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The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain.
It was originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications
and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Moorish
emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls.
It was converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada.
After the conclusion of the Christian Reconquista in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand
and Isabella (where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition)
and the palaces were partially altered to Renaissance tastes.
In 1526 Charles I & V commissioned a new Renaissance palace better befitting
of the Holy Roman Emperor in the revolutionary Mannerist style influenced by Humanist philosophy
in direct juxtaposition with the Nasrid Andalusian architecture, but which was ultimately never completed
due to Morisco rebellions in Granada.
Despite long neglect, willful vandalism, and some ill-judged restoration, the Alhambra endures
as an atypical example of Muslim art.
The Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the inspiration for many songs and stories.
FAVOURS light woodland, forest-thicket edges, largely insectivorous with most prey collected on the ground.
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THANK YOU for your visit and friendship, love reading any comments, and will return the visit as soon as I can.
Enjoy the new week, and stay safe and well God bless.......Tomx
HABITS is largely restricted to saline and brackish waters near mangroves, seen at the Kotu Bridge, which offers all of the above. Always skipping through shallow water, almost chasing mainly small fish, A joy to see them at work, sometimes with the cooperation of other species.
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THANK YOU, for looking in, please leave a comment, it is very appreciated.
Keep safe and well, God bless..........................Tomx
A very berry Christmas… Redwings are largely a winter visitor to the UK with the first birds arriving in October. Redwings migrate by night in loose flocks. In autumn, they gather along the Scandinavian coast at dusk before launching off on their single 800 km (500 mile) flight across the North Sea to the UK. Some Redwings come from Iceland to winter in Scotland and Ireland. Others come from Russia and Scandinavia to winter in southern England and further south in Europe.
This bird is feeding on Hawthorn berries in a hedgerow in the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire.
Ta Prohm (pronunciation: prasat taprohm) is the modern name of the temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara (in Khmer: រាជវិហារ). Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII:125]:388 as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university.
Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm is in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors. UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992. Today, it is one of the most visited complexes in Cambodia’s Angkor region. The conservation and restoration of Ta Prohm is a partnership project of the Archaeological Survey of India and the APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap).
Fire salamanders live mainly in the forests of Central Europe.
As adults, fire salamanders are largely independent of surface waters and lead a hidden existence in niches of caves, under dead wood and tree stumps, between rocks and log piles, and in the gap system of the ground. For females, proximity to spawning waters plays an important role in habitat selection, along with the presence of daytime hiding places.
The Schnoor quarter is the oldest documented quarter of Bremen and it has largely preserved its medieval character.
First mentioned in the 13th century. The two oldest remaining buildings are from 1401 and 1402 respectively. Some buildings are just remaining facades or have been relocated from other locations.
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This is a largely disused siding north of Hamilton (Horotiu) on the NIMT, probably serviced the near-by meat factory in days gone by. The setting sun behind the tree in the top left of frame provided some nice light to frame this DL heading south from Auckland.
The "mega" vagrant from Central Asia that first showed up at Blacktoft Sands RSPB on the Yorkshire river Ouse on 26 August 2021, stayed for 4 months, before relocating around the Lincolnshire coast at Halton Marshes until early March, before again relocating to Frampton Marsh RSPB.
Several people were in the hide from 6 am when I arrived at circa 8:40 am after a painfully slow run over from Nottingham (6:30 am set off!) and the lengthy walk from the old car park on arrival. The bird was presumably sleeping and preening nearby in the fresh marsh but unseen; it was first spotted about 11 am. It was largely hidden in some tussocks at the top of a channel, running out to the sea wall, beyond the fence, some way off and barely visible except to scopers and into the sun. We didn't get any real joy until midday, when it flew from there, across the front of the hide and onto the the bank running out west from the hide, next to the adjacent scrape and fairly close in. It marched into the vegetation below the bank and foraged in and out of cover around the edge of the small wet scrapes for circa 50 minutes, before it was chased away back towards the sea wall by a gull.
