US Route 90
View allAll Photos Tagged NORTHWARD
We're leaving early tomorrow morning for traveling north, this side of the Canadian border....the osprey is giving the direction;)
Enjoy your week Flickr friends, thanks for stopping by....see you soon!.....Pat...xo
Slightly less abundant than the similar looking Common Darter and less aggressive than other darters. Most common in southern and eastern England and slowly expanding northward. Preferred habitat being lakes, cannels sluggish rivers, ditches well vegetated ponds and will tolerate acidic or brackish waters. Can be seen on the wing from June to October. The Latin name Odonata for the order of dragonflies is derived from the Greek "odonto" which refers to the strong teeth that can be found on the mandibles of most adults.
Sanderling - Calidris Alba
The sanderling (Calidris alba) is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English sand-yrðling and sand-ploughman.The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific alba is Latin for white.
It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.
The sanderling breeds in the High Arctic areas of North America, Europe and Asia. In North America, it breeds in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Nunavut, Greenland (and to a lesser extent Alaska). In Eurasia, it breeds in Spitsbergen and areas of northern Russia from the Taymyr Peninsula to the New Siberian Islands. In the northern winter, it has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution across the world's marine coasts. It is a complete migrant, travelling between 3,000 to 10,000 km (1,900 to 6,200 mi) from its breeding grounds to its wintering sites. Birds that travel further also arrive later and leave sooner. Most adults leave the breeding grounds in July and early August, whereas juvenile birds leave in late August and early September. The northward migration begins in March at the southern end of their winter distribution.
If its size is misjudged, a sanderling in breeding plumage can be mistaken for some varieties of stint, or a sanderling in winter plumage can be mistaken for a dunlin or red knot. It can be told from other small wading birds, given good views, by its lack of a hind toe. Its behavior is also distinctive.
Nepenthes (/nɪˈpɛnθiːz/) is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus comprises about 170 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mostly liana-forming plants of the Old World tropics, ranging from South China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines; westward to Madagascar (two species) and the Seychelles (one); southward to Australia (three) and New Caledonia (one); and northward to India (one) and Sri Lanka (one). The greatest diversity occurs on Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines, with many endemic species. Many are plants of hot, humid, lowland areas, but the majority are tropical montane plants, receiving warm days but cool to cold, humid nights year round. A few are considered tropical alpine, with cool days and nights near freezing. The name "monkey cups" refers to the fact that monkeys were once thought to drink rainwater from the pitchers, however this is false, the pitchers are filled with digestive fluids not water and monkeys do not drink from them.
Huntington Library and Botanic Gardens. San Marino. California.
Sanderling - Calidris Alba
The sanderling (Calidris alba) is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English sand-yrðling and sand-ploughman. The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific alba is Latin for "white".
It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.
The sanderling breeds in the High Arctic areas of North America, Europe and Asia. In North America, it breeds in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Nunavut, Greenland (and to a lesser extent Alaska). In Eurasia, it breeds in Spitsbergen and areas of northern Russia from the Taymyr Peninsula to the New Siberian Islands. In the northern winter, it has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution across the world's marine coasts. It is a complete migrant, travelling between 3,000 to 10,000 km (1,900 to 6,200 mi) from its breeding grounds to its wintering sites. Birds that travel further also arrive later and leave sooner. Most adults leave the breeding grounds in July and early August, whereas juvenile birds leave in late August and early September. The northward migration begins in March at the southern end of their winter distribution.
If its size is misjudged, a sanderling in breeding plumage can be mistaken for some varieties of stint, or a sanderling in winter plumage can be mistaken for a dunlin or red knot. It can be told from other small wading birds, given good views, by its lack of a hind toe. Its behavior is also distinctive.
Cap of Dunloe, Ireland
The Gap of Dunloe was created naturally sometime 25,000 years ago during the last ice age of Ireland.
A glacier situated in the Black Valley, which was estimated to be over 500 metres deep and part of the Templenoe Icecap, broke off into the Head of the Gap, slowly pushing northward which eventually resulted in a carved out U-shaped valley.
The stunning glacial lakes, which are all connected by the river Loe, were also created when this huge glacier broke off.
A river boat towing an attached barge, makes its way along the Nile River in Egypt.
(Photo taken during a 2010 visit to Egypt)
_______________________________________________
The Nile River, the longest river in the world, is called the father of African rivers. It rises south of the Equator and flows northward through northeastern Africa to drain into the Mediterranean Sea.
