Red Bcked Shrike - Lanius Collurio

Juvenile

Sparrohawk - Accipiter Nisus

Thanks to All who take the time to Comment/fav etc..Always appreciated.

Tree Pipit - Anthus Trivialis

Tree pipits have brown streaked upper parts and pale under parts with further streaking on buff tinged chest and flanks. They are very similar to meadow pipits but, on close inspection, may be distinguished by their heavier bill, shorter hind claw and fine streaking on the flank - they also have very different calls. Widespread summer visitors to the UK, they occur in particularly high densities in Western uplands. Their population has undergone declines over the past 25 years, especially in central and southern England.

Tree Pipit is a true summer visitor, with the first birds returning from sub-Saharan Africa in late March and the bulk of passage taking place from mid-April to mid-May. As its name suggests, it is associated much more with trees than is Meadow Pipit, although it must be remembered that the latter frequently lands in the tops of trees and bushes, particularly when flushed. But Tree Pipits habitually use trees for both singing and feeding, when they may walk up and down the branches searching for food, constantly wagging their tails as they do so. I have never seen Meadow Pipits do this.

Tree Pipits are characteristically birds of heathland, forest clearings and young forestry plantations, with scattered trees and bushes usually a prerequisite. Meadow Pipit is a bird of open country, particularly common in upland areas. These habitat differences are often the first clue in the identification process, but do not rely totally on habitat, particularly at migration sites when the differences break down.

Fish eating Robin is quite a novelty.

The American Robins' diets are primarily insects and worms in the summer months when those are common and abundant. But in the winter months, insects are hard to find.

In one of our city's parks, a small flock of robins that overwintered there was seen pulling minnows out of small ice openings near the edge of the pond that were partially frozen.

The lack of insect protein diet may explain why these resourceful robins had taught themselves how to ice fish, and found themselves an excellent food source in winter.

Taken on: March, 2022, Hermitage Park, Edmonton, Alberta.

Nikon D500 w/ 500 f4G; f7.1; 1/2000; -1/3EV; ISO 800

DR5 Right-angle viewfinder.

Lightroom 6.0

Thank you very much for the visit and comment.

Sedge Warbler - Acrocephalus Scirpaceous

Norfolk

The sedge warbler is a medium-sized warbler of marshes, reedbeds and wetlands that can be spotted singing from perches on reeds and willow bushes. A great mimic, the male sedge warbler introduces random phrases into its repertoire, never singing the same song twice; he attracts more mates the more phrases his song has. Sedge warblers are summer visitors to the UK, breeding in wetland habitats from April onwards.

Common Whitethroat - Sylvia communis

Juvenile

The common whitethroat (Sylvia communis) is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.

This is one of several Sylvia species that has distinct male and female plumages. Both sexes are mainly brown above and buff below, with chestnut fringes to the secondary remiges. The adult male has a grey head and a white throat. The female lacks the grey head, and the throat is duller.

This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morphological marker for relationships in Sylvia, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related.

This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will also eat berries and other soft fruit.

Population:

UK breeding:

1,100,000 territories

Common Whitethroat - Sylvia communis

The common whitethroat (Sylvia communis) is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.

This is one of several Sylvia species that has distinct male and female plumages. Both sexes are mainly brown above and buff below, with chestnut fringes to the secondary remiges. The adult male has a grey head and a white throat. The female lacks the grey head, and the throat is duller.

This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morphological marker for relationships in Sylvia, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related.

This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will also eat berries and other soft fruit.

Population:

UK breeding:

1,100,000 territories

The common whitethroat (Sylvia communis) is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.

This is one of several Sylvia species that has distinct male and female plumages. Both sexes are mainly brown above and buff below, with chestnut fringes to the secondary remiges. The adult male has a grey head and a white throat. The female lacks the grey head, and the throat is duller.

This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morphological marker for relationships in Sylvia, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related.

This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will also eat berries and other soft fruit.