We didn't see it then until 5 pm, when it reappeared on the sea wall side of the hide, where it foraged fairly close in, up and down one of the channels running out westwards, but in rather poor directional light and unattractive vegetation, so I didn't bother with the camera at that point.
This shot was taken during the midday visit as the bird foraged around the wet scrapes adjacent to the hide.
Thank you for your comments and faves, much appreciated.
Scotland
Scotland
Glenelg is a scattered and largely white-painted settlement that wraps itself around Glenelg Bay with views west across the Kyle Rhea to the mountains of eastern Skye
Between March and October, a small vehicle ferry connects to Kylerhea on Skye across the powerful currents of the narrows.
Largely because of poor soil quality and stability, the motto of the engineers who built the Washington D.C. metropolitan area rapid transit system (Metro) was "Deeper is Cheaper." Some stations are as deep underground as skyscrapers are high, and the escalator system is the most massive of any subway system in the world.
Buy this photo on Getty Images : Getty Images
The Beemster is the first so-called polder in the Netherlands that was reclaimed from a lake, the water being extracted out of the lake by windmills. The Beemster Polder was dried during the period 1609 through 1612. Because of its historical relevance, and because the original structure of the area is still largely intact, the Beemster polder was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1999.
Submitted: 04/05/2018
Accepted: 04/05/2018
Mute Swan taking flight on the frozen lake of Saint-Point, Jura, France.
Swan, largest waterfowl species of the subfamily Anserinae, is generally classified in the genus Cygnus. There are around 7 different species of swan found around the world. The size, colour and behaviour a swan individual is largely dependent on it's species and the area in which it lives.
Today swans are a threatened species of animal mainly due to hunting and habitat loss. Pollution (mainly water pollution) is also a major reason as why the swan populations are declining.
A Reddish Egret chases down some food, largely ignored by a Roseate Spoonbill.
From the American Bird Conservancy:
The Reddish Egret is one of the rarest egrets in North America. It's easily distinguished from other egrets and herons by its shaggy appearance, hyperactive feeding behavior, and pink-and-black bill.
Reddish Egret numbers in the U.S. were decimated by plume hunters in the 19th century, and populations never fully recovered. Like Snowy and Wilson's Plovers, this species is dependent on coastal habitats for successful foraging and breeding—the same areas that are vulnerable to sea level rise caused by climate change. Habitat loss is another problem for this bird.
The species occurs in two color morphs: a dark morph characterized by a slate-blue body and reddish head and neck, and a white morph that features completely white body plumage. The two-toned bill and shaggy neck are distinctive in both plumages.
Running Down Dinner
The Reddish Egret stalks its prey—mostly small fish—more actively than other herons and egrets. The birds first locate their quarry by sight, then the dance begins. They dash, lurch, and zig-zag after their prey, often holding their wings over the water as they hunt. This shadow-casting strategy is thought to reduce glare and help the egret more accurately sight and spear its prey.
From the photographer - I seldom see Reddish Egrets. I see Spoonbills much more often.
La Ceja, Colombia; Central Andes; 2.300 meters above sea level.
♀️ Piranga olivacea
(Scarlet tanager / Tángara rojinegra migratoria)
The smallest of the four species of the genus Piranga that breed north of Mexico, it is a long-distance Neotropical migrant, annually making the journey between northwestern South America and the eastern United States and southern Canada.
This tanager is monogamous and aggressively territorial throughout its range. It is largely insectivorous, foraging heavily on the larvae of Lepidoptera and a variety of adult insects by hovering and gleaning.
The Gannets at Bempton will often collect grass,for their nests and for bonding with their mates.
This individual landed extremely close to the path with several others.They were largely hidden by the long grass but this one moved into partial view giving me the chance to get this close-up shot and I was delighted when I saw he had collected some flowers with the grass.
It is possible that there was a church on this site in Saxon times, and it is known that a church was built here about 1250-70. The record of Rectors of Child Okeford Superior and of Child Okeford Inferior begins in 1297. In 1297 Galfrid de Stocks was presented to the Parish as priest, by his relative Roger de Stocks, who held the land under the King.
