 25 items or less line."
To which I respond, "Next time, make sure there are more check-out people working." I really wanted to follow that with the word, 'Bitch', but I think my tone expressed it very well. EVERY person at her four stations had well over 25 items, yet she singled me out. To me, that's like a cop seeing 10 cars speeding and only ticketing the one in the middle of the pack.
It really pissed me off, and for those of you that don't know me personally, it usually takes quite a bit to put me over the edge. I'm very mellow and easy going 99% of the time. My stress levels run WAY below normal. But this lady really said the wrong thing. I thought seriously about dumping my cart over and leaving.
The Cottonwood Wal-Mart has seen the last of my business. Hopefully this isn't a trend for Wal-Marts everywhere, because it really sucks ass.
UP LPR49C hauls through Palatine, IL on the journey to Janesville, WI. Unfortunately, this train was recently placed on the abolished list and these SD40Ns no longer see much action on the Harvard Sub.
Männlicher Berberlöwen Nachwuchs im Erlebniszoo Hannover, geboren 2014
Male Barbary Lion young in the Erlebniszoo Hannover, born 2014
Hanover, Germany
Der Berberlöwe ist in der freien Wildbahn ausgestorben
The Barbary lion is extinct in the wild.
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Oh, wow!
4.001.351 views and I didn´t notice it ;)
Many thanks to you all :)
Wicker Park Warlords from a time before the hood flipped affluent; found this acting on a tip from "Mr. Eastvill". Between Schiller & Evergreen on Damen. (Gang Graffiti)
Extinct fossilized Woolly Mammoth ivory carved bear head from Alaska. A lovely souvenir of watching the bears in Kodiak!
Photo taken with a LensBaby Velvet 56 lens.
It is with great sadness that the Beautiful Tigers in Cambodia are now considered extinct.
Here is a link: www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/06/tigers-declar...
Erlebniszoo Hannover, Hanover, Germany
Der Berberlöwe, Atlaslöwe oder Nubische Löwe (Panthera leo leo) ist eine Unterart des Löwen. Sie war ursprünglich in Nordafrika heimisch und ist heute in freier Wildbahn ausgestorben.
The Barbary lion is an African lion (Panthera leo leo) population that is considered extinct in the wild. This population inhabited the Atlas Mountains ranging from Morocco to Tunisia and is also known as the Atlas lion.
Quelle Wikipedia
Marsh Harrier are the largest and broadest-winged harriers
Extinct in the UK by the end of the 19th century due to habitat loss and persecution, occasional nesting pairs returned to eastern England during the 1970’s. Numbers have increased steadily since then . Many birds now overwinter and quite large roosts can be seen in some areas, especially in eastern England. The recent roost counts locally have found as many as 20 birds roosting in one spot . It is estimated that 350 to 400 pairs bred in the UK last year . I was lucky in that this bird was moving very slowly so the poor light just blurred the wings
A unique blackish looking ibis with beautiful iridescent feathers when they catch the light. They have a bare red face and throat. Long quills form a raggedy mane. Short legs do not project beyond the tail in flight. (Unlike Glossy Ibis) They are breed in colonies on cliff ledges in semidesert regions; forages in open dry habitats.
Critically Endangered with most remaining birds in Morocco; migratory eastern populations in Syria and Turkey all but extinct. Historically bred in central and southern Europe and reintroduction plans are continuing with more birds breeding at two main locations in Southern Spain.
Photo: Free-flying birds at Barbate, Cadiz province, Andalucia, Spain. February 2024
9,980 foot tall Ute Mountain is an extinct volcano in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, New Mexico
Little game? Brown bears or white bears, which will become extinct first? Today I'm sour, I feel the breath of the circus on my neck like a lion (and in fact my sign is lion).
Partitina? Orsi bruni o orsi bianchi, chi si estinguerà prima? Oggi sono acida, mi sento sul collo il fiato del circo come un leone (e infatti il mio segno è leone).
This Butterfly is officially extinct in the UK, but there is a small colony in the West Midlands at the moment in a small Nature Reserve. They have clearly been released there by someone.
©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 42.310+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on Monday 23rd May 2022
CREATIVE RF gty.im/1397013864 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**
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©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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**** This frame was chosen on Tuesday 24th May 2022 to appear on FLICKR EXPLORE (Highest Ranking: #240. This is my 214th photograph to be selected.
I am really thrilled to have a frame picked and most grateful to every one of the 42.328+ Million people who have visited, favorited and commented on this and all of my other photographs here on my FLICKR site. *****
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Seven metres at 11:36am on Thursday May 12th 2022 off the Mall and Horse Guards Road within the grounds of St James's Park in Central London, one of the Royal parks of London situated in South West London.
