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They are finally starting to show up on their breeding sites. Unfortunately I will not be able to see the babies this year, as they are later than usual.
20190402 6425
Listening to Carole King today… another old Rocker that’s made beautiful music for a number of years.
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958. King has made 25 solo albums, the most successful being Tapestry, which held the record for most weeks at No. 1 by a female artist for more than 20 years.
Her record sales were estimated at more than 75 million copies worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She has been inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a performer and songwriter.
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The Hooded Merganser:
Spotted this Female Hooded Merganser Strutting Her Stuff after finishing a breakfast of Frog Legs alfresco. The legs were still attached to the frog, so it took her awhile to dine, but she seems to have had a Happy Ending : )
Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills. They find their prey underwater by sight. They can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes to improve their underwater vision. In addition, they have an extra eyelid, called a “nictitating membrane,” which is transparent and helps protect the eye during swimming, like a pair of goggles.
Hooded Merganser ducklings leave their nest cavity within 24 hours of hatching. First, their mother checks the area around the nest and calls to the nestlings from ground level. From inside the nest, the little fluffballs scramble up to the entrance hole and then flutter to the ground, which may be 50 feet or more below them. In some cases, they have to walk half a mile or more with their mother to the nearest body of water.
The oldest recorded Hooded Merganser was a male and at least 14 years, 6 months old when he was shot in Mississippi in 2009. He had been banded in Minnesota in 1995.
(Sony, 200-600 @ 600 mm, 1/400 @ f/6.3, ISO 5000, edited to taste)
Réalisé le 14 mai 2021 au Marais Léon-Provancher, Neuville, Québec.
Cliquez sur l'image pour l'agrandir / click on the photograph to enlarge it.
Taken on May, 14th / 2021 at Marais Leon-Provancher, Neuville, Quebec.
Ixobrychus exilis - Least Bittern
www.oiseaux.net/oiseaux/petit.blongios.html
Parc de la Frayère (Boucherville)
Southern yellow-billed hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) are widespread across southern Africa, living mainly in the savannah bushveld, dry thorn fields, deciduous woodlands, and scrubs. These omnivorous birds are sometimes called 'flying bananas' because of their huge yellow bills. Madikwe Game Reserve, North-West Province, South Africa. Conservation Status: Least Concern
Male greater kudu(Tragelaphus strepsiceros), a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. It is one of the largest species of antelope. Bulls weigh 190–270 kg (420–600 lb). The bulls also have beards running along their throats, and large horns with two and a half twists.
Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa.
Conservation Status: Least Concern
These teeny, seemingly fragile, very beautiful little Rosemary flowers are on a little plant in a 4" pot in the greenhouse. Is at max 1:1 magnification and also taken in aps-c, so effectively 1.5x, but with a 1.0 d.o.f. and a bit of a crop thrown in.
They were pretty awkward to photograph - I took some photos first and then uploaded in order to get an idea of what they were like, which didn't really help that much as even with the 20x was difficult to tell what was what on these pretty complex flowers, then I took a lot of various little flowers and angles but only a couple worth keeping. A bit hit and miss to say the least :^)
A close look at a very small Sandpiper.
If you sit still and wait for them to move by your position, these House Sparrow-sized peeps will often pass by very close. They forage in very shallow water or on the shore itself.
Sturgeon County, Alberta.
Réalisé le 24 juillet 2020 au Marais Léon-Provancher, Neuville, Québec.
Cliquez sur l'image pour l'agrandir / click on the photograph to enlarge it.
Taken on July, 24th / 2020 at Marais Leon-Provancher, Neuville, Quebec.
An American folk name for terns is “striker”—both because they hunt by striking the water and because adults dive-bomb anyone that approaches their nest. Along the Mid-Atlantic coast, Least Terns are often called “little strikers” colloquially.
It was amazing to see the variety of little fish the adults caught for their youngsters.
Thanks so much for the visit!
A cactus (plural: cacti) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word "cactus" derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek κάκτος, kaktos, Cacti occur in a wide range of shapes and sizes. Most cacti live in habitats subject to at least some drought. Many live in extremely dry environments, even being found in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on earth. Cacti show many adaptations to conserve water. Almost all cacti are succulents, meaning they have thickened, fleshy parts adapted to store water. Cacti are native to the Americas, ranging from Patagonia in the south to parts of western Canada in the north.
My least favourite type of weather, is an overcast sheet of white across the entire sky, featureless, boring and annoying, plus seemingly it lasts forever! So, one thing I know when I have perused other photos against such a backdrop, is that they can look like watercolour paintings. This is what I wanted to achieve in this shot.
However, much to my luck, a Bumblebee flew into the shot just as I hit the shutter down and thus, this is the result, I couldn't be happier. The slightly out of focus Bee accentuates to the image I wanted to create, a water painting without heavy software manipulation; sometimes in photography you can just get lucky!
I hope everyone is well and so as always, thank you!
Thanks for the visits, faves and comments its greatly appreciated.
Wakodahatchee Wetlands
This best my picture of this very shy bird .
Brown Bear (ursus arctos) named "Scout" watching ravens flying above his yard. The brown bear subspecies from the interior of North America (like Scout and his brother Montana) are known as grizzly bears, because their brown fur is tipped with white or tan; the word grizzly means sprinkled or streaked with gray. Conservation status: least concern
An overcast day was not what I was hoping for but at least there was some movement in the clouds to capture!
I will be visiting Mwnt again for another go soon!
