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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.
Male Red-winged Blackbirds are one of the first, and most vocal, Spring migrants to Michigan. By the end of summer, and the beginning of fall, they will begin migrating to the South for the winter months.
I've taken many pictures of Redwings, but I couldn't resist this one that was so close, and knowing he might be gone soon.
A shorebird you can see without going to the beach, Killdeer are graceful plovers common to lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and parking lots. This time the killdeer is behaving like a typical Shorebird, searching the mud flats.
I am honored that this capture has won the second place in the November 2021 Photo Contest in Flickrology.
on a chilly morning in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
A rather small eagle migrating within Africa that can be found in Southern Africa from late August to April.
It shows arge variations in coloration from very pale to very dark and has a short crest as shown in this image.
hieraaetus wahlbergi
( previously called aquila wahlbergi)
Wahlberg arend
aigle de Wahlberg
Silberadler
Nikon D500 with Sigma 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 Sport
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Common Buzzard - Buteo Buteo
The common buzzard (Buteo buteo) is a medium-to-large bird of prey whose range covers most of Europe and extends into Asia. Over much of its range, it is resident year-round, but birds from the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere typically migrate south (some well into the Southern Hemisphere) for the northern winter.
This broad-winged raptor has a wide variety of plumages, and in Europe can be confused with the similar rough-legged buzzard (Buteo lagopus) and the distantly related European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus), which mimics the common buzzard's plumage for a degree of protection from northern goshawks. The plumage can vary in Britain from almost pure white to black, but is usually shades of brown, with a pale 'necklace' of feathers.
Of the two eastern subspecies, B. b. vulpinus breeds from east Europe eastward to the Far East (including Eastern China and South Asia), excluding Japan, while B. b. menetriesi breeds in the Southern Crimea and Caucasus to northern Iran. B. b. vulpinus is a long-distance migrant, excepting some north Himalayan birds, and winters in Africa, India and southeastern Asia. In the open country favoured on the wintering grounds, steppe buzzards are often seen perched on roadside telephone poles.
The common buzzard breeds in woodlands, usually on the fringes, but favours hunting over open land. It eats mainly small mammals, and will come to carrion. A great opportunist, it adapts well to a varied diet of pheasant, rabbit, other small mammals to medium mammals, snakes and lizards, and can often be seen walking over recently ploughed fields looking for worms and insects.[citation needed] When available, common buzzards feed on their preferred prey species, field voles Microtus agrestis, in relation to their abundance. When the abundance of field voles decline, common buzzards switch to foraging on a diversity of prey items typical of farmland habitats.
Population:
UK breeding:
57,000-79,000 pairs
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
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....
Roberts, Idaho
True to its name, the Solitary Sandpiper prefers its own company. It generally migrates on its own and is aggressive to its own kind throughout the year. Along with Eurasias' Green Sandpiper, they are the only cavity nesters found in the worlds 85 known species of sandpipers. They use the abandoned tree cavities of mid-sized passerines. They nest in Canada and Alaska with the only exception being extreme Northeastern Minnesota.
Only the birds were on the move in Port Rowan. And they were too far away to hear their plans to fly south. I was lucky the sky at the horizon was clear to let the light show off the distant trees. Flickr maps got the name of this location wrong. It's not Port Royal, which is miles to the west of Port Rowan.
Had another unique nature experience with a rare species for our area. A Rufous Hummingbird has been in the area and garnered a lot of attention.
This beauty normally migrates from Alaska down the west coast to southern Cal and Mexico. Some across into Texas and even in to Florida. A new bird guide I found shows a migration route from Alaska across to the top of Lake Superior and then along the Great Lakes and east to the Carolinas and down to Florida. Could this be why 4 have been documented in Southern ONT this fall???
Such a beautiful bird and such a late traveller ..... hoping that she moves along amd gets safely to her warmer climates.
Thank you Francis and Kim for sharing this awesome view of nature with the area birders and photographers.
Another resident bird of the subcontinent though some of the subspecies migrate within the country. This particular species, the white chinned one doesn't migrate.