The old medieval church was largely knocked down in 1878 and a “new” church built. The new North Chancel Aisle, designed for 52 Sunday School children, was actually occupied by the new Organ. This was built to a specification set by Dr (later Sir) Arthur Sullivan. The Vestry, which had been in the Tower, was also moved to the new North Chancel Aisle, where it remains.
Ta Prohm (prasat taprohm) is the modern name of the temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara.
Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII:125:388 as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm is in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.
UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992. Today, it is one of the most visited complexes in Cambodia’s Angkor region. The conservation and restoration of Ta Prohm is a partnership project of the Archaeological Survey of India and the APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap).
The temple of Ta Prohm was used as a location in the film Tomb Raider. Although the film took visual liberties with other Angkorian temples, its scenes of Ta Prohm were quite faithful to the temple's actual appearance, and made use of its eerie qualities.
Some believe that one of the carvings resembles a stegosaurus.
Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.
E. M. Forster
As far as iconic pieces of public art go, none may be as daringly modern or whimsical as Minneapolis’ iconic Spoonbridge and Cherry.
This giant spoon and cherry was erected in 1985 by artist Claes Oldenburg and his wife, Coosje van Bruggen and is the centerpiece of the Walker Art Center’s Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the largest urban sculpture park in the world. Oldenburg is an artist who is known for making oversized versions of everyday objects and food products. Together with his wife he set up a number of public sculptures, including Chicago’s Batcolumn sculpture. The spoon was Oldenburg’s idea, who had a habit of doodling spoons ever since 1962 when he was inspired by a spoon resting on a piece of fake chocolate. The cherry in the piece was van Bruggen’s idea, wanting to use it as a comment on the garden’s otherwise staid layout.
The spoon itself weighs 5,800 pounds and the cherry, another 1,200 pounds. The cherry’s stem also acts as a fountain which sprays into the bowl of the spoon and off into the pond beneath. Even the pond itself has meaning, being shaped to resemble a linden seed, drawing attention to the rows of linden trees planted nearby.
The city of Minneapolis seems to have largely embraced the massive sculpture, expressing almost universal outrage when Spoonbridge and Cherry was vandalized in 2012 as part of a “Kony 2012” protest. The artwork was cleaned up and still remains as a somewhat goofy, definitely unforgettable icon of the Minnesota city.
La Ceja, Colombia; Central Andes; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Piranga olivacea
(Scarlet tanager / Tángara rojinegra migratoria)
The smallest of the four species of the genus Piranga that breed north of Mexico, it is a long-distance Neotropical migrant, annually making the journey between northwestern South America and the eastern United States and southern Canada.
This tanager is monogamous and aggressively territorial throughout its range. It is largely insectivorous, foraging heavily on the larvae of Lepidoptera and a variety of adult insects by hovering and gleaning.
La Ceja, Colombia; Central Andes, 2300 meters above sea level.
Myioborus miniatus
(Slate-throated Redstart / Abanico pechinegro)
The Slate-throated Redstart is found from northern Mexico south to northern Bolivia, always in temperate montane habitats. In the north it lives in Pine-Oak forests, farther south in cloud forests and moist montane slopes.
It is a species which shows a high degree of geographic variation. In fact this largely grayish-blue bird with a dark chestnut cap has a striking red belly in the north, and in South America it is yellow-bellied, with orange-bellied forms in-between.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/...
he koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (Phascolarctos cinereus), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the wombats. The koala is found in coastal areas of the mainland's eastern and southern regions, inhabiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
Koalas typically inhabit open Eucalyptus woodland, as the leaves of these trees make up most of their diet. This eucalypt diet has low nutritional and caloric content and contains toxins that deter most other mammals from feeding on it. Koalas are largely sedentary and sleep up to twenty hours a day. They are asocial animals, and bonding exists only between mothers and dependent offspring.
