View allAll Photos Tagged GUIDE
View On Black <- Here is Better
日出之前~
七星潭的天空佈滿著厚厚的雲，海面上則是一顆在浮標上的顯眼紅燈。本以為這樣的天空會燒起來的，結果沒想到風采還遠不如海面上的那一趴紅燈~ ^^"
www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a...
Key information
Noisy and gregarious, these cheerful exploiters of man's rubbish and wastefulness have managed to colonise most of the world. The ultimate avian opportunist perhaps. Monitoring suggests a severe decline in the UK house sparrow population, recently estimated as dropping by 71 per cent between 1977 and 2008 with substantial declines in both rural and urban populations. While the decline in England continues, Breeding Bird Survey data indicate recent population increases in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
What they eat:
Seeds and scraps.
Measurements:
Length:14-15cm
Wingspan:21-25.5cm
Weight:24-38g
Population:
UK breeding:5,300,000 pairs
Where and when to see them
House sparrows can be found from the centre of cities to the farmland of the countryside, they feed and breed near to people. It is a species vanishing from the centre of many cities, but is not uncommon in most towns and villages. It is absent from parts of the Scottish Highlands and is thinly distributed in most upland areas.
Breeding
House sparrows usually nest in loose colonies and since they don't defend a proper territory, nests can be as little as 20-30 cm apart.
How house sparrows nest
Nests are often placed in holes and crevices within buildings and they will readily use nestboxes. Free-standing nests are also frequently built, in creepers against walls and in thick hedges or conifers.
Pairs often remain faithful to their nest site and to each other for life, although a lost mate of either sex is normally replaced within days. A hole is filled with dry grass or straw with a nesting chamber lined with feathers, hairs, string and paper. Feathers may be plucked from a live pigeon!
The main nesting season is from April to August, although nesting has been recorded in all months. Most birds lay two or three clutches, but in a good year fourth attempts are not uncommon.
About house sparrow chicks
The female lays two to five eggs at daily intervals and often starts to incubate part way through egg-laying. Both sexes incubate, and the chicks hatch after 11-14 days. The parents share nesting duties equally. Chicks are brooded for 6-8 days, but can control their own body temperature only when 10 or 11 days old.
The youngsters are fed on a variety of invertebrates, including aphids, caterpillars, beetles and grasshoppers. Seeds and vegetable matter are also given, particularly during periods when invertebrates are scarce (e.g. cold weather) and become more important after the chicks leave the nest.
The young fledge 14-16 days after hatching. They are unable to feed themselves for about a week after leaving the nest and are cared for by their parents for around a fortnight. Post-fledging care is frequently left to the male as the hen prepares for the next brood. She can begin laying her next clutch of eggs within days of the previous brood leaving the nest.
Newly independent young often gather in large flocks, anywhere there is an abundance of seed, invertebrates and other suitable foods. These may be areas of wasteland or around garden feeding sites. Later, rural flocks may move on to grainfields to feed on the ripening grain, often joined by adult birds, once they have finished nesting. Flocks tend to break up through the autumn and birds return to their nesting colony sites.
Population trends
The house sparrow is common through most of its world range, and can tolerate a wide variety of climates.
The recent decline of house sparrows
UK house sparrow populations have fluctuated greatly over the centuries, with a gradual decline during the last 100 years.
Causes for the rapid recent declines, particularly in urban and suburban environments, remain largely undetermined, although research is underway that aims to establish the cause(s), and develop conservation solutions.
Declines in rural house sparrow populations are thought to be linked to changes in agricultural practices, particularly the loss of winter stubbles and improved hygiene measures around grain stores.
House sparrow numbers were not monitored adequately before the mid-1970s. Since then, numbers in rural England have nearly halved while numbers in towns and cities have declined by 60 per cent. Because of these large population declines, the house sparrow is now red-listed as a species of high conservation concern.
Relations with humans and other animals
People have a love-hate relationship with the house sparrow. However, control attempts have failed to limit the sparrows numbers and range.
Their relationship with humans
People have a love-hate relationship with the house sparrow. For many they are the most familiar of wild animals, bringing life to city centres and other man-made places, bereft of wildlife.
The house sparrows partiality to grain crops and the damage and destruction this caused resulted in attempts to control their numbers. From the mid-18th century most parishes had sparrow clubs with the sole objective to destroy as many sparrows as possible. Bounties were paid for sparrows until the late 19th century, when it was accepted that the control measures did not work. Similar failures were recorded in a number of other European countries.