Population:

UK breeding:

1,100,000 territories

Spoonbill - Platalea leucorodia

Spoonbills are tall white waterbirds with long spatulate black bills and long black legs. In flight they fly with necks and legs extended, in the water they feed with elegant sideward sweeps of their bill. In the breeding season adults show some yellow on their breast and bill tip. The species is of European conservation concern and a very rare breeding bird in the UK. They are listed are listed on Schedule 1 of The Wildlife and Countryside Act. Most birds migrate south in the winter, but numerous individuals remain and winter in Western Europe.

Although they bred in East Anglia during Medieval times, spoonbills had not bred in Britain for over 300 years until 2010, when a small colony was discovered on the north Norfolk coast.

The common whitethroat (Sylvia communis) is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.

This is one of several Sylvia species that has distinct male and female plumages. Both sexes are mainly brown above and buff below, with chestnut fringes to the secondary remiges. The adult male has a grey head and a white throat. The female lacks the grey head, and the throat is duller.

This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morphological marker for relationships in Sylvia, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related.

This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will also eat berries and other soft fruit.

Population:

UK breeding:

1,100,000 territories

Wryneck - Jynx Torquilla

The wrynecks (genus Jynx) are a small but distinctive group of small Old World woodpeckers. Jynx is from the Ancient Greek iunx, the Eurasian wryneck.

Like the true woodpeckers, wrynecks have large heads, long tongues which they use to extract their insect prey and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backwards. However, they lack the stiff tail feathers that the true woodpeckers use when climbing trees, so they are more likely than their relatives to perch on a branch rather than an upright trunk.

Their bills are shorter and less dagger-like than in the true woodpeckers, but their chief prey are ants and other insects, which they find in decaying wood or almost bare soil. They re-use woodpecker holes for nesting, rather than making their own holes. The eggs are white, as with many hole nesters.

The two species have cryptic plumage, with intricate patterning of greys and browns. The adult moults rapidly between July and September, although some moult continues in its winter quarters. The voice is a nasal woodpecker-like call.

These birds get their English name from their ability to turn their heads almost 180 degrees. When disturbed at the nest, they use this snake-like head twisting and hissing as a threat display.

Population:

UK passage:

Approx: 280 birds

Thanks to all who take the time to Comment/Fav, it's Always appreciated.

Hi friends,

thanks so much for your kind visit and support!

I'm very involved in private life actually, that's the reason why I'm not very present here on flickr, at the same time I have a big lack of inspiration because my head is too full with other things...

I continue to admire your beautiful photos whenever I have a little moment, but sorry that I don't have enough time to comment as I would like to do...

Hope you all are doing well, in any case take care and stay safe please!!

😘😘😘

Do not use my photos on any media without my explicit written permission! © All rights reserved

Grey Plover - Pluvialis Squatarola

Norfolk

Thanks to all who take the time to Comment/fav etc..Always appreciated.

The common whitethroat (Sylvia communis) is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.

This is one of several Sylvia species that has distinct male and female plumages. Both sexes are mainly brown above and buff below, with chestnut fringes to the secondary remiges. The adult male has a grey head and a white throat. The female lacks the grey head, and the throat is duller.

This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morphological marker for relationships in Sylvia, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related.

This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will also eat berries and other soft fruit.

Population:

UK breeding:

1,100,000 territories

Wryneck - Jynx Torquilla

Ogmore

The wrynecks (genus Jynx) are a small but distinctive group of small Old World woodpeckers. Jynx is from the Ancient Greek iunx, the Eurasian wryneck.

Like the true woodpeckers, wrynecks have large heads, long tongues which they use to extract their insect prey and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backwards. However, they lack the stiff tail feathers that the true woodpeckers use when climbing trees, so they are more likely than their relatives to perch on a branch rather than an upright trunk.

Their bills are shorter and less dagger-like than in the true woodpeckers, but their chief prey are ants and other insects, which they find in decaying wood or almost bare soil. They re-use woodpecker holes for nesting, rather than making their own holes. The eggs are white, as with many hole nesters.

The two species have cryptic plumage, with intricate patterning of greys and browns. The adult moults rapidly between July and September, although some moult continues in its winter quarters. The voice is a nasal woodpecker-like call.