It has a length of about 4,132 miles (6,650 kilometers) and drains an area estimated at 1,293,000 square miles (3,349,000 square kilometers).
The Nile River basin, which covers about one-tenth of the area of the African continent, served as the stage for the evolution and decay of advanced civilizations in the ancient world.
On the banks of the river dwelled people who were among the first to cultivate the arts of agriculture and to use the plow.
The first use of the Nile for irrigation in Egypt began when seeds were sown in the mud left after the annual floodwater had subsided. With the passing of time, these practices were refined until a traditional method emerged, known as basin irrigation.
Under this system, the fields on the flat floodplain were divided by earth banks into a series of large basins of varying size but some as large as 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares).
During the annual Nile flood, the basins were flooded, and the water allowed to remain on the fields for up to six weeks. The water was then permitted to drain away as the river level fell, and a thin deposit of rich Nile silt was left on the land each year. Autumn and winter crops were then sown in the waterlogged soil.
Under this system only one crop per year could be grown on the land, and the farmer was always at the mercy of annual fluctuations in the size of the flood.
(Canon PowerShot SD880, 1/200 @ f.2.8, ISO 80)
Summer solstice in my region. It means a lot to me.
The day will be celebrated with *sunfires* and it will be dark
around 21.30 (:-) A wonderful long day.
Between June 20 and June 22 , the Beginning of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere takes place, depending in which time zone we are in.
In Austria, Switzerland and Germany today, June 21, marks the Beginning of Summer. The day in which we can enjoy approximately 17 hours of daylight.
It might seem like good news, but for those of us in the northern hemisphere this is the time when the sun's path stops moving northward in the sky and the days begin to slowly shorten...
All best wishes to those friends in the Southern Hemisphere for
their Winter solstice :-)
•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*¨*•.•*¨*•♫♪•*¨*•♫♪¸¸•♫♪•*¨*•♫♪¸¸*¨**
Between June 20 and June 22 in 1016 , the Beginning of Summer in the Northern Hemisphere takes place, depending in which time zone we are in.
In Austria, Switzerland and Germany today, June 21, marks the Beginning of Summer. The day in which we can enjoy approximately 17 hours of daylight.
It might seem like good news, but for those of us in the northern hemisphere this is the time when the sun's path stops moving northward in the sky and the days begin to slowly shorten...
Wishing you all a very Happy Summer/Winter :-)
___
Genau heute zum kalendarischen Sommeranfang kommt der Sommer tatsächlich, und das Wetter zeigt sich von seiner besten Seite - die Sonne scheint, + 30 C sind für morgen vorhergesagt :-) Klingt doch gut nach all den Regentagen, und die Sonnwendfeuer oben in den Bergen können am Wochenende brennen.
Wünsche Euch einen frohen, sonnenreichen Sommer :-)
______
Nebenbei: Der Lac de Sainte-Croix wird ausschließlich vom Fluss Verdon gespeist. Unmittelbar nachdem er die malerisch-wilde Schlucht Gorges du Verdon durchflossen hat, ergießt sich der Verdon in den See. Am Übergang zwischen Schlucht und See spannt sich die Brücke Pont du Galetas über das Wasser. Auch die Umgebung ist idyllisch, die Hügel des Haut-Var und die Ebene von Valensole mit ihren Lavendelfeldern bilden eine reizvolle Kulisse.
On Explore Jun 21th, 2016
Kehoe Beach, Inverness, CA
Hiking along Kehoe Beach takes a geologic traveler millions of years back in time across the boundary between the western edge of the North American plate across the San Andreas Fault to the eastern edge of the Pacific plate.
The Laird Sandstone cliffs and granitic rocks were formed millions of years ago during a time of plate collision. They once formed the southern end of the Sierra Nevada, about 350 miles south of their present location. Through a succession of earthquakes for some 30 million years, these granitic rocks pushed their way northward and were carried by the San Andreas Fault system. They were hijacked by the Pacific plate on their northbound journey and ended up on the other side of the San Andreas Fault system.
The Laird Sandstone cliffs are also an excellent place to see Peregrine Falcons. A pair reportedly has nested there for several years. And we saw them on the day of our visit!