THE EASTERN GRAY/EASTERN GREY SQUIRREL (SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS)
By Paul Williams
The Grey (or Gray) squirrel, you either love 'em or you hate 'em. Cute and fluffy little funsters or destructive critters who ruin trees, kill bird chicks and trees and damage our homes... oh and it's their fault we lost our native Red squirrels as well!
OK
I get it and I see both sides of the story of course. For my part, I am a nature, wildlife and landscape photographer who prefers the company of animals and natural beauty to fellow humans who are systematically plundering Mother Earth's resources and killing off her beautiful creatures at an alarming rate! I believe there is a natural order of things, creatures kill other creatures to survive, they adapt to situations and when mankind encroaches on their territory to make a fast buck, those animals sometimes adapt to survive and the order changes. That is the balance of nature which is ever changing and affected by us..... the dumbest of the great apes. Some species are driven out by others, some may be destined to become extinct, the fittest will survive, and sometime a species will need intervention and help from mankind in order to survive... usually as a direct consequence of mankind's own actions in destroying the animal kingdom's natural habitat of course.
I adore these little fellas and at almost sixty years old, I never grew up knowing red squirrels at all. I've seen reds in Scotland and black squirrels in Stanley Park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, but in my beloved home country of England I have always known and loved the cute little Greys. They visit my garden and give me hours, days, weeks of happiness and wonderful photographic opportunities, and I see them in Parks and forests all around me, so it's time to offer up an insight into the Grey squirrel, much loved, much hated... a sort of Marmite rodent if you will.
WHAT EXACTLY IS A SQUIRREL?
The word 'Squirrel', was first recorded in 1327 and hails from the Anglo-Norman word 'Esquirel', from old French 'Escurel', which was a reflex for the Latin word 'Sciurus'.The Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is also known as the Eastern Grey squirrel or simply grey squirrel depending on the region of the world it is found. It is a tree squirrel, of the squirrel family Sciuridae including over one hundred arboreal species native to all continents of the world other than Antarctica and Oceania. Tree squirrels live mostly in trees, apart from the flying squirrel. The best known genus is Sciurus, containing most of the bushy tailed squirrels which are found in Europe, North America, temperate Asia as well as central and south America.
The scientific classification for the Eastern Grey is:
KINGDOM: ANIMALIA PHYLUM: CHORDATA CLASS: MAMMALIA ORDER: RODENTIA FAMILY: SCIURIDAE GENUS: SCIURUS SUBGENUS: SCIURUS SPECIES: SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS
They were first noted by German naturalist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist, and malacologist - Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788.
A mammal and rodent, predominantly herbivorous they are none the less an omnivore with a life span of between two and ten years. They can grow to 70cm in length and weigh up to 8kg. There are more than two hundred and sixty species of worldwide squirrel, the smallest being the African pygmy squirrel at just 10cm in length, whereas the Indian giant squirrel is three feet long! The oldest fossil of a squirrel, Hesperopetes, dates back to the late Eocene epoch period Chadronian period of 40-35 million years ago. The tree squirrels rotate their ankles by 180 degrees, so that the hind paws pointy backwards gripping tree bark which enables them to descend a tree headfirst.
Originally native to Eastern and Midwestern United States of America, they were first introduced into the United Kingdom in 1876 in Henbury Park, Macclesfield in Cheshire when Victorian banker Thomas V. Brocklehurst released a pair of Greys that he brought back from a business trip to America after their attraction as pets had waned. Victorians had a penchant for collecting exotic animals and birds of the world, but trends came and went and subsequently animals were simply discarded into the wilderness. There are early records of greys released near Denbighshire in north Wales from private collections. Later introduced to several regions in the UK, they quickly settled and spread, colonizing an area of three hundred miles in a quarter of a century between Argyll and Stirlingshire in Scotland.
Introductions of the Greys between 1902 and 1929 (the year of the last recorded introduction), included: Regent’s Park in London, Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Hampshire. Grey Squirrels spread into Gloucestershire and eastern Wiltshire with animals coming directly from the United States or from Woburn. One hundred greys were released in Richmond Park in Surrey in 1902, Ninety one into Regent’s Park between 1905 and 1907 and a further ten New Jersey imported greys were introduced into Woburn Park in Bedfordshire.
Predators include hawks, weasels, raccoons, bobcats, foxes, domestic and feral cats, snakes, owls, and dogs, African harrier-hawks in Africa and... oh yes, Mankind pretty much everywhere who despise, mistreat, cull or eat it .