These birds get their English name from their ability to turn their heads almost 180 degrees. When disturbed at the nest, they use this snake-like head twisting and hissing as a threat display.

Population:

UK passage:

Approx: 280 birds

Sitting on 5 eggs.....Fingers x'd!

Great Crested Grebe - Podiceps Cristatus

The great crested grebe has an elaborate mating display. Like all grebes, it nests on the water's edge, since its legs are set relatively far back and it is thus unable to walk very well. Usually two eggs are laid, and the fluffy, striped young grebes are often carried on the adult's back. In a clutch of two or more hatchlings, male and female grebes will each identify their 'favourites', which they alone will care for and teach

Unusually, young grebes are capable of swimming and diving almost at hatching. The adults teach these skills to their young by carrying them on their back and diving, leaving the chicks to float on the surface; they then re-emerge a few feet away so that the chicks may swim back onto them.

The great crested grebe feeds mainly on fish, but also small crustaceans, insects small frogs and newts.

This species was hunted almost to extinction in the United Kingdom in the 19th century for its head plumes, which were used to decorate hats and ladies' undergarments. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was set up to help protect this species, which is again a common sight.

The great crested grebe and its behaviour was the subject of one of the landmark publications in avian ethology: Julian Huxley's 1914 paper on The Courtship‐habits of the Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus).

Population:

UK breeding:

4,600 pairs

UK wintering:

19,000 individuals

Frosty spring morning. Gentle fog and perfect lack of wind

Mid-sized diving duck. Male distinctive, with dark rusty head, pale gray body contrasting with black breast, and broad pale bluish band on bill. Female rather nondescript: gray-brown overall with diffuse pale head markings. Note sloping forehead and dark gray bill with pale band near tip. In flight grayish overall (lacks bold white wing stripe). Inhabits marshy and reed-fringed lakes to open reservoirs; locally on the sea in winter, especially when lakes freeze. Locally in flocks, and often associates with winter flocks of Tufted Ducks. Feeds mainly by diving. eBird

The common whitethroat (Sylvia communis) is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.

This is one of several Sylvia species that has distinct male and female plumages. Both sexes are mainly brown above and buff below, with chestnut fringes to the secondary remiges. The adult male has a grey head and a white throat. The female lacks the grey head, and the throat is duller.

This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morphological marker for relationships in Sylvia, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related.

This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will also eat berries and other soft fruit.

Population:

UK breeding:

1,100,000 territories

...from lack of being played.

19:52 - Around the house - what's your favourite little nook or cranny?

I think this is probably cheating for the theme, but I photographed all my nooks and crannies, and they just didn't cut it. But I found the guitar and case in one of those crannies (corner of a closet). So I brought it out for a shoot. And I think it really is weeping from lack of being played. I shot this in the living room and the bokeh is our backyard through the window.

Now, here is some of the best guitar work ever, IMO :) And nothing to do with the title or who sang that song....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVjdMLAMbM0

Best viewed large.

Kingfisher - Alcedo Atthis

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

25:52 A Tree

Some of the most famous landscapes in the world feature a tree. Time to see what you can do.

What a beautiful country Canada is...loving every moment of my trip here. Happy Canada Day to all my wonderful new friends.

Apologies for my lack of Flickr-ing of late, I shall catch you all up when I get back to Australia mid July :))

It has been said that the lack of pollinators could lead to starvation and poverty. A small insect such as a bee is important as roughly 66 per cent of all the plant species we eat rely on pollinators. With the use of insecticides such as Neonicotinoids that are making an impact on pollinators around the world. Latest evidence shows the risk that insecticides are having and which may affect us all in the future.

What you lack, find it in what you have..

Ce qui te manque, cherche-le dans ce que tu as ..

Koan Zen

@ Dyrhólaey

The other Trouble in Mind band I saw with super fun indie pop songs was En Attendant Ana. I hesitate to post two photos in the same day, mainly because I get the people lead busy lives, but I want to get back to some of my New Mexico photos. It's hard to balance everything considering I am always taking, if anything, too many photos. And, I always thought I was just a concert photographer but then I became really interested in street photography and then nature photography so perhaps I lack focus or else there is just not enough hours in the day.

