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Been along time since i've done anything I think is worth posting....
shot swerv and bile for the paint.
Mjölkeviks Kile med utsikt mot Sundsby kile.
Höstdagjämning - men hösten är sen
ÅRSTIDER. Visst, dagarna mörknar minut för minut och från mitten av veckan är natten längre än dagen. Men termometern visar att sommaren hållit sig kvar ovanligt länge. Hösten får helt enkelt vänta.
Kalendern säger att det är höstdagjämning på onsdag, då dag och natt är lika långa. Fast höstdagjämningen är egentligen bara ett ögonblick, nämligen klockan 10.22 svensk tid. Astronomiskt är då hösten kommen på norra halvklotet.
Men meteorologiskt infaller hösten då dygnstemperaturen är under 10 grader fem dygn i följd. Hittills har detta skett ovanligt sent.
– Hösten kom till Norrlands inland för ett par veckor sedan, men det var varmt i augusti så den blev lite försenad. Och det är fortfarande sommar längs Norrlandskusten. I Luleåtrakten får man normalt annars höst den 7 september, så där är hösten också försenad, säger meteorolog Marcus Sjöstedt vid SMHI.
Sommar är det också i Götaland och större delen av Svealand, men det är som det brukar vara. Stockholm får normalt höst den 29 september, Göteborg den 10 oktober och Malmö den 15 oktober. Och höstdagjämningen skyndar inte på hösten.
You can licence my photos through Folio.
facebook | Gustaf Emanuelsson
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(Explore in/out, 3/9/2014) Thank you very much for the visit, faves and comments. Cheers.
Last year the Alice River was as dry as a dead dingo's donga. This year there was some rain and the river is hosting more water birds.
Scientific Name: Pelecanus conspicillatus
Description: There are seven species of pelicans in the world, all of which are similar in shape and, with one exception, are primarily white in colour. Males are larger than females. The most characteristic feature of pelicans is the elongated bill with its massive throat pouch. The Australian Pelican's bill is 40 cm - 50 cm long and is larger in males than females. Pelicans have large wings and a wingspan of 2.3 m - 2.5 m. Pelicans have an extremely light skeleton, weighing less than 10% of their total body weight.
Distribution: The Australian Pelican is found throughout Australia, Papua New Guinea and western Indonesia, with occasional reports in New Zealand and various western Pacific islands.
Habitat: Pelicans are widespread on freshwater, estuarine and marine wetlands and waterways including lakes, swamps, rivers, coastal islands and shores.
Seasonal movements: Pelicans are highly mobile, searching out suitable areas of water and an adequate supply of food. Pelicans are not capable of sustained flapping flight, but can remain in the air for 24 hours, covering hundreds of kilometres. They are excellent soarers and can use thermals to rise to considerable altitudes. Flight at 1,000m is common, and heights of 3 000 m have been recorded. By moving from one thermal to the next, pelicans can travel long distances with a minimum of effort, reaching air speeds of up to 56 km/hour.
Feeding: The bill and pouch of pelicans play an important role in feeding. The bill is sensitive and this helps locate fish in murky water. It also has a hook at the end of the upper mandible, probably for gripping slippery food items. When food is caught, the pelican manipulates it in its bill until the prey typically has its head pointing down the pelican's throat. Then with a jerk of the head the pelican swallows the prey. The bill is delicately built. The lower jaw consists of two thin and weakly articulated bones from which the pouch hangs. When fully extended, the bill can hold up to 13 litres. The pouch does not function as a place to hold food for any length of time. Instead it serves as a short-term collecting organ. Pelicans plunge their bills into the water, using their pouches as nets. Once something is caught, a pelican draws its pouch to its breast. This empties the water and allows the bird to manoeuvre the prey into a swallowing position. The pouch can also serve as a net to catch food thrown by humans, and there are sightings of pelicans drinking by opening their bill to collect rainwater.
The Australian Pelican may feed alone, but more often feeds as a cooperative group. Sometimes these groups are quite large. One group numbered over 1,900 birds. A flock of pelicans works together, driving fish into a concentrated mass using their bills and sometimes by beating their wings. The fish are herded into shallow water or surrounded in ever decreasing circles.
Breeding: Breeding depends on environmental conditions, particularly rainfall. Pelicans are colonial breeders with up to 40 000 individuals grouping on islands or secluded shores. Breeding begins with courtship. The female leads potential mates (two to eight or more) around the colony. As the males follow her in these walks, they threaten each other while swinging their open bills from side to side trying to attract the female's attention. The males may also pick up small objects, like sticks or dry fish, which they toss in the air and catch again, repeating the sequence several times. Both sexes perform "pouch-rippling" in which they clap their bills shut several times a second and the pouch ripples like a flag in a strong breeze. As the courtship parade progresses, the males drop out one by one. Finally, after pursuits on land, water or in the air, only a single male is left. The female leads him to a potential nest site. During the courtship period, the bill and pouch of the birds change colour dramatically. The forward half of the pouch becomes bright salmon pink, while the skin of the pouch in the throat region turns chrome yellow. Parts of the top and base of the bill change to cobalt blue, and a black diagonal strip appears from the base to the tip. This colour change is of short duration, the intensity usually subsiding by the time incubation starts. The nest consists of a scrape in the ground prepared by the female. She digs the scrape with her bill and feet, and lines it with any scraps of vegetation or feathers within reach of the nest. Within three days egg-laying begins and eggs are laid two to three days apart. Both parents share incubation and the eggs are incubated on their feet. The first-hatched chick is substantially larger than its siblings. It receives most of the food and may even attack and kill its nest mates. A newly hatched pelican has a large bill, bulging eyes, and skin that looks like small-grained bubble plastic. The skin around the face is mottled with varying degrees of black and the colour of the eyes varies from white to dark brown. This individual variation helps the parents to recognise their chick from hundreds of others. The chicks leave their nests to form creches of up to 100 birds. They remain in creches for about two months, by the end of which they have learnt to fly and are fairly independent. Wild birds may live between ten and possibly 25 years or more.