Happy Labor Day, to those who are celebrating it. We don't have one until September
As you may or may not know, Texas use to belong to Mexico which, belonged to Spain. Anyway, that's why so many of the historical buildings look like Spanish cathedrals. I was surprised to learn that there was also a settlement of people from the Canary Islands...How did they get to Texas. I'll have to research that and get back to you. Here's a little from the Internet: Bexar County was created on December 20, 1836, and encompassed almost the entire western portion of the Republic of Texas. This included the disputed areas of western New Mexico northward to Wyoming. After statehood, 128 counties were carved out of its area.
The county was named for San Antonio de Béxar, one of the 23 Mexican municipalities (administrative divisions) of Texas at the time of its independence. San Antonio de Béxar—originally Villa de San Fernando de Béxar—was the first civil government established by the Spanish in the province of Texas. Specifically, the municipality was created in 1731 when 55 Canary Islanders settled near the system of missions that had been established around the source of the San Antonio River. The new settlement was named after the Presidio San Antonio de Béjar, the Spanish military outpost that protected the missions. The presidio, located at the San Pedro Springs, was founded in 1718 and named for Viceroy Balthasar Manuel de Zúñiga y Guzmán Sotomayor y Sarmiento, second son of the Duke of Béjar (a town in Spain). The modern City of San Antonio in the U.S. State of Texas also derived its name from San Antonio de Béjar.
...All Things are Difficult Before They Become Easy
Female Hooded Oriole
After three years of putting up Oriole feeder, I finally have a few females that will perch out in the open where I can photograph them without a feeder in the frame.
The stealthy males continue to hide in the Palm or Giant Bird of Paradise trees; swooping down to a feeder before I can get a shot.
(Orioles love feeding from “hummingbird feeders” that have enlarged holes to facilitate the Orioles larger beak).
A bit of background information for those interested in Orioles:
Black and brilliant yellow-orange flash across the sky when male Hooded Orioles dash through open woodlands and yards of the southwestern U.S. Following close behind are the pale-yellow females.
Sometimes called "palm-leaf orioles," these orioles "sew" their hanging nests onto the undersides of palm fronds. They often stay hidden while foraging, but their large, slender shape and nearly constant chatter usually give them away. Hooded Orioles also use hummingbird feeders, awkwardly bending or hanging upside down to drink.
Hooded Oriole song is a chattering mix of notes and cries that sometimes includes a few notes from their neighbors. In Arizona, they mimic Gila Woodpeckers and Ash-throated Flycatchers.
Hooded Orioles in California earned the nickname “palm-leaf oriole” because of their tendency to build nests in palm trees. When the nest is suspended from palm leaves, the female pokes holes in the leaf from below and pushes the fibers through, effectively sewing the nest to the leaf.
A few Hooded Orioles in southern California and Arizona hang around neighborhoods all winter long, taking advantage of free food at hummingbird feeders instead of migrating south.
Orioles are members of the blackbird family (Icteridae), along with meadowlarks and cowbirds. Birds in this family all have super strong, long, and pointed bills. They use these bills to get at food other birds can’t reach, such as prying apart thick patches of grass, opening up flowers, enlarging holes in tree bark, and digging into ripe fruits for their juice.
Hooded Orioles expanded their range northward after people planted more ornamental palm trees around their homes and suburban areas. By 2017, Hooded Orioles were using parks and suburban yards as far north as Arcata, California.
The oldest recorded Hooded Oriole was a male, and at least 6 years old when he was found in California in 1972, the same state where he had been banded in 1967.
(Nikon, 500 mm + TC 1.4 (700 mm), 1/640 @ f/6.3, ISO 1100 )
The Gap of Dunloe was created naturally sometime 25,000 years ago during the last ice age of Ireland.
A glacier situated in the Black Valley, which was estimated to be over 500 metres deep and part of the Templenoe Icecap, broke off into the Head of the Gap, slowly pushing northward which eventually resulted in a carved out U-shaped valley.
The stunning glacial lakes, which are all connected by the river Loe, were also created when this huge glacier broke off.
This medium-sized Tern flew right in front of us on our visit to Half Moon Bay, CA. The Tern has a shaggy crest and a long, slightly drooping orange bill. This Elegant Tern is seen along the Pacific Coast. After nesting in very southern California and Mexico, it wanders northward to northern California, or even to British Columbia.
Nakayama-touge (中山峠) is a ridge that overlooks the Kominato coastline. The tree in front is Takonoki (Pandanus boninensis), a pandanus species endemic to Ogasawara islands.