You should really listen to En Attendant Ana from Paris!!!

enattendantana.bandcamp.com/album/juillet

*All photos are copyrighted**

Wryneck - Jynx Torquilla

Ogmore

The wrynecks (genus Jynx) are a small but distinctive group of small Old World woodpeckers. Jynx is from the Ancient Greek iunx, the Eurasian wryneck.

Like the true woodpeckers, wrynecks have large heads, long tongues which they use to extract their insect prey and zygodactyl feet, with two toes pointing forward, and two backwards. However, they lack the stiff tail feathers that the true woodpeckers use when climbing trees, so they are more likely than their relatives to perch on a branch rather than an upright trunk.

Their bills are shorter and less dagger-like than in the true woodpeckers, but their chief prey are ants and other insects, which they find in decaying wood or almost bare soil. They re-use woodpecker holes for nesting, rather than making their own holes. The eggs are white, as with many hole nesters.

The two species have cryptic plumage, with intricate patterning of greys and browns. The adult moults rapidly between July and September, although some moult continues in its winter quarters. The voice is a nasal woodpecker-like call.

These birds get their English name from their ability to turn their heads almost 180 degrees. When disturbed at the nest, they use this snake-like head twisting and hissing as a threat display.

Population:

UK passage:

Approx: 280 birds

Darckr by Laurent Henocque - More photos - DNA - Ipernity

Despite the lack of sunlight it still looked pretty at Santa's second headquarters.

Kingfisher - Alcedo Atthis

Double click..

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

Dipper - Cinclus Cinclus

aka Water Ouzel

Double Click to view

Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater.

They have a characteristic bobbing motion when perched beside the water, giving them their name. While under water, they are covered by a thin, silvery film of air, due to small bubbles being trapped on the surface of the plumage.

Dippers are found in suitable freshwater habitats in the highlands of the Americas, Europe and Asia. In Africa they are only found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. They inhabit the banks of fast-moving upland rivers with cold, clear waters, though, outside the breeding season, they may visit lake shores and sea coasts.

The high haemoglobin concentration in their blood gives them a capacity to store oxygen greater than that of other birds, allowing them to remain underwater for thirty seconds or more, whilst their basal metabolic rate is approximately one-third slower than typical terrestrial passerines of similar mass. One small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below −55 °C (−67 °F).

Dippers are completely dependent on fast-flowing rivers with clear water, accessible food and secure nest-sites. They may be threatened by anything that affects these needs such as water pollution, acidification and turbidity caused by erosion. River regulation through the creation of dams and reservoirs, as well as channelization, can degrade and destroy dipper habitat.

Dippers are also sometimes hunted or otherwise persecuted by humans for various reasons. The Cyprus race of the white-throated dipper is extinct. In the Atlas Mountains dippers are claimed to have aphrodisiacal properties. In parts of Scotland and Germany, until the beginning of the 20th century, bounties were paid for killing dippers because of a misguided perception that they were detrimental to fish stocks through predation on the eggs and fry of salmonids.

Population:

UK breeding:

6,200-18,700 pairs

De retour après une bonne quinzaine de jours au nord de l'Isère, en gros à l'est de Lyon, où la chaleur et la sécheresse sont peut-être la raison pour laquelle j'ai trouvé moins de papillons que prévu. Les prairies avaient été fauchées et n'avaient pas pu vraiment repousser par manque d'eau. Les fleurs étaient rares cette année.

Back after a fortnight east of Lyon where the heat and lack of rain maybe be the reason why I didn't find as many butterflies as I expected. Wild flowers were scarce this year.

Un bel argus ?

There is a strange beauty in these skeletal tree forms. The light on the day also lent itself to the Gothic feel of the place.

I've mentioned in the previous photos posted today, that this dying back of the trees (eucalypts) in Tasmania is not a problem of salinity and hasn't been caused by fire. These trees are victims of the severe drought which has gripped this area for several years until good rains this year have ended it.