FACTS, MYTHS AND THAT POXY PARAPOX!
The massive decline in native red squirrels blamed upon the spread of the invasive greys has always been perhaps a little harsh as reds were already in a steep decline due to loss of habitat and disease and thus the greys simply took over the areas where the reds were dwindling. It's also a fact that reds were also seen as a plague, branded as pests who killed birds and damaged trees and the culling of reds almost brought them to the brink of extinction. Licenses to kill reds could still be obtained up until the seventies!
Reds suffered at the hands of mankind thanks to a combination of agricultural deforestation also linked with war and fuel needs which caused extinction in Southern Scotland and Ireland by the early eighteenth century, way before greys had been introduced. Harsh winters killed off the less hardy red population in the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Greys are more adept at finding food and adapting to locations and environments, but also carry the squirrel poxvirus (SQPV) which although not particularly harmful to them, is a serious infection for the reds.
Parapox in red squirrels causes swollen lesions around the mouth, eyes, ears and nose also the front paws and sometimes genitals and skin ulcers and kills a red within fifteen days. There is no definitive correlation between the spread of the virus and the spread of the Greys, it actually arrived in several areas before the greys began to colonize there. An epidemic virus was observed in Red squirrels from at least 1900 with isolation attempts failing, and the first case of Parapox in the UK was in 1980 in the county of Norfolk. Greys cannot transmit the virus to reds via saliva or faeces, but reds can between each other from bodily secretions and at animal feeders in gardens. The transmission from greys to reds is though to come from parasites. Eight to ten per cent of reds survive the virus, and there is some evidence that reds are slowly building an evolved resistance.
Greys are seen as pests to forest land, stripping bark from trees during May and June, and are also capable of destroying household bins, water pipes, causing roof damage not to mention taking eggs and killing young chicks of ground nesting and songbird populations. They also take from bird feeders and there is a whole industry for creating squirrel proof feeders these days.
THE CULLING OF GREY SQUIRRELS
Grey squirrels have limited legal protection and can be legally controlled all year round by a variety of methods including shooting and trapping. Methods of trapping and killing include Drey poking and shooting, Tunnel trapping using spring traps set in accordance with BASC’s trapping pest mammals code of practice. They can also be shot using a shotgun or powerful air rifle or up until September 30th 2014 poisoned by Warfarin (Now outlawed).
Whilst professional trapping and extermination is hopefully done as humanely as possible, there have been cases, many of them where cost savings have been gained by battering the squirrels to death! Grey squirrels are trapped in ghastly metal contraptions for hours and hours, wearing themselves out frantically trying to escape by gnawing at the metals bars. They bite the floor and scratch at them with their claws and do not get a moments peace or rest through absolute fear. Once the traps are retrieved, each squirrel, terrified will be thrown into a sack and smacked on the head countless times with a blunt instrument. When a mother is slaughtered, her babies who are totally dependent on her, will die a slow death of thirst and starvation.
There is an argument for the control of Greys on many grounds but also a counter argument that Culling does not work, and has not on countless times where, once a population of greys have been culled, the nearest group will move back in and claim the land. The university of Bristol concluded that there was little evidence that culling greys to save red squirrels was effective, and that perhaps finding a way of boosting red squirrel immunity to the poxvirus or planting areas of yew trees where reds are known to thrive and spending money on research into positive moves might be a better option.
In Ireland, the re-introduction of the Pine marten, a species made extinct originally by the very same land owners who also wish to do the same to the grey squirrel, has seen the rapid demise of the grey and the reintroction of the native reds. Red squirrels are smaller and more nimble than their grey counterparts, and as such can get to the very ends of tree branches where neither the pine martins, nor more importantly the heavier greys can, thus surviving and thriving. As a result in Ireland, the grey squirrel population has crashed in approximately 9,000 km2 of its former range and the reds has become common once more after a thirty year absence... oh and Pine Martens are protected again!
In Scotland, Pine Martens exist in areas where Red squirrels thrive, and greys do not. So perhaps there is a lesson here, as in England where there are no pine martens, the greys are prolific breeders. So there is an argument against the barbarity of shooting and poisoning greys, and if, as so many believe, the greys MUST be controlled, how about a more humane and natural method that nature intended.. with re-introduction of predators. Just a thought!
So a few facts and figures on the greys and to wrap up, from a purely personal perspective I love these little guys, as I do almost every creature in nature other than those eight legged beasties that shall not be named and for which I have a deep and powerful phobia that borders on paranoia!
