Airline: Compass Air Cargo [HQ/ADZ]
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I am honored that this capture has won the second place in the November 2021 Photo Contest in Flickrology.
There was a "dead calm" in the early morning at Merritt Island National Wildlife Reserve. A slight mist was burning off, and the air was still. I learned that these conditions are perfect for no-see-ums and other nasty biting insects to rise up and feed voraciously (on me) ; -))
The mangroves were mini-islands in this picture, and a large mixed flock of birds were in distance.
Merritt Island NWR and Canaveral National Seashore are a vast natural area (over 140,000 acres) that serve as a "buffer zone" for the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island. Much of the NWR and seashore are closed during rocket launches. This NWR provides an important sanctuary for migrating birds, and for several endangered plants and animals.
Reed Bunting - Emberiza schoeniclus (M)
It breeds across Europe and much of temperate and northern Asia. Most birds migrate south in winter, but those in the milder south and west of the range are resident. It is common in reedbeds and also breeds in drier open areas such as moorland and cultivation. For example, it is a component of the purple moor grass and rush pastures, a type of Biodiversity Action Plan habitat in the UK. It occurs on poorly drained neutral and acidic soils of the lowlands and upland fringe.
The common reed bunting is a medium-sized bird, 13.5–15.5 cm long, with a small but sturdy seed-eater's bill. The male has a black head and throat, white neck collar and underparts, and a heavily streaked brown back. The female is much duller, with a streaked brown head, and is more streaked below.
Despite its name, the Reed Bunting breeds across a range of habitats from reedbeds and conifer plantations to hedgerows and arable crops like oil seed rape. During the non-breeding season, this species is dependent upon weed seeds, and as such, Reed Buntings would have joined other species in winter flocks on farmland stubbles. The decline of this species matches that of other farmland species like Tree Sparrow and Linnet. The increasing winter use of gardens during the 1980s probably reflects the decrease in availability of winter food.
Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is best known for migratory waterfowl. Waterfowl are present September through April and numbers regularly peak at over 500,000 ducks and 250,000 geese. Sacramento NWR is an important wintering grounds for the Tule Greater White-fronted Geese. We spotted hundreds of these beauties as we traveled the Auto Tour route. This pair caught our eye as they huddled together reflecting on the moment.
A song bird makes a brief stop near the Lake Erie shoreline on his journey north during the spring migration. (Explore # 292)
We knew it was time to go to Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge as the birds are in the middle of migrating. We realized we were not the only ones with this thought as the Auto Tour had more cars than normal, and it was a weekday. There were thousands of snow geese everywhere in the preserve. So we concentrated on getting just the right picture at just the right time.
The red -winged balckbirds come wave after wave this time of year, hundreds and thousands at a time....
Migrating Gadwall, we only see them here once or twice a year when they are migrating. Where male ducks sport gleaming patches of green, red, or blue, the Gadwall's understated elegance can make this common duck easy to overlook. Gadwalls breed mainly in prairie potholes—small ponds scattered throughout the Great Plains and Canadian prairies. Some also breed on tundra, deltas, and wetlands in boreal forests of the far north. In developed areas with few natural ponds, Gadwall may use stock ponds.
My favourite shot a Vireo from earlier this spring. This shot was taken through some low vegetation which is why parts of the bird are slightly blurred, I love the colours and level of detail in this shot!
Middle Creek reservoire is a stop-over for snow geese on their migration path from Florida to the Arctic, as well as for swans and Canadian geese. Many thousands can be converging on this relatively small body of water, completely covering it in white.
Created for KP April 2019 Contest 71.
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Breeds in the northern regions of Scandinavia and eastwards across Siberia, wintering in Europe, Africa, China and South-East Asia. There are no subspecies. Scandinavian birds migrate south through Denmark and Germany.
S'Albufera, Mallorca
i got an "ear-full" and ran with the telephoto, i managed to catch a "museum" of waxwings through the trees, they have been passing through our garden for a few weeks now .
happy sliderssunday!
enjoy your week!
♥
I was in the right place at the right time this morning. While walking along the waterfront and looking for birds I saw 13 Avocets flying around for a few minutes before landing on the shore of the beach. I have seen them here before but never this many at one time.
Wikipedia: 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.
Six inches of wet snow fell the morning where we went looking for waterfowl and Sandhill Cranes. This couple was strutting a pure white field in the marsh. Made for a great high key scene with the natural minimalism landscape.
Yes - I nearly got stuck - but experienced in driving in snow.
"A migrating White-crowned Sparrow was once tracked moving 300 miles in a single night. Alaskan White-crowned Sparrows migrate about 2,600 miles to winter in Southern California."
We get large flocks of three kind of migrants this time of year, red-winged blackbirds, grackles and starlings. These are the grackles.
With rising global temperatures cities become less habitable. Nature is taking back and people are migrating to the country. Except some who refuse to leave.
And the Sandhill Crane is out of here! This is one of the takeoffs from Creamers Field in Fairbanks, Alaska during the August Crane Festival as the Sandhill Cranes are migrating south for the winter. I was able to predict the takeoffs much better as I now understand the behavior that indicates they're ready to take flight. They have a particular lean they do when they're telling their mates that they're ready to go. When I see them do this it's usually within seconds that they run forward and take to the sky.
Taken 21 August 2021 at Creamer's Field, Fairbanks, Alaska
First saw Black-bellied Whistling Ducks in the Rio Grande Valley, at the very south of Texas, three years ago. Today they are in large numbers in many colonies throughout my suburb of Houston, 3.5 degrees farther north in latitude, about 385 kilometers (240 miles). Global warming? This shot was taken on my morning walk about Double Lake, Sugar Land, Texas. Notice an Egyptian Goose in the background, also a new migrant, hanging out with the ducks.
One more from my recent archive :-) Already missing these as they start migrating and many have already gone
It would have been impossible to count the number of wildebeests in this line. They were running one at a time across the road, much to the annoyance of the motorists opposite. It was not quite migration time but they were perhaps practising. It was quite a sight. Serengeti
Few weeks in Fall when all the pollinators and migrating butterflies get busy, including they Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)
27/02 Migrating birds flying over a fishing lake in the outskirts of Tata
Komarom-Esztergom county, Hungary
The sandbanks in the area of the Maasvlakte act as an important filling station for migrating birds. The highly industrialised landscape in the background and the grey skies add an odd contrast to the athmosphere.
The male Summer Tanager who thought he was a Nuthatch. I have never caught one in this particular tree pose before.
Wetlands of Cape May are a major rest stop on the migration of the monarchs. These colorful, fragile-looking butterflies migrate thousands of miles from all over the Eastern North America to wintering sites in central Mexico. Prevailing winds make the Delaware Bay a major obstacle on their way. They come to Cape May, the southernmost point of New Jersey, to wait for the wind that would carry them across the bay, and to eat and gain strength in the meantime. This year, apparently, they did not have a lot of butterflies there (and I also did not make it there this year). But generally, they are plentiful and arrive in big waves over a period of several weeks. There is an annual effort by conservationists at Cape May to tag them and help track the migration.