But the damage has been done, and none of these trees will ever grow back. They stand in stark reminder of the changeable environment. But the lack of trees also creates further environmental problems. Soil degradation and erosion through the drying out of unshaded paddocks is a growing problem.

Enjoy the day and rest of the weekend...

I will take this time to apologize for the lack of commenting.... this is such a busy time of the season with me taking care of so many Monarch caterpillars.... I think they must have an internal clock that is ticking because everything they are doing is much faster... that includes eating and pooping!! The Monarchs I will be releasing and tagging will live for 8-9 months and take the long flight down to Mexico....

unlike the ones that we see earlier in the summer that only live 2-6 weeks.

To date, I have released 326 with 44 in chrysalis and a ton of caterpillars and tiny hatchlings... and eggs I haven't counted!!

Snow Bunting - Plectrophenax Nivalis

Snow buntings are large buntings, with striking 'snowy' plumages. Males in summer have all white heads and underparts contrasting with a black mantle and wing tips. Females are a more mottled above. In autumn and winter birds develop a sandy/buff wash to their plumage and males have more mottled upperparts.

Globally, they breed around the arctic from Scandinavia to Alaska, Canada and Greenland and migrate south in winter. They are a scarce breeding species in the UK, in Scotland, making them an Amber List species. They are more widespread in winter in the north and east when residents are joined by continental birds.

They are listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act.

The snow bunting lives in very high latitudes in the Arctic tundra. There is no apparent limit to its northern range, while the southern range is limited by the duration of daylight, which influences their reproductive activity. This species is found in the high Arctic tundra of North America, Ellesmere Island, Iceland, higher mountains of Scotland, Norway, Russia, North Greenland, Siberia, Novaya Zemlya, and Franz Josef Land. During the winter, this bird migrates to the circumglobal northern temperate zone including the south of Canada, north of the United States, north of Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and east to central Asia. During the last ice age, the snow bunting was widespread throughout continental Europe.

During the breeding period the snow bunting looks for rocky habitats in the Arctic Since the vegetation in the tundra is low growing, this bird and its nestlings are exposed to predators, and in order to ensure the survival of its offspring, the snow bunting nests in cavities in order to protect the nestlings from any threat. During this period, buntings also look for a habitat rich in vegetation such as wet sedge meadows and areas rich in dryas and lichens. In the winter, they look for open habitats such as farms and fields where they feed on seeds in the ground.

Population:

UK breeding:

60 pairs

UK wintering:

10,000-15,000 birds

Kingfisher - Alcedo Atthis

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

Marsh Harrier - Circus Aeruginosus

The marsh harriers are birds of prey of the harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds. They are found almost worldwide, excluding only the Americas.

It hunts small mammals, frogs, fish, insects and birds, surprising them as it drifts low over fields and reedbeds. Its long legs allow it to pluck frogs and fish from the water mid-swoop. The western marsh harrier is a typical harrier, with long wings held in a shallow V in its low flight. It also resembles other harriers in having distinct male and female plumages, but its plumages are quite different from those of its relatives. The male has wings with grey and brown sections and black wingtips. Its head, tail and underparts are greyish, except for the chestnut belly. The female is mainly brown with a cream crown and cream leading edge to her wings. It is 19-22 inches long and weighs 1-2 lbs.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Marsh harrier was hunted to extinction in the United Kingdom. After being reintroduced from other regions, its population steadily increased until DDT threatened it, along with other raptors, in the 50's and 60's. Since, the population has slowly and steadily increased.

Its future in the UK is now more secure than at any time during the last century, but historical declines and subsequent recovery means it is an Amber List species. Marsh harriers are a Schedule 1 listed bird on The Wildlife and Countryside Act.