I could no more harm an animal deliberately than eat a McDonald's McRib (Once saw how they are made and let me just say... eeeuuuuuwwwww!!).
They are small, cute, cuddly, furry, they photograph beautifully, have great personality and make me smile. They trust me enough to take food from my hand in parks, and I can't bare the though of ugly, hairy land owners sticking a shotgun in their face and blowing them away! I appreciate they can be a pest, a problem, a menace, that their PR managers might have a bit of a problem winning you over when they flay small chicks alive on your lawn or decimate the songbird population by stealing their eggs.... and perhaps there is a need to keep the population under control and try and re-establish the red population.....
Yep I get that....
I just hope we can solve the problem more humanely to create a peaceful coexistence of the reds and greys in different areas. A man can dream can't he.
Paul Williams June 18th 2021
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams).
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Nikon D850 Focal length 150mm Shutter speed: 1/640s Aperture f/6.3 ISO160 Hand held with Tamron VR Vibration reduction enabled on setting 1. Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L (8256 x 5504). (14 bit uncompressed file) Focus mode AF-C focus. AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled AF-Area mode: 3D-Tracking Exposure mode: Manual mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1, 0, 0 (4770K). Colour space: RGB. High ISO NR: ON (Low) Active D-Lighting: Auto Vignette control: Normal Picture control: (SD) Standard with sharpening +3 and clarity +1.00
Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.
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LATITUDE: N 51d 30m 11.41s
LONGITUDE: W 0d 7m 59.86s
ALTITUDE: 6.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 90.9MB
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PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
Diamond Head, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, got its name from the glinting calcite crystals that sailors mistook for diamonds on the extinct volcanic crater to the west. Despite the fact that diamonds were never found at the historic crater, the name stuck. However, after two different ships were grounded on the reef off Oahu’s south shore in the 1800s, it was decided that a new type of shining light was necessary. After much politicking, Hawaii’s territorial government set aside $2,500 in 1899 to construct a south-facing Diamond Head Lighthouse tower.
For the first 20 years, keepers of the Diamond Head lighthouse were forced to live about a quarter mile down the road, in what is now one of the most affluent neighborhoods on Oahu. Eventually, a keeper’s house was built near the tower but it was only used for three years, as the lighthouse became automated in 1924. Three years earlier, the source of light had changed from oil to electricity, considerably lowering the need for frequent maintenance.
In subsequent years, the keeper’s quarters next to the lighthouse tower underwent various modifications. Remodeled in the 1960’s, it became the home of the Commanders of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District, which had also taken control of all lighthouse operations in 1939 and continues today.
Today, the Diamond Head lighthouse overlooks one of the most popular surf spots on Oahu, frequented by the saltiest of sea dogs and those just learning. The surrounding area is additionally very popular for runners, walkers or anyone inclined to experience a majestic view of the Pacific Ocean. There is a small grassy area atop the cliffs of Diamond Head, perfect for viewing a sunset or admiring the wide variety of skills of the surfers below. The lighthouse also marks the finish line for the biennial Transpac Yacht Race, which begins thousands of miles away in Long Beach, California.
The Diamond Head Lighthouse was featured on a United States postage stamp in June 2007. And it was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
This photo was taken from the very top of Diamond Head, at a height of 762 ft above sea level, looking down on the lighthouse.
Three bracketed photos were taken with a handheld Nikon D7200 and combined with Photomatix Pro to create this HDR image. Additional adjustments were made in Photoshop CS6.
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11
This is another version of my recent picture Prehistoric Sunset on the Marsh. I removed the dinosaurs from that one and replaced them with balloons. At least balloons aren't extinct...although after this picture they may have to go into hiding for a while.
This Butterfly is officially extinct in the UK, but there is a small colony in the West Midlands at the moment in a small Nature Reserve. They have clearly been released there by someone.
Natural history museum in New York. That ceiling is a minimalist, abstract or pattern junkie paradise.
after yesterdays Boris Eldagsen / sony awards / fiasco
i was inspired to dig out some old images
created using similar tools from last year
he was kind enough to message me back late last night
despite being interviewed on the bbc at 6am this morning
For Monday April 2 - a trip down memory lane - something that was once commonplace but is now virtually extinct. Something that reminds you of how things were in past years.
This pen has been tucked away in a box of old fountain pens, some of them belonging to my Grandparents. I am not sure how long it has been hidden - probably thirty plus years. I thought it would be a good fit for the topic this week.
Seeing that we are a "paper less" society I thought this would be a safe subject as to most people pen and ink are extinct. After doing some WWW hunting it left a question in my mind as the pen is still in production and there are people who still find a use for them.