Small white sand beach in the upper centre is called Kopepe Beach, which was named after an early settler in Chichijima who came from Gilbert Island of Kiribati. Among the first settlers, 20 people out of 25 were Pacific islanders or collectively called Kanakas. Although less conspicuous than the US influence, people in Ogasawara inherit their culture and ancestry.
Behind Kopepe Beach is Futami Bay.
Tomball, Texas
This cardinal was resting in my back yard.
Cardinals, in the family Cardinalidae (cardinalis cardinalis), are passerine birds found in North and South America. They are also known as cardinal-grosbeaks and cardinal-buntings.
One of our most popular birds, the Cardinal is the official state bird of no fewer than seven eastern states. Abundant in the Southeast, it has been extending its range northward for decades, and it now brightens winter days with its color and its whistled song as far north as southeastern Canada. Feeders stocked with sunflower seeds may have aided its northward spread. West of the Great Plains, the Cardinal is mostly absent, but it is locally common in the desert Southwest.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
From Cornell:
The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is a boisterous duck with a brilliant pink bill and an unusual, long-legged silhouette. In places like Texas and Louisiana, watch for noisy flocks of these gaudy ducks dropping into fields to forage on seeds, or loafing on golf course ponds. Listen for them, too—these ducks really do have a whistle for their call. Common south of the U.S., Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks occur in several southern states and are expanding northward.
They make a great racket as they whistle overhead in flocks.
Wikipedia: The Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is a common species of wren that is a resident in the eastern half of the United States of America, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, and the extreme northeast of Mexico. Severe winters restrict the northern limits of their range while favorable weather conditions lead to a northward extension of their breeding range. Their preferred habitat is in dense cover in forest, farm edges and suburban areas. This wren is the state bird of South Carolina.
Conservation status: Least Concern
The name 'Amersfoort' derives from 'foort' or 'voorde' (cf. English 'ford') and 'Amer' (i.e. the Eem river, or water in general).
Thanks to it favourable location, both on the water router (over the Eem river to the Zuiderzee) and land route (from Utrecht Eastward and Northward) the agricultural settlement developed into a small town, which in 1259 was granted city rights by the Bishop of Utrecht.
The city had two centres: het Havik, first mentioned in 1390,(which could come from "bend in a river" or "habour area") and de Hof (the Court and first mentioned in 1462). Het Havik was the city's port and its business centre. De Hof, prior to the granting of city rights, was the location of the residence of the Bishop's representatives and the city church, the St. Joriskerk (the Church of St. George). In 1132 there is a chapel mentioned, which later would become the St. Joriskerk (1243 the built was started and in 1534 it would become the church that it is now).
The whole city was walled, orginally by an earthen wall, later by a stone wall. Some remains can still be seen. For instance, in the Langestraat (Lit.: the Longstreet) we find the remains of the Kamperbinnenpoort (The Innergate to Kampen, a city in the nothern part of Holland) and on the Muurhuizen (wallhouses) we see the remains of the Plompetoren, also know as the Dieventoren (lit: Thieves Tower, refering to the city jail located here [first mentioned as a prison in 1434] in the 19th century, last used in 1862).
Relatively large-headed and chunky. Gray and green overall, lacking buffy or orangey tones. Males have shocking magenta head, which appears dark when not catching the light. Females have dingy grayish underparts and often show a dark patch in the center of the throat. Note relatively short, straight bill compared with Black-chinned or Costa’s Hummingbird. Common year-round in the Pacific states of the U.S., mainly in relatively open or scrubby habitats including desert scrub and chaparral. Frequently seen in suburban yards and gardens, often visiting sugar water feeders. Expanding its range northward into British Colombia, even regular in southeast Alaska. Winters to southern Baja and locally elsewhere in Mexico. Listen for male’s scratchy, metallic song, given when perched. (eBird)
Both females and males have a little patch of colour on their throats. Given the time of year, this is more likely an adult female. I could not get an angle that shows her full bill, but the rest of the bird is here.
Delta, British Columbia, Canada. June 2022.
Eagle-Eye Tours - Ultimate British Columbia.
Sanderling - Calidris Alba
The sanderling (Calidris alba) is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English sand-yrðling and sand-ploughman.The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific alba is Latin for white.
It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder, and is a long-distance migrant, wintering south to South America, South Europe, Africa, and Australia. It is highly gregarious in winter, sometimes forming large flocks on coastal mudflats or sandy beaches.