UK Population:

Approx 400 Pairs

In winter, it never lacks sunshine, coasts an beaches in the east park of Taiwan, but I love snow more though. :-)

CLICK L

Marcy Wear :

♥ Bauhaus Movement - Vanleen Snow @ TSS - NEW*

♥ Pose by Bauhaus Movement

♥ Bastice - - Victoria Dress

le Rougegorge familier est peu farouche et son plumage attractif l'ont rendu populaire chez des générations de jardiniers; en réalité le rouge-gorge fait partie d'une espèce d'oiseau très agressive, et certains mâles se battent parfois à mort pour défendre leur territoire. Présent dans presque chaque jardin, c'est l'un des oiseaux les moins sauvages, cherchant sa nourriture à proximité des humains en train de jardiner. Il ira jusqu'à venir se nourrir de proies vivantes, comme des vers de terre ou des vers de farine, présentés à la main. Si l'hiver est rude, il deviendra encore plus familier, car le manque de nourriture provoqué par la neige et la glace le rend très vulnérable.

Le rouge-gorge défend un territoire à longueur d'année, sauf durant la mue et si l'hiver est très froid. En hiver, les femelles occupent et défendent aussi un territoire. Celui-ci leur est nécessaire non seulement pour nicher, mais aussi pour garantir une source suffisante de nourriture. Un rouge-gorge sans territoire meurt au bout de quelques semaines. C'est pourquoi cet espace est défendu avec une telle énergie. En général, il suffit que le propriétaire exhibe son plastron rouge pour que l'intrus recule, mais il peut arriver que la lutte s'engage et les combats s'achèvent parfois par la mort de l'un des adversaires.

À l'opposé de nombreux autres oiseaux, le rouge-gorge vit en solitaire pendant l'automne et l'hiver mâle et femelle restant sur leur territoire hivernal respectif avec comme résultat qu'ils continuent à chanter même en hiver.

Le rouge-gorge semble bien voir dans l'obscurité, car il est encore actif le soir quand il n'y a plus de lumière.

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the familiar Robin is not very shy and its attractive plumage has made it popular with generations of gardeners; in fact the robin is part of a very aggressive bird species, and some males sometimes fight to death to defend their territory. Present in almost every garden, it is one of the least wild birds, seeking its food near the humans in the process of gardening. It will go as far as feeding on live prey, such as earthworms or mealworms, presented by hand. If the winter is rough, it will become even more familiar, as the lack of food caused by snow and ice makes it very vulnerable.

The robin defends a territory all year long, except during the moult and if the winter is very cold. In winter, females also occupy and defend a territory. It is necessary for them not only to nest, but also to guarantee a sufficient source of food. A robin without territory dies after a few weeks. That's why this space is defended with such energy. In general, it is enough for the owner to show his red shirt so that the intruder recoils, but it can happen that the struggle begins and the fighting sometimes ends with the death of one of the opponents.

In contrast to many other birds, the robin lives alone during the fall and winter male and female remaining in their respective winter territories with the result that they continue to sing even in winter.

The robin seems to see well in the dark because it is still active at night when there is no light.

Stonechat - Saxicola Torquata

The stonechat is 11.5–13 cm long and weighs 13–17 g, slightly smaller than the European robin. Both sexes have distinctively short wings, shorter than those of the more migratory whinchat and Siberian stonechat.

The summer male has black upperparts, a black head, an orange throat and breast, and a white belly and vent. It also has a white half-collar on the sides of its neck, a small white scapular patch on the wings, and a very small white patch on the rump often streaked with black. The female has brown upperparts and head, and no white neck patches, rump or belly, these areas being streaked dark brown on paler brown, the only white being the scapular patch on the wings and even this often being buffy-white.

European stonechats breed in heathland, coastal dunes and rough grassland with scattered small shrubs and bramble, open gorse, tussocks or heather. They are short-distance migrants or non-migratory, with part of the population (particularly from northeastern parts of the range, where winters are colder) moving south to winter further south in Europe and more widely in north Africa.

Population:

UK breeding:

59,000 pairs

Weaver ants moving a dead millipede.