Being marsupials, koalas give birth to underdeveloped young that crawl into their mothers' pouches, where they stay for the first six to seven months of their lives. These young koalas, known as joeys, are fully weaned around a year old. Koalas have few natural predators and parasites, but are threatened by various pathogens, such as Chlamydiaceae bacteria and the koala retrovirus. IWikipedia)
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Another classic Australian animal! We found two of these cute and sleepy Koalas in a Brisbane park. Both high in the tree, but at least we could see this one's eyes as he took a bleary look at us before going back to sleep.
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. October 2022.
Eagle-Eye Tours - Eastern Australia.
Sandhill Crane.
Between 34 to 48 inches in length with a wingspan of nearly 7 feet. They are very tall with a long neck and long legs. Largely gray with a red forehead. Juveniles browner with no red on head. Plumage often appears a rusty color because of iron stains from water of ponds or marshes.
They inhabit large freshwater marshes, prairie ponds and marshy tundra. They are also on prairies and grain fields during migration and in winter.
They range from Siberia and Alaska east across arctic Canada to the Hudson Bay and south to western Ontario. There are isolated populations in the Rocky Mountians, northern prairies, and the Great Lakes region along with in Mississippi, Georgia and Florida. They winter in California's Central Valley and across the southern states from Arizona to Florida. They can also be found in Cuba.
Kensington Metropark, Livingston County, Michigan.
Audley End Gardens Audley End House is a largely early 17th-century country house outside Saffron Walden, Essex
The name Beaulieu comes etymologically from French beau lieu, which means "beautiful place". It is derived from Beaulieu Abbey which was populated by 30 monks sent from the abbey of Cîteaux in France, the mother house of the Cistercian order. The medieval Latin name of the monastery was Bellus Locus Regis ("The beautiful place of the king"') or monasterium Belli loci Regis.
During the Second World War, the Beaulieu Estate of Lord Montagu in the New Forest area was the site of group B finishing schools for agents operated by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) between 1941 and 1945. (One of the trainers was Kim Philby who was later found to be part of a spy ring passing information to the Soviets). In 2005, a special exhibition was installed at the Beaulieu Estate, with a video showing photographs from that era as well as voice recordings of former SOE trainers and agents.
The village has remained largely unspoilt by progress, and is a favourite tourist stop for visitors to the New Forest, and also for birdwatchers seeking local specialities like Dartford warbler, European honey buzzard and hobby.
Palace House was featured in the 2005 comedy-drama film Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont starring Joan Plowright and Rupert Friend.
The village was rated as among the "20 most beautiful villages in the UK and Ireland" by Condé Nast Traveler in 2020
Information by Wikipedia.
Texture & Effect by William Walton & Topaz.
Buff-fronted Owl - The Buff-fronted Owl is both a highly attractive and very poorly known owl, and is the sole member of the genus Aegolius to occur in South America. Its range there is rather widespread, but apparently highly disjunct, the species occurring in the Andes from northwest Venezuela to northern Peru, and then, equally locally, over much of the eastern third of South America, from northeast Brazil south to northeast Argentina, and Bolivia. Over this wide range, the Buff-fronted Owl is known from a wide variety of forest types, and has been recorded from sea level to the timberline. The face and underparts are largely buffy-colored, whilst the upperparts are dark brown, marked with white spots and bars on the wings and tail, respectively. Its whistled trilling vocalization recalls that of some screech-owls. doi.org/10.2173/bow.bufowl1.01
Thanks a lot for your visits, comments, faves, invites, etc. Very much appreciated!
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Hello all, been months since I've posted largely due to general lack of photographic activity. Still occasionally wandering about with my camera in the hills but photography for photography's sake has been totally dormant.
Anyway I hope you are all well and I hope to have a peruse of your streams over the next few days.
Oh and this image is from last year taken during a fabulous sunrise at Crimdon Beach.
La Ceja, Colombia; Central Andes; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Piranga olivacea
(Scarlet tanager / Tángara rojinegra migratoria)
The smallest of the four species of the genus Piranga that breed north of Mexico, it is a long-distance Neotropical migrant, annually making the journey between northwestern South America and the eastern United States and southern Canada.
This tanager is monogamous and aggressively territorial throughout its range. It is largely insectivorous, foraging heavily on the larvae of Lepidoptera and a variety of adult insects by hovering and gleaning.