I remember in school writing with a dip pen or slip pen as we practiced Penmenship (a lot of good that did me - I still can't read my own writing) and then progressed to a fountain pen.
I believe that this is a Speedball No. 102 Hunt Crow Quill Pen and Holder - Speedball's most popular pen for sketching, drawing, and calligraphy. The C. Howard Hunt was an American company that manufactured dip pens, now commercialized under the brand Speedball.
An add for a similar pen to mine reads "#102 Crow Quill Set — This is a terrific starter set for those who do pen-and-ink drawing. It includes a Speedball #102 Crow Quill nib, a Style A pen holder, and 0.40 oz of Black calligraphy ink. The nib, which is handcrafted in the USA, comes to a very fine point, ideal for making fine lines".
The tubular design of the crow quill has been around since steel pens were first introduced in the 1820s. It was designed for draftsmen and lithographers who used it for fine work on printing plates. It was also used for fine detailed architectural renderings, retouching old photographs, cross-hatching shadow areas of pen-and-ink drawings.
As a point of interest check out IAMPETH (International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers and Teachers of Handwriting). Pen and ink are live and well.
A Happy Macro Monday to all ...
An Extinct Spices- Rediscovered in India
Mainly habitat of Nicobar Islands (India)
Who's There !!@@@###
created for Magnificient Manipulated Masterpieces:New Challenge 176 ~ THREE IN ONE
Rooster/Pelican/Peacock
‘Sounds of summer'. The Turtle Dove, Streptopelia turturonce was once an abundant summer visitor here in the UK, but now almost extinct as a breeding species. it is now confined to a few small areas.
The soft purring sound of this dove was once a joy of our summertime. Click on the link here xeno-canto.org/665175 to listen to the Turtle Dove and think of summertime.
Many thanks for visiting my Flickr pages...Your visits, interest, comments and kindness to 'fave' my photos is very much appreciated, Steve.
Turtle Dove Notes and information:
The turtle dove is Britain’s only migratory pigeon or dove.
It is also our smallest native pigeon, weighing between 100 and 180gm, less than half the weight of a wood pigeon.
Turtle doves arrive on their breeding grounds in southern and eastern England at the end of April and early May, returning to their wintering grounds in West Africa in late summer and early autumn.
English turtle doves winter mainly in the semi-arid region of Senegal and Guinea. Birds from eastern European countries winter in Sudan and Ethiopia.
Birds on migration have long been subject to strong hunting pressure as they pass through the Mediterranean countries. Today only Malta has a legal spring shooting season for these doves but they are still shot illegally elsewhere.
However, though Britain’s breeding population has declined by an alarming 91% in the last 10 years, the decrease is thought to be due largely to problems on the wintering and breeding grounds rather than hunting.
Weed seeds are the favoured food of turtle doves in England; increasingly tidy, weed-free farming is almost certainly a major factor in the dove’s decline.
One of the turtle dove’s favourite food plants is fumitory, which favours light, dry soils. A study made 50 years ago showed that fumitory seeds accounted for 30-50% of the bird’s diet.
The turtle dove’s song is a gentle, soporific purring, usually delivered from cover; where the birds are present it can be heard all summer.
Turtle doves have always been rare in both Scotland and Ireland, but they have now largely disappeared from Wales, too, with the bulk of the remaining population in southern and eastern England.
Suffolk and Kent are the top counties for finding these doves.
In the Bible, the Song of Solomon states: “the voice of the turtle is heard in our land”. This is a reference to the purring of turtle doves.
Turtle doves like to nest in thick hedgerows, usually building their simple platform nest rather low and seldom above 3m.
Only two white eggs are laid in each clutch but it was, until recently, usual for the doves to have three nesting attempts each summer.
Today lack of food has led to the doves nesting later, usually only making two breeding attempts a year.
The RSPB’s Operation Turtle Dove is working hard to reverse the dove’s decline in the UK.
In 2014 the RSPB caught a turtle dove in a Suffolk garden and fitted it with a satellite tag. Called Titan, this dove returned again in the summer of 2015, giving unprecedented information about our doves’ migration routes.
Thanks to Titan we know that turtle doves migrate largely at night, covering up to 700km in one flight, and flying at speeds of around 60kph.
Titan was last heard of in Mali in April 2016. He may have died or the battery of his tag may have expired.
The Operation Turtle Dove website gives detailed information on not only identifying turtle doves but creating both nesting and feeding habitat for these birds.
The similar, but larger, oriental turtle dove is a very rare visitor to the UK.