The sanderling breeds in the High Arctic areas of North America, Europe and Asia. In North America, it breeds in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Nunavut, Greenland (and to a lesser extent Alaska). In Eurasia, it breeds in Spitsbergen and areas of northern Russia from the Taymyr Peninsula to the New Siberian Islands. In the northern winter, it has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution across the world's marine coasts. It is a complete migrant, travelling between 3,000 to 10,000 km (1,900 to 6,200 mi) from its breeding grounds to its wintering sites. Birds that travel further also arrive later and leave sooner. Most adults leave the breeding grounds in July and early August, whereas juvenile birds leave in late August and early September. The northward migration begins in March at the southern end of their winter distribution.
If its size is misjudged, a sanderling in breeding plumage can be mistaken for some varieties of stint, or a sanderling in winter plumage can be mistaken for a dunlin or red knot. It can be told from other small wading birds, given good views, by its lack of a hind toe. Its behavior is also distinctive.
Tomball Texas USA
One of our most popular birds, the Cardinal is the official state bird of no fewer than seven eastern states. Abundant in the Southeast, it has been extending its range northward for decades, and it now brightens winter days with its color and its whistled song as far north as southeastern Canada. Feeders stocked with sunflower seeds may have aided its northward spread. West of the Great Plains, the Cardinal is mostly absent, but it is locally common in the desert Southwest.
... with the hope that the people of Ukraine will soon be able to live in peace again!
A wonderful northward equinox
and a colourful autumn for all my friends in the south!
Glory-of-the-snow / Gewöhnliche Sternhyazinthe (Chionodoxa luciliae) in our garden - Frankfurt-Nordend
This is a northward view from a bridge in Minami-otari. It shows there are settlements on the mountainside other than that on the riverside along the national road.
It is noted that the former is older than the latter since the current national road along the Himekawa was completed only in 1890 and the Old Salt Road (塩の道) was laid out on the mountainside that was safer from landslides, avalanche and floods. The older road was so-called as the salt was one of the important goods transported from the Japan Sea Coast.
The snow capped mountain is called Amakazari-yama (雨飾山 1,963m) that strides over the border between the Otari village in Nagano prefecture and the Itoigawa city in Niigata prefecture. It is part of Myoukou Togakushi Renzan National Park (妙高戸隠連山国立公園). Otari is also part of Chuubu Sangaku National Park (中部山岳国立公園).
Dendrocygna autumnalis
Waller Texas
The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is a boisterous duck with a brilliant pink bill and an unusual, long-legged silhouette. In places like Texas and Louisiana, watch for noisy flocks of these gaudy ducks dropping into fields to forage on seeds, or loafing on golf course ponds. Listen for them, too—these ducks really do have a whistle for their call. Common south of the U.S., Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks occur in several southern states and are expanding northward.
My favorite duck.
From Cornell:
The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is a boisterous duck with a brilliant pink bill and an unusual, long-legged silhouette. In places like Texas and Louisiana, watch for noisy flocks of these gaudy ducks dropping into fields to forage on seeds, or loafing on golf course ponds. Listen for them, too—these ducks really do have a whistle for their call. Common south of the U.S., Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks occur in several southern states and are expanding northward.
From the photographer: Their range is constantly expanding. I love to hear and watch the large flocks in Palm Beach County fly around, back and forth, trying to decide where to land and all the time whistling!
As for this post - it's on a ranch in the middle of nowhere and there is often a bird perched on top of it - this was the first time it was a duck.
Overview of an unsung part of Tokyo from Skytree.
It looks as if Tokyo's built-up area continues up to the horizon.
The river in the left is the Sumida-gawa, along which old Edo flourished. That flows from left to right is the Arakawa, which is a canal dug almost parallel to the Sumida-gawa to mitigate the risk of flooding in Shitamachi.
The road lined up with taller buildings from lower left to upper right is National Route 6, a trunk road leading to Sendai in northeastern Japan via Fukushima.
The mountain in the upper right is Tsukubasan (筑波山 877 m), a sacred mountain rivalling, but overshadowed by, Mt. Fuji.
Northward view from the Cape Ca Mau flagpole over an expanse of mangroves and mudflats.
Cape Ca Mau is shaped like a beak of Mekong Delta jutting out into the sea. It separates the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. The area surrounding Cape Ca Mau is designated as the Mui Ca Mau National Park. It is also a Ramsar site and part of the Mui Ca Mau Biosphere Reserve that is a UNESCO initiative.