Rock Pipit - Anthus petrosus
The Eurasian rock pipit is closely related to the water pipit and the meadow pipit, and is rather similar in appearance. Compared to the meadow pipit, the Eurasian rock pipit is darker, larger and longer-winged than its relative, and has dark, rather than pinkish-red, legs. The water pipit in winter plumage is also confusable with the Eurasian rock pipit, but has a strong supercilium and greyer upperparts; it is also typically much warier. The Eurasian rock pipit's dusky, rather than white, outer tail feathers are also a distinction from all its relatives. The habitats used by Eurasian rock and water pipits are completely separate in the breeding season, and there is little overlap even when birds are not nesting.
The Eurasian rock pipit is almost entirely coastal, frequenting rocky areas typically below 100 metres (330 ft), although on St Kilda it breeds at up to 400 metres (1,300 ft).[15] The Eurasian rock pipit is not troubled by wind or rain, although it avoids very exposed situations. It may occur further inland in winter or on migration.[3]
The breeding range is temperate and Arctic Europe on western and Baltic Sea coasts, with a very small number sometimes nesting in Iceland. The nominate race is largely resident, with only limited movement. A. p. kleinschmidti, which nests on the Faroe Islands and the Scottish islands, may move to sandy beaches or inland to rivers and lakes in winter. A. p. littoralis is largely migratory, wintering on coasts from southern Scandinavia to southwest Europe, with a few reaching Morocco. Wanderers have reached Spitsbergen and the Canary Islands, but records in Europe away from the coast are rare.
The Eurasian rock pipit is a much more approachable bird than the water pipit. If startled, it flies a fairly short distance, close to the ground, before it alights, whereas its relative is warier and flies some distance before landing again. Eurasian rock pipits are usually solitary, only occasionally forming small flocks.
Estimates of the breeding population of the Eurasian rock pipit vary, but may be as high as 408,000 pairs, of which around 300,000 pairs are in Norway. Despite slight declines in the British population and some range expansion in Finland, the population is considered overall to be large and stable, and for this reason it is evaluated as a species of least concern by the IUCN.
Zwarte Haan, Friesland - The Wadden Sea is the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world. The site covers the Dutch Wadden Sea Conservation Area, the German Wadden Sea National Parks of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, and most of the Danish Wadden Sea maritime conservation area. It is a large, temperate, relatively flat coastal wetland environment, formed by the intricate interactions between physical and biological factors that have given rise to a multitude of transitional habitats with tidal channels, sandy shoals, sea-grass meadows, mussel beds, sandbars, mudflats, salt marshes, estuaries, beaches and dunes. The area is home to numerous plant and animal species, including marine mammals such as the harbour seal, grey seal and harbour porpoise. Wadden Sea is one of the last remaining large-scale, intertidal ecosystems where natural processes continue to function largely undisturbed.
Greenfinch - Chloris chloris
The European greenfinch, or just greenfinch (Chloris chloris), is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.
This bird is widespread throughout Europe, north Africa and south west Asia. It is mainly resident, but some northernmost populations migrate further south. The greenfinch has also been introduced into both Australia and New Zealand. In Malta, it is considered a prestigious song bird, and it has been trapped for many years. It has been domesticated, and many Maltese people breed them.
Woodland edges, farmland hedges and gardens with relatively thick vegetation are favoured for breeding. It nests in trees or bushes, laying 3 to 6 Eggs.
This species can form large flocks outside the breeding season, sometimes mixing with other finches and buntings. They feed largely on seeds, but also take berries.
The protozoal parasite Trichomonas gallinae was known to infect pigeons and raptors but beginning in Britain in 2005, carcases of dead European greenfinches and common chaffinches were found to be infected with the parasite. The disease spread and in 2008 infected carcases were found in Norway, Sweden and Finland and a year later in Germany. The spread of the disease is believed to have been mediated by chaffinches as large numbers of the birds breed in northern Europe and winter in Britain. In Britain the number of infected carcases recovered each year declined after a peak in 2006. There was a reduction in the number of greenfinches from around 4.3 million to around 2.8 million but no significant decline in the overall number of chaffinches. A similar pattern occurred in Finland where, after the arrival of the disease in 2008, there was a reduction in the number of greenfinches but only a small change in the number of chaffinches.