The Church of the Holy Cross at Mwnt, Ceredigion, Wales, is a parish church and Grade I listed building dating probably from the 13th century. The building was restored in 1853 and again after storm damage in 1917. A 1912 photograph shows the south windows in different positions.
A Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) on the shore of Miquelon Lakes southeast of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
11 August, 2014.
Slide # GWB_20140811_312.CR2
Use of this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission is not permitted.
© Gerard W. Beyersbergen - All Rights Reserved Worldwide In Perpetuity - No Unauthorized Use.
A beautiful little least sandpiper feeding along the pools of water and algea along lake Ontario this morning.
The African bush as the sun sets and the golden light transcends all particles of light, landscape and mountains.... A beauty to behold for all to see at least once in a lifetime as you smell the land and the heat in the skies over Afrika
The Queen of Spring is also the Queen of legends
La pivoine chez les Grecs
Dans leur culture, la pivoine est bien plus qu’une jolie fleur des beaux jours, elle est d’abord considérée comme une plante médicinale. Cette faculté a par ailleurs nourri un mythe grec, où se mêlent colère des dieux et guérison. Son nom d’après les rumeurs, lui viendrait du médecin Péon, disciple d’Asclépios, dieu de la médecine. Ce dernier aurait trouvé un remède à la douleur des femmes durant leur accouchement. Son maître jaloux de son talent, se dit que finalement, il mériterait bien de mourir celui-ci. Fort heureusement pour Péon et pour nous, Zeus proposa une punition moins dramatique et changea le jeune médecin en la fleur qu’il avait découverte : une pivoine. Aussi réputée pour ses couleurs vives, ses teintes et nuances ont également inspiré une légende qui continue d’exister dans notre monde moderne, à travers l’expression : “rougir comme une pivoine”.
L’histoire parle ici de la nymphe Péone, qui comme la plupart des naïades était d’une incroyable beauté. Courtisée par tous les dieux, elle eut la mauvaise idée d’en faire un peu trop et d’enfreindre le code divin de la pudeur. Un faux pas, provoquant l’indignation des tout-puissants, qui décidèrent alors de la changer en une fleur extraordinaire : une pivoine. Quant à son erreur de jugement, pour l’inscrire à jamais dans l’histoire, ils donnèrent à ses pétales la couleur de la honte, le rouge. D’où l’expression…
La pivoine au pays du Soleil Levant
L’ Asie regorge de mythes et légendes, qui nous en apprennent un peu plus sur notre fleur préférée. La première, raconte en partie pourquoi le printemps est la saison favorite des pivoines. En Chine durant la dynastie Tang, un jour de grand froid d’hiver, l’impératrice Wu Zetian après avoir bu un peu trop de vin, exigea des fleurs de son jardin qu’elles fleurissent pendant la nuit, pour la satisfaire au petit matin. Le calendrier des fleurs était apparemment le cadet de ses soucis...
Son nom signifiant “celle qui discipline le ciel”, cette dernière était persuadée qu’aucune variété fleurie n'oserait lui désobéir. Le lendemain, seule la pivoine avait décidé de n’en faire qu’à sa tête et d’attendre le printemps. La reine de la saison apparaît alors pour la première fois, comme une fleur au caractère bien trempé. Folle de rage, l’impératrice exila toutes les pivoines du pays à Luoyang, où finalement, elles s’épanouirent fièrement, donnant lieu à un merveilleux spectacle fleuri. La ville est depuis la capitale de la pivoine, et organise chaque année un festival qui lui est dédié.
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The peony among the Greeks
In their culture, the peony is much more than a pretty flower for sunny days, it is first and foremost considered a medicinal plant. This faculty also nourished a Greek myth, where anger of the gods and healing mingle. Its name, according to rumors, comes from the doctor Péon, disciple of Asclepius, god of medicine. The latter would have found a remedy for the pain of women during childbirth. His master, jealous of his talent, said to himself that in the end, he deserved to die this one. Fortunately for Peon and for us, Zeus proposed a less dramatic punishment and changed the young doctor into the flower he had discovered: a peony. Also famous for its bright colors, its shades and shades have also inspired a legend that continues to exist in our modern world, through the expression: “blush like a peony”.
The story here is about the nymph Péone, who like most naiads was incredibly beautiful. Courted by all the gods, she had the bad idea to do a little too much and break the divine code of modesty. A false step, provoking the indignation of the all-powerful, who then decided to change it into an extraordinary flower: a peony. As for its error of judgment, to inscribe it forever in history, they gave its petals the color of shame, red. Hence the term...
Peony in the Land of the Rising Sun
Asia is full of myths and legends, which teach us a little more about our favorite flower. The first, partly tells why spring is the favorite season for peonies. In China during the Tang Dynasty, on a very cold winter day, Empress Wu Zetian after drinking a little too much wine, demanded flowers from her garden to bloom during the night, to satisfy her in the early morning. . The flower calendar was apparently the least of his worries...
Her name meaning "she who disciplines the sky", the latter was convinced that no flowering variety would dare to disobey her. The next day, only the peony had decided to do as it pleased and to wait for spring. The queen of the season then appears for the first time, like a flower with a strong character. Mad with rage, the Empress exiled all the peonies in the country to Luoyang, where they finally blossomed proudly, giving rise to a marvelous flowery spectacle. The city has since been the capital of the peony, and organizes a festival dedicated to it every year.
Taken near Fort Myers, Florida.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by and for leaving any comments or faves, they are very much appreciated.