Going north tomorrow. Sold the house, sold the car.
Lighting a last candle. Lying awake through the long night.
That was yesterday, I'm on my way now. Lookinh back all the way.. Always doing the wrong thing. Always kept going forward, though. Northward this time.
Yes, I burned your letters.
KHOP.
Image taken in southern Colorado, USA, facing northward, looking toward Blanca Peak, the tallest peak of this massive group in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains chain that stretches for a couple of hundred miles-plus into northern New Mexico. Thanks for looking!
More brightly colored than most wrens, and with a rich musical song, Carolina Wrens are common in open woods and backyards in the southeast. There they busily explore brush piles and low tangles. The adults live in pairs all year, and they may "duet" at any season, with the female giving a chattering note while the male sings. The northern edge of this species' range varies over time: it gradually expands northward during series of mild years, then gets knocked southward again by very severe winters.
Found this one in my backyard in Lake Wales, Florida.
From Cornell Lab -
BASIC DESCRIPTION
The Black-bellied Whistling-Duck is a boisterous duck with a brilliant pink bill and an unusual, long-legged silhouette. In places like Texas and Louisiana, watch for noisy flocks of these gaudy ducks dropping into fields to forage on seeds, or loafing on golf course ponds. Listen for them, too—these ducks really do have a whistle for their call. Common south of the U.S., Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks occur in several southern states and are expanding northward.
My favorite association with this duck is to watch them fly over in a flock and descend into their chosen area for the night, whistling the whole time.
You can see them in flock formation flying below - look closely and you can see how they often dangle their feet in flight.
Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina
On Friday, 9/27, we took a trip up the Blue Ridge Parkway hoping to catch monarch butterflies making their way southward. During a 4 hour period we were fortunate to see more than 200 at various locations along the Parkway. It was simply glorious! From the reports that I have read, the monarchs have had a great season this year. Fingers crossed that they have a successful journey to Mexico along with a mild winter before embarking on their northward flight next spring.
Italy
Southern and Western Europe
One of the few wild animals captured on my trip to Italy unless you include the wild tourists everywhere. This bird was visiting on one of the steep cliffs down by the marina.
I originally did not know what type of gull this was, and someone told me it was a herring gull. One of my other contacts said this was a yellow-legged gull. Looking up the bird on Wikipedia, I determined it was indeed a yellow-legged gull. They seem to be mainly found around the Mediterranean area of Europe.
The yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Caspian gull L. cachinnans, or more broadly as a subspecies of the herring gull L. argentatus.
The breeding range is centered on the Mediterranean Sea. In North Africa, it is common in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia and increasing in places. Recent breeding has occurred in Libya and Egypt. In the Middle East, a few breed in Israel Palestine and Syria with larger numbers in Cyprus and Turkey. In Europe, there are colonies all along the Mediterranean coast, and also on the Atlantic islands and coasts north to Brittany and west to the Azores. It also breeds on the western side of the Black Sea, with the yellow-legged gull preferring sea cliffs and the Caspian gull flatter shores. In recent decades birds have spread north into central and western Europe.
Many birds remain in the same area all year round, but others migrate to spend the winter in mild areas of western Europe or head south as far as Senegal, Gambia and the Red Sea. There is also extensive northward post-breeding dispersal in the late summer, with numbers in southern England high from July to October. – Wikpedia
This is a northward view from Ikeda.
Major peaks are Harinoki (針木岳), Renge (蓮華岳), Narusawa (鳴沢岳), Jiigatake (爺ヶ岳), Kashima-yari (鹿島槍ヶ岳), Goryuu (五竜岳), Karamatsu (唐松岳), Hakuba-yari (白馬鑓ヶ岳), Shakushi (杓子岳) and Shirouma (白馬岳) from left to right.
Northward view from the top of the Mingun Pagoda. There are several Buddhist temples and monasteries in the surrounding. The water behind the jungle is the Ayeyarwadi.
White temple in the upper left is Hsinbyume Pagoda that was built in 1819 for the memory of Hsinbyume, the first consort of King Bagyidaw, a grand son of King Badawpaya.
The golden stupa is part of Bawdhiwine Bhone Kyee monastery.
The reddish brown structure houses the huge Mingun Bell.