Greenfinch populations declined during the late 1970s and early 1980s, but increased dramatically during the 1990s. A recent decline in numbers has been linked to an outbreak of trichomonosis, a parasite-induced disease which prevents the birds from feeding properly.
Population:
UK breeding:
1,700,000 pairs
The Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), also known as the Steller's sea lion and northern sea lion, is a near-threatened species of sea lion in the northern Pacific. It is the sole member of the genus Eumetopias and the largest of the eared seals (Otariidae). Among pinnipeds, it is inferior in size only to the walrus and the two species of elephant seals. The species is named for the naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, who first described them in 1741. The Steller sea lion has attracted considerable attention in recent decades, owing to significant and largely unexplained declines in their numbers over an extensive portion of their northern range in Alaska. (Wikipedia)
We saw several groups of these sea lions during our trip, but these two little islands were the most densely packed. The animals at the junction of the rocks would periodically be washed over by crashing waves.
Pacific Rim National Park, British Columbia, Canada. May 2022.
Eagle-Eye Tours - Ultimate British Columbia.
The lionfish, a longstanding showstopper in home aquariums, is a flourishing invasive species in U.S. Southeast and Caribbean coastal waters. This invasive species has the potential to harm reef ecosystems because it is a top predator that competes for food and space with overfished native stocks such as snapper and grouper. Scientists fear that lionfish will also kill off helpful species such as algae-eating parrotfish, allowing seaweed to overtake the reefs. In the U.S., the lionfish population is continuing to grow and increase its range. This is largely because lionfish have no known predators and reproduce all year long; a mature female releases roughly two million eggs a year.
The spines of this species deliver a venomous sting that can last for days and cause extreme pain, sweating, respiratory distress, and even paralysis to predators, or in some cases, an unsuspecting human.
Thirsty Event
Akemi - Mary Set
Skirt and blouse are sold in different packages and can be combined in different ways:
◘ two blouses with five textures each;
◘ black skirt and gloves with five textures;
Backdrop:
The Bearded Guy - Astro Night Backdrops
Animesh Companion:
:FNY:
Bloggerbox - BB-One Animesh Companion
This makeshift repaired BB-One was found on a Jawa market in the Outer Rim and is likely the last of its kind. The BB-One series of droids were early and largely unknown prototypes of the later BB-Astromech Droids from the time of the New Republic.
Juna - Jesse tattoo
BoM (Bakes On Mesh) is modifiable for tinting - Base texture is white.
His clothes:
AxH
The "Seek & Destroy" Black Leather Pants
Pose:
-Taboo- Day With You-
all info in the blog
The Slate-throated Redstart is found from northern Mexico south to northern Bolivia, always in temperate montane habitats. In the north it lives in Pine-Oak forests, farther south in cloud forests and moist montane slopes.
It is a species which shows a high degree of geographic variation. In fact this largely grayish-blue bird with a dark chestnut cap has a striking red belly in the north, and in South America it is yellow-bellied, with orange-bellied forms in-between.
La Ceja, Colombia; Central Andes, 2300 meters above sea level.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/...
The good news :
This Spring there were three little Storks in this nest instead of two last year. This is a photo taken in 2021 www.flickr.com/photos/annickruyault/51234169338/sizes/l/
The sad news :
This Spring, I had the opportunity to talk with a lady who works for an association that takes care of Storks in this area, counting, ringing ... I beleived that the population of Storks was doing well. In fact, no. There is 80% mortality among the little ones. Mortality largely due to high temperatures. The chicks can't regulate their temperature for the first two weeks. Parents, to help them, spread their wings to shade them but that's not always enough. The three juveniles in this shot went through a period of heat wave (40°C but higher on top of the nest) but they were able to regulate their temperature. They are fine, ready to leave the nest.