The bird is found in similar habitat as that of the Black Naped Monarch and in fact, we sighted them close in the last couple of trips. Both prefer semi /evergreen forests with lots of foliage and cover. They both are found near water streams trying to catch flies and other insects. One difference though is the behaviour. Thrushes in general are mostly sighted on the ground picking up leaves and trying to find small insects under them. This was found the same way, but it flew to this branch after seeing me from far.
Thank you so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.
They are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. Butterflies have the typical four-stage insect life cycle. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, and after its wings have expanded and dried, it flies off. Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their entire life cycle. Butterflies are often polymorphic, and many species make use of camouflage, mimicry and aposematism to evade their predators. Some, like the monarch and the painted lady, migrate over long distances. Many butterflies are attacked by parasites or parasitoids, including wasps, protozoans, flies, and other invertebrates, or are preyed upon by other organisms. 6453
The European herring gull (Larus argentatus) is a large gull, up to 66 cm (26 in) long. One of the best-known of all gulls along the shores of Western Europe, it was once abundant.[2] It breeds across Northern Europe, Western Europe, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and the Baltic states. Some European herring gulls, especially those resident in colder areas, migrate further south in winter, but many are permanent residents, e.g. in Ireland, Britain, Iceland, or on the North Sea shores. They have a varied diet, including fish, crustaceans, and dead animals, as well as some plants.
While herring gull numbers appear to have been harmed in recent years, possibly by fish population declines and competition, they have proved able to survive in human-adapted areas and can often be seen in towns acting as scavengers.
These migrating sandhill cranes were feeding on worms and weed seeds in this stubble field on the Upper Iowa River floodplain where it enters the mighty Mississippi River. The sky above this major flyway was filled with southbound waterfowl today.
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!
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!
♥
Was a scramble taking off the ND filter and changing settings to take this capture of the geese ... but was able to do so before they were out of the frame :)
I don't have a dedicated macro lens at this point (and it shows), so it's the cheaper route for now. But I've enjoyed and been inspired by so much of Peter Miles' work (www.flickr.com/photos/forumcz) that I still want to try my hand and just experiment a bit nonetheless. Here we have a small colored glass figurine from my china cabinet, with a fiery border to punch the orange and red tones.
Created for KP April 2019 Contest 71.
BiG THANKS to EVERYONE for your personal comments and also your support from selected groups.
Awards are always encouraging and especially appreciated from those add my work to their collection of 'faves'.
Cheerz G
This neat little Nashville warbler doesn't live in Nashville, or even Tennessee although they do migrate all through the eastern U.S. as they move from dense forest lands in northern states and Canada to similar thick forests in southern Mexico for the winter. Note its obvious light eye ring and pale yellow breat.
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.
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.
She sat on the limb; so timid and watched all alone as the other birds were eating. I saw her sitting there and jumped up and found some fresh sunflower seeds and filled up the feeder to give them all easy access. I was sitting in my chair watching and soon she was right there on the feeder with the home birds eating happily. That was two days ago. I haven't seen her since. Happy Travels little bird.
20200626_145129
Moving dunes - located in the Słowiński National Park, between the sea and Łebsko Lake. Due to the wind, the moving sand causes the dunes to "migrate" to the east at a speed of several meters a year, covering the encountered forests. The largest dune is approx. 500 hectares, the highest (Łącka Góra) is 42 m high. After reaching the top of the dune, you can admire the desert landscape and the Łebsko Lake and, of course, the Baltic Sea.
Several of them paused on their way down to SW Mexico for a couple of days, feeding at a large butterfly bush in the yard. I spent some time with them in the dappled light. A morning glory vine made itself a happy home in this bush over the summer... thus the flower mixture in this shot :)
2,500 - 3,000 miles they travel between southern Canada/northern US down to the forests of Mexico. Ponder that for such a delicate creature!
We get large flocks of three kind of migrants this time of year, red-winged blackbirds, grackles and starlings. These are the grackles.
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.
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