Green roofed temple in front is Molmi Paya.
Palm warblers, Setophaga palmarum, are everywhere in winter. In the cities or in the boonies, odds are pretty good that you'll cross paths with one. By a completely unscientific measure, they are by far the most numerous warbler in Florida.
The key word in the above paragraph is winter. Palm warblers are migratory birds. They spend their summers throughout much of Canada into the Northwest Territories, and the northern tier of the United States, where they breed, then head south for the winter. They'll arrive here as early as September and October and will stay until April, when they make the journey northward.
There are two types, or subspecies, of palm warblers, the Western and the yellow. Both are found in Florida during the winter.
Palm warblers are members of Parulidae, the wood-warbler family.
I found this one at Joe Overstreet Landing in Osceola County, Florida.
If you look closely you can see the bug in its open mouth it has caught. and is in the process of swallowing.
Brightly colored but easily overlooked. A bird of shrubland and old fields, the Blue-winged Warbler expanded its breeding grounds northward throughout the 20th century.
"The “giant” Canada Goose, bred from central Manitoba to Kentucky but was nearly driven extinct in the early 1900s. Programs to reestablish the subspecies to its original range were in many places so successful that the geese have become a nuisance in many urban and suburban areas. At least 11 subspecies of Canada Goose have been recognized, although only a couple are distinctive. In general, the geese get smaller as you move northward, and darker as you go westward. The four smallest forms are now considered a different species: the Cackling Goose." Cornell Lab of Ornithology Photograhed in the wild, Rideau River, Ontario, Canada.
The semi-circular cliff above Three Creek Lake bears the name Tam McArthur Rim to honor the memory of Lewis Ankeny "Tam" McArthur. For many years McArthur aided in the establishment of accurate topographic mapping of Oregon.
The lake is located in a glacial cirque, below Tam McArthur Rim, which was probably last occupied by glacial ice about 13,000 years ago during the Canyon Creek advance of the Cabot Creek glaciation. The outlet stream from the lake flows northward and is joined by two other streams to form Three Creek. The lake is surrounded by old growth forest, and is easy to fish from shore. However, fishing from a boat is the most popular method. The lake's elevation is 6,550 feet.
I found this place almost by accident, as I took a wrong turn on one of the roads out of Sisters. I normally don't shoot lakes during bright light since it doesn't really present them the way I prefer. But I couldn't wait, since I still needed to find the correct road!
The monarch is in North America famous for its southward migration and northward return in summer from Canada to Mexico and Baja California which spans the life of three to four generations of the butterfly. The monarch is the only butterfly that migrates both north and south as the birds do on a regular basis.
File name: NZ6_4274
This was one of those, "stop!, I want to get off" moments, when you see a mountain and it just beckons you. That ridge and shapely summit just scream out, "climb me".
Unfortunately, on this occasion I was stood on deck of the "Viking Venus" sailing steadily northward on Norway's photogenic Inside Passage to Tromso. Everywhere you look on this stretch of the Fjords just appears magical in these conditions.
I'm sure this mountain gets a lot of visitors from the Norwegian climbing community given its proximity to the road that runs along this Fjord. If anyone does know its name, please let me know, its allure is beckoning me!
Cascade Mountains - Jackson County - Oregon
Habitat : Forest
Food : Seeds
Nesting : Ground
Behavior : Ground Forager
Conservation : Low Concern
"Dark-eyed Juncos are neat, even flashy little sparrows that flit about forest floors of the western mountains and Canada, then flood the rest of North America for winter. They’re easy to recognize by their crisp (though extremely variable) markings and the bright white tail feathers they habitually flash in flight. One of the most abundant forest birds of North America... Juncos are the "snowbirds" of the middle latitudes. Over most of the eastern United States, they appear as winter sets in, and then retreat northward each spring. Other juncos are year-round residents, retreating into woodlands during the breeding season, or, like those of the Appalachian Mountains, moving to higher elevations during the warmer months."
- Cornell University Lab of Ornithology
Northward view from Kuroyon Dam across the conifer forest of Kurobe-gawa gorge. Kita Alps including Hakuba mountains stride over the Toyama - Nagano border.
Conifer trees are not afforestation of Japanese cedar but a primary forest of other endemic species such as Ooshirabiso (Maries fir, Abies mariesii), Tsuga (Japanese hemlock, Tsuga sieboldii) and Kurobe (Japanese thuja, Thuja standishii).