☆
La bonne nouvelle :
Cette année, il y a eu trois Cigogneaux dans ce nid où il n'y avait eu que deux poussins l'année dernière. Photo incluse au-dessus dans le texte en Anglais.
La mauvaise nouvelle :
Ce printemps, j'ai eu l'occasion de discuter sur place avec une personne d'une association départementale qui s'occupe des populations de Cigognes, comptage, baguage ... Je me trompais en croyant que les populations de Cigognes de ce marais se portaient bien. Elle m'a appris qu'il y avait 80% de mortalité des poussins au nid. Mortalité en grande partie dûe aux fortes chaleurs car les Cigogneaux, durant les 15 premiers jours de leur vie, ne sont pas aptes à réguler leur température. Les parents, pour les aider, étendent leurs ailes pour leur faire de l'ombre mais cela ne suffit malheureusement pas toujours. Les juvéniles de cette photo ont traversé une période de canicule avec 40°C (beaucoup plus élevée en haut d'un nid, sans ombre aucune) mais ils étaient en mesure de réguler leur température. Ils vont bien et sont prêts à quitter le nid.
Egyptian Goose - Alopochen Aegyptiacus
Once common along the entire Nile valley and regarded as sacred in ancient times, the Egyptian Goose is no longer an easy bird to see in the country from which it takes its name, as it is largely confined to upper Egypt. It is, however, widespread and common throughout sub-Saharan Africa, with introduced populations firmly established in England, Holland, Belgium and France. Concerns over conflict with native species has led to restrictions on keeping them in Britain and Europe.
This distinctive small goose is a member of the shelduck family. In the wild it is invariably found in pairs or family parties, while flocks of 50 or more can be found after the breeding season. The sexes are similar: both have a conspicuous chestnut patch encircling the eyes, giving them a somewhat piratical appearance, while the brilliant white forewing is obvious when they fly.
The UK Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019 came into force on Sunday 1st December. The Order implements requirements contained in EU Regulation 1143/2014 on Invasive Alien Species, which sets out rules to prevent and minimise the impact of the introduction and spread of non-native animals and plants across the EU. The Order makes it an offence, amongst other things, to import, keep, sell, transport, breed or release into the environment, any of the listed plants and animals. Invasive alien waterfowl currently covered by this Order are Egyptian Geese and Ruddy Ducks Oxyura jamaicensis.
Alesund was once largely built of wood, and during the night of 23 January 1904, there was a devastating fire, which left much of the town in ashes. Fortunately only one person lost their life.
With the rebuilding of the town Alesund has become famous for Europe's best example of Art Nouveau architecture.
Sandhill Crane.
Between 34 to 48 inches in length with a wingspan of nearly 7 feet. They are very tall with a long neck and long legs. Largely gray with a red forehead. Juveniles browner with no red on head. Plumage often appears a rusty color because of iron stains from water of ponds or marshes.
They inhabit large freshwater marshes, prairie ponds and marshy tundra. They are also on prairies and grain fields during migration and in winter.
They range from Siberia and Alaska east across arctic Canada to the Hudson Bay and south to western Ontario. There are isolated populations in the Rocky Mountians, northern prairies, and the Great Lakes region along with in Mississippi, Georgia and Florida. They winter in California's Central Valley and across the southern states from Arizona to Florida. They can also be found in Cuba.
Kensington Metropark, Livingston County, Michigan.
A largely empty sky on a chilly April morning had just enough low horizon clouds to catch the early morning sun as it rose behind the South Pier
Largely unknown when he was alive, wide and diverse audiences have come to appreciate his art today. "Now, I understand what you tried to say to me".
This photo was taken from the Ogasawara-maru ship after leaving Chichijima.
This is the last photo of the serial photo uploads under the theme "Nature in Tokyo."
I came up with this idea when our government enforced travel restrictions. Without the Corona pandemic, I would not have thought of travelling to Izu and Ogasawara islands. Now I think these trips were really rewarding.
While Ogasawara islands are claimed to be the "Galapagos of the East," an English travel guidebook writes that Japan is a "cultural Galapagos." It mentions the uniqueness of Japanese culture and its inconsistency even with the neighbouring cultures.