Minimum Size: 160cm
Maximum Size: 180cm
Average size: 170cm
Breeding season: At any time of the year
Clutch Size: 1 to 3 eggs
Incubation: 35 days
Nestling Period: 28 days
(Source: www.birdsinbackyards.net)
© Chris Burns 2014
__________________________________________
All rights reserved.
This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.
One of the features of the Sk8 Park in Grimsby, Ontario is a group of small billboard-style panels specifically intended to host the artistic expressions of those visiting the site. As a result, graffiti is encouraged in places that are acceptable. Furthermore, periodic cleanup of the panels by town staff ensures regular refreshment of the subject matter. This image was taken in mid-February, the dead of Winter, so the snow-covered park was not in regular use and had not been for several months. The last round of painting had been ignored, likely waiting for Spring to get a refresh, with the consequence being the multiple layers of paint had weathered and flaked off leaving colourful abstracts when viewed up close. This section features and area with yellow and green patches. - JW
Date Taken: 2019-02-21
Taken using a hand-held Nikon D7100 fitted with an AF-S DX Nikkor 12-24mm 1:4 lense set to 12mm, Daylight WB, ISO100, Program mode, f/8.0, 1/250 sec. PP in free open Source RAWTherapee from Nikon RAW/NEF source file: set final image width to 9000px, adjust Tone Curve 2 in parametric mode by darkening the ‘Darks’ and ‘Lights’ slightly, enable HDR Tone Mapping and apply a light amount of HDR, enable Shadows/Highlights and recover highlights just enough that the ‘white’ areas of paint show detail/texture, boost contrast and Chromaticity in L-A-B mode, set White Balance to Daylight (5300K), boost Vibrance, sharpen (edges only), save. PP in free Open Source GIMP: increase overall contrast, fine tune overall tonality using the Tone Curves tool, sharpen, save, scale image to 6000px wide, sharpen slightly, save, add fine black-and-white frame, add bar and text on left, save, scale image to 2048px wide for posting online, sharpen slightly, save.
© all rights reserved by B℮n
The High Tatras the tallest range in the Carpathian Mountains, tower over most of Eastern Europe. Some 25 peaks measure above 2500m with pristine snowfields, ultramarine mountain lakes, thundering waterfalls, undulating pine forests and shimmering alpine meadows. Štrbské Pleso is a favorite ski, tourist, and health resort in the High Tatras, Slovakia located on the lake by the same name. It is a starting point for a host of popular hikes. High Tatras during the summer, to relax and recharge their batteries in this beautiful area for one or more days. There are about 600km of marked trails in the territory of the Tatra National Park or take a cable car to Mt. Solisko and enjoy a sunny terrace on 1 840 m above sea level, which offers panoramic views of the valley. The surface of Štrbské pleso has a magical atmosphere in the summer. Being the only accessible of all Tatra tarns for boating, it offers great moments spent in small boats with a view of the Tatras.
The surface of Štrbské pleso has a magical atmosphere in the summer. A picture of schoolkids taken at the lake Štrbské Pleso - Slovakia.
Å trbské Pleso betekent het meer van Å trbské. De Hoge Tatra in het noorden van Slowakije is het enige alpiene gebergte in Slowakije. Het is één van de vele massieven die samen de Karpaten vormen. Het granieten gebergte is het hoogste van het land en strekt zich uit in het Pools-Slowaakse grensgebied. Het Slowaakse deel van de Hoge Tatra is het hoogst. Met zijn 2655 meter is de Gerlachovský StÃt de hoogste. De boomgrens ligt op zo’n 1800 meter hoogte. De dierenwereld in de Hoge Tatra telt soorten, waarvan sommige in Nederland al sinds mensenheugenis niet meer in het wild voorkomen. Lynxen, wilde katten, vossen, otters, wilde zwijnen, moefflons, herten en marmotten leven er naast steenarenden en gemzen. In de meest afgelegen gebieden komen zelfs wolven en beren voor: Overal zijn vlinders en er zijn maar liefst 2000 insectensoorten geteld. Karakteristiek voor de Hoge Tatra zijn de bergmeren, die door de Slowaken worden aangeduid met het woord ‘pleso.’ Door de inval van het zonlicht kunnen de mooiste kleureffecten ontstaan. Foto van schoolkinderen bij het mooie meer van Å trbské.
Back together again, friends I've worked with in the past, so many years... Elli Pinion to the far left, VWBPE photographer, (me), in the middle and please if you know who is to my right, share...
Volunteer and Staff area: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VWBPE%20Gateway/129/36/24
Join us at the Conference, here's the calendar -> vwbpe.org/program/vwbpe-calendar