Wikipedia: Weaver ants or green ants (genus Oecophylla) are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae (order Hymenoptera). Weaver ants live in trees (they are obligately arboreal) and are known for their unique nest building behavior where workers construct nests by weaving together leaves using larval silk. Colonies can be extremely large consisting of more than a hundred nests spanning numerous trees and containing more than half a million workers. Like many other ant species, weaver ants prey on small insects and supplement their diet with carbohydrate-rich honeydew excreted by small insects (Hemiptera). Weaver ant workers exhibit a clear bimodal size distribution, with almost no overlap between the size of the minor and major workers. The major workers are approximately 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) in length and the minors approximately half the length of the majors. Major workers forage, defend, maintain, and expand the colony whereas minor workers tend to stay within the nests where they care for the brood and 'milk' scale insects in or close to the nests.

Weaver ants vary in color from reddish to yellowish brown dependent on the species. Oecophylla smaragdina found in Australia often have bright green gasters. Weaver ants are highly territorial and workers aggressively defend their territories against intruders. Because they prey on insects harmful to their host trees, weaver ants are sometime used by indigenous farmers, particularly in southeast Asia, as natural biocontrol agents against agricultural pests. Although weaver ants lack a functional sting they can inflict painful bites and often spray formic acid directly at the bite wound resulting in intense discomfort.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaver_ant

Nuthatch - Sitta europaea

The Eurasian nuthatch or wood nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is a small passerine bird found throughout temperate Asia and in Europe, where its name is the nuthatch. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-grey upperparts and a black eye-stripe. It is a vocal bird with a repeated loud dwip call. There are more than 20 subspecies in three main groups; birds in the west of the range have orange-buff underparts and a white throat, those in Russia have whitish underparts, and those in the Far East have a similar appearance to European birds, but lack the white throat.

The preferred habitat is mature deciduous or mixed woodland with large, old trees, preferably oak. Pairs hold permanent territories, and nest in tree holes, usually old woodpecker nests, but sometimes natural cavities. If the entrance to the hole is too large, the female plasters it with mud to reduce its size, and often coats the inside of the cavity too. The 6–9 red-speckled white eggs are laid on a deep base of pine or other wood chips.

The Eurasian nuthatch eats mainly insects, particularly caterpillars and beetles, although in autumn and winter its diet is supplemented with nuts and seeds. The young are fed mainly on insects, with some seeds, food items mainly being found on tree trunks and large branches. The nuthatch can forage when descending trees head first, as well as when climbing. It readily visits bird tables, eating fatty man-made food items as well as seeds. It is an inveterate hoarder, storing food year-round. Its main natural predator is the Eurasian sparrowhawk.

It breeds throughout England and Wales and has recently began to breed in southern Scotland. It is a resident, with birds seldom travelling far from the woods where they hatch.

Population:

UK breeding:

220,000 territories

Common Whitethroat - Sylvia communis

Taken on on local walks!

The common whitethroat (Sylvia communis) is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa, Arabia, and Pakistan.

This is one of several Sylvia species that has distinct male and female plumages. Both sexes are mainly brown above and buff below, with chestnut fringes to the secondary remiges. The adult male has a grey head and a white throat. The female lacks the grey head, and the throat is duller.

This species may appear to be closely related to the lesser whitethroat, the species having evolved only during the end of the last ice age similar to the willow warbler and chiffchaffs. However, researchers found the presence of a white throat is an unreliable morphological marker for relationships in Sylvia, and the greater and lesser whitethroats are not closely related.

This is a bird of open country and cultivation, with bushes for nesting. The nest is built in low shrub or brambles, and 3–7 eggs are laid. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous, but will also eat berries and other soft fruit.

Population:

UK breeding:

1,100,000 territories

California Sea Lions soaking up the early morning sun, Morro Bay Harbor.

Sea lions are brown, bark loudly, "walk" on land using their large flippers and have visible ear flaps. Seals have small flippers, wriggle on their bellies on land, and lack visible ear flaps. ... Secondly, sea lions have small flaps for outer ears. The "earless" or "true" seals lack external ears altogether.

Topaz Studio Texture FX

Yesterday I complained about the lack of spring migrants returning to the Driftless Region due to the cold winterlike weather. The weather didn't improve today, but the bird gods did their best to make me feel better. This male brown-headed cowbird is wearing a gorgeous green winter jacket to fend off the cold freezing temperature. He'll be staying right here at Lake Meyer Park for the summer.