Thanks largely to the geographic isolation, Japan is a rare country in Asia that has not been integrated into the Chinese tributary system, not affected by the Mongolian invasion, free from muslim influences, and not experienced European colonisation. Cultural influences from the outside have been welcomed but political influence never followed. Received influences have evolved in unique ways merging with autochthonous traditions. The situation is similar to Ogasawara islands in a much larger scale.
Galapagos is also a keyword for Japanese technologies (^_^;)
There have been many innovations in Japan but they failed to become international standards except a few or several. It is sarcastically called Galapagos Syndrome. You may find these endemic technologies in Akihabara in Tokyo or Nipponbashi in Osaka, which may be fun for travellers.
DE VOLHARDING, Texel - The Wadden Sea is the largest unbroken system of intertidal sand and mud flats in the world. The site covers the Dutch Wadden Sea Conservation Area, the German Wadden Sea National Parks of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, and most of the Danish Wadden Sea maritime conservation area. It is a large, temperate, relatively flat coastal wetland environment, formed by the intricate interactions between physical and biological factors that have given rise to a multitude of transitional habitats with tidal channels, sandy shoals, sea-grass meadows, mussel beds, sandbars, mudflats, salt marshes, estuaries, beaches and dunes. The area is home to numerous plant and animal species, including marine mammals such as the harbour seal, grey seal and harbour porpoise. Wadden Sea is one of the last remaining large-scale, intertidal ecosystems where natural processes continue to function largely undisturbed.
Ta Prohm (pronunciation: prasat taprohm) is the modern name of the temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara (in Khmer: រាជវិហារ). Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII:125]:388 as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university.
Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm is in much the same condition in which it was found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors. UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992. Today, it is one of the most visited complexes in Cambodia’s Angkor region. The conservation and restoration of Ta Prohm is a partnership project of the Archaeological Survey of India and the APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap).
The bird has a secretive nature, keeping largely hidden in the reeds and coarse vegetation. The second picture shows how you would have to see it. It is very rare that you can see it openly. These are the first pictures I could manage in all these years I have been visiting the area.
Die Vögel lebt sehr versteckt im Schilf und anderer Vegetation und kommt kaum hervor. Das zweite Bild ist die typische Art, wie man sie überhaupt nur sieht. Sehr selten steht sie frei sichtbar. Für mich waren es die allerersten Bilder in all den Jahren.
I hiked up to West Rattlesnake mountain in NH for the sunrise at 5:30am. What you see is Lake Squam which is largely covered in fog at the time, but you can make out a few islands. There are more mountains in the background.
Scotland
Glenelg is a scattered and largely white-painted settlement that wraps itself around Glenelg Bay with views west across the Kyle Rhea to the mountains of eastern Skye
Between March and October, a small vehicle ferry connects to Kylerhea on Skye across the powerful currents of the narrows.
Golden hour captured along the limits of Mellieha - This is one shot largely made possible by the amasing dynamic range of this machine.
Thank you for your time to view.
Wishing you all a splendid week end.
Deelerwoud, the south-eastern part (1230 hectares), which is in the possession of Natuurmonumenten is largely accessible to the public. The area is via a wildlife crossing over the (highway) A50 connected to the Veluwe National Park.
Deelerwoud, het zuidoostelijk deel, dat in bezit is van de Vereniging Natuurmonumenten van 1230 hectare. Dit zuidoostelijke deel is grotendeels voor het publiek toegankelijk. Het gebied wordt via een ecoduct over de A50 verbonden met het Nationaal Park Veluwezoom.
Otavalo, has a population largely made up of the Otavalo indigenous group. They are famous for weaving textiles, usually made of wool, which are sold at the famous market. During the market's peak, almost one third of the town becomes full of stalls selling textiles, tagua nut jewelry, musical instruments, dream catchers, leather goods, fake shrunken heads, indigenous costumes, hand-painted platters and trays, purses, clothing, spices, raw foods and spools of wool.