Ironically, as people in Europe were paid to kill sparrows as pests, others deliberately introduced them to places as far apart as Australia and New York. Initially they were welcomed, although later appreciation turned to serious concern for the impact on crops. By then sparrows had become well established and control attempts have failed to limit the sparrows numbers and range.
How sparrows behave with other animals
Sparrows are aggressive tend to dominate feeders in gardens and prevent other birds from getting to the food. They harass other birds and steal their food and take over their nests, particularly house martins. The eviction and interference often results in a reduction in breeding success and can cause desertion of even large martin colonies.
Sparrows frequently tear to pieces the nests of martins and swallows and eject any eggs or chicks therein. The owners are unable to stop them.
Sparrows are very resilient and for their size have remarkably few serious predators. Main predators are domestic cats, owls (especially tawny) and sparrowhawks, but none are capable of affecting the size of the sparrow population, with the possible exception of localised effects by cats.
A lovely autumn morning in the Dutch Speulderbos, the Netherlands. Conditions like these make me completely feel in the 'zone', chasing the light, looking for moments and scenes that stand out to me, while losing track of time. That is until the light gets harsh, when it feels like waking up from a beautiful dream.
>>> Join me on FACEBOOK <<<
- Check out my Iceland adventure on YouTube -
or
- Albums on New York, London, Ireland, Thailand, or Iceland -
The guide stoop at Deadshaw Sick on Big Moor. The top 12" of the post was damaged by gunfire during WW II.
For Flick'r Friday theme 'My Right Hand' .... I've used this Bible for 38 years and wouldn't be without it!
Sometimes we need little reminders that in the storm, in the rain, there's always a chance to have protection and light. Sometimes we need to look for it, sometimes it just arrives like magic, but it's there.
OMV Tankstelle Tübingen
Morgensonne, neue Staubsauger und gute Waschanlage.
Alles sehr sauber.
Grünanlage top gepflegt
Die Stadtwerke legen eine Starkstrom Leitung für EnBW Ladestationen für Stromer Autos
my favorite photos here > www.flickr.com/photos/roderickma/sets/72157623272274082/
my photo sets here > www.flickr.com/photos/roderickma/sets
My friendly guide in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand.
Just sat on my windshield and showed me the way
Vertorama of the Milky Way over Gerringong and Werri Beach - Left the sighting laser on for this one by accident.
A ski guide candidate proving his skills during the RMGA (Russian Mountain Guide Association) Ski Guide Exam in Tuyuk-Su, Kazakhstan.
Fuji X-T1 & Voigtländer Ultron 21mm f/1.8.
-------------------------
Seascape Composition; Peck's Ledge Lighthouse, Norwalk Harbor, Norwalk, CT; (c) Diana Lee Photo Designs
I've been desperately wanting to complete this project for a long time and I finally have it at a complete enough state to allow visitors to check it out! I've combined Yavanna Llanfair's YavaScript Pod transport system with my Teegle animesh horses! The horses are the actual guides that will walk around the region automatically when you sit on them just like those YavaPods you'll randomly see on the roads of SL mainland. If you're curious to check them out, come visit! Two riders can sit on one horse at the same time and there are only 3 horses available, but I think that's more than enough for now.
I don't want you to wait any longer,
Finally here it is the 2014 gingerbread house,
I will take better photos and post again,
All parts are done freehand and they are edible,
Its not any particular lighthouse,
Note the light on top is flickering, thats my Wife's idea.
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Καλά Χριστούγεννα!
Everybody need a some guidance in there life.....
Follow my journey also in
Instagram: fredrik_lindedal
WL: Annan Adored Realistic with B/W filter
Visit this location at WITCHWOOD: Home to Petite Mort & Oubliette in Second Life
Album: www.flickr.com/photos/125866625@N08/albums/72157665131168449
I decided to rework the Moonlight Blade, for I wasn't happy with the original design.
"As my mind began to succumb to despair, I glimpsed it- a faint sliver of light. It was a fleeting thing, yet I yearned for it. Driven by some ineffable desire, I pushed forward. The pain of the wind lashing at my skin, the cold burning away my nerves, vanished. It was then I was consumed by the brilliant blue and silver. I had found it- my savior- my guiding moonlight."
This was one of my first shots on a long exposure. Decided for 30 seconds @200 ISO. The backslash is electronic noise.
Better seen with a black background.
(thanx Prasangam for the suggestion!)