View allAll Photos Tagged NORTHWARD
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).
A view of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range from the Rainbow Trail located in the Taylor Creek Visitors Center U.S. Forest Service located in the City of South Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County, California U.S.A.
Sierra Nevada, also called Sierra Nevadas, major mountain range of western North America, running along the eastern edge of the U.S. state of California. Its great mass lies between the large Central Valley depression to the west and the Basin and Range Province to the east. Extending more than 250 miles (400 kilometres) northward from the Mojave Desert to the Cascade Range of northern California and Oregon, the Sierra Nevada varies from about 80 miles wide at Lake Tahoe to about 50 miles wide in the south. Its magnificent skyline and spectacular landscapes make it one of the most beautiful physical features of the United States. Biologically, it is home to the largest trees in the world—the giant sequoias. As a recreation centre, its year-round facilities prove a magnet to the inhabitants of the huge urban areas of California, and it has considerable importance as a source of power and water. It was the focus of the celebrated California gold rush.
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I'm happy to say that 50 or so pelicans have arrived in Sheboygan for a short rest as they migrate northward. They usually stick around for 10 days or so and then they're gone for the year.
They always cause quite a stir among our city residents and birding community since their visitation has only been happening for a few years, and before that Pelicans were unheard of here.
I captured these big beauties here resting on an old jetty and with our lighthouse gracing the background.
I will probably post one or two more images of these American White Pelicans in the days ahead.
Have a great week everyone...
Tomball, Texas
Cardinals, in the family Cardinalidae, 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.
Sanshichi-yama (三七山 a hill behind the beach) and Hyoutan-yama (ひょうたん山 upper right) are scoria cones formed by the 1962 and 1940 eruptions, respectively.
A trio of former British Columbia Railway units hustle northward to Boonville. They'll break up the power and spacer cars before shoving north towards Lyons Falls to retrieve empty propane tank cars in seasonal storage. MHWA M420W 2042 enjoyed a bit of fame earlier in its career when it was the "Atomic Train" unit in a cheesy Rob Lowe thing filmed in BC.
TRRA Job T100 with a transfer from the TRRA Madison Yard to the Alton & Southern Gateway Yard. Here they make a long pull past Valley Junction on the Union Pacific Chester Sub prior to backing into the A&S yard. A snappy set of SD40-2s provide the propulsion. A modified MoPac cantilever governs east and northward moves here. It was just after I took this that I noticed cameras on a nearby pole so "buyers beware" as the old truism goes.
This Hooded oriole was seen in the Clayton Valley neighborhood of Concord, California.
These birds expanded their range northward into Northern California as people planted ornamental palms in their yards. The birds like to build their nests in palm trees.
BNSF’s HDENLAU freight rumbles northward through 370-foot Black Tunnel south of Dornick siding in Wyoming’s eye-catching Wind River Canyon on July 10, 2021.
A Eurasian species introduced to the Bahamas, which spread to Florida in the late 1970s. It was quickly established there, then spread westward in the 1990s, and it has now reached the Pacific coast. The population is anticipated to increase and spread northward into Canada. Its westward expansion follows a similar expansion from its original range in Asia all the way to the Atlantic coast of Europe. Breeding: nest is a flimsy construction of twigs placed in trees, particularly palm trees, but occasionally on man made structures; normally 2 white eggs, occasionally more; 3 to 6 broods a year from the same nest. Migration: not a migrant in the true sense, in that individuals are not known to return to breeding or wintering grounds. But individuals move great distances, thus enabling the species to quickly expand its range across North America.
A fairly recent arrival to North America, this large pale dove can now be found across the United States. It flaps on broad wings, and often soars briefly, with wings extended slightly above horizontal as it seemingly floats down to a landing. Polytypic. Length 12.5".
Found this one in my backyard. Polk County, Florida.
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.
The Northern Cardinal’s name dates back to the time of the United States founding colonists, stemming from the similarity of the males’ vibrant red plumage to the red biretta and vestments of distinguishable Catholic cardinals.
During courtship, affection is expressed by the males feeding their females seeds in a method known as “beak to beak.” If you choose to let your imagination run wild, you could certainly say that the birds look like they are kissing!
The average lifespan of a Northern Cardinal is approximately three years due to the hazards they face, which include predators, disease, accidents, and starvation
But the oldest recorded wild Northern Cardinal lived to be 15 years and 9 months. This female was banded as a young bird and tracked in Pennsylvania.
I found this female, in my backyard in Polk County, Florida.
Tomball, Texas
Cardinals, in the family Cardinalidae, 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.
A Cedar Waxwing prepares to inhale a crabapple in our front yard. Every year this tree is covered in fruit and much of it makes it through the winter, providing needed food for spring migrators as they move northward.
These Waxwings eat fruit almost exclusively and unlike many other fruit eaters, they don't regurgitate the seeds but let them pass right through their bodies without any ill effects.
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 have been observed drinking rainwater from these plants.
The genus name Nepenthes was first published in 1737 in Carl Linnaeus's Hortus Cliffortianus.It references a passage in Homer's Odyssey, in which the potion "Nepenthes pharmakon" is given to Helen by an Egyptian queen. "Nepenthe" literally means "without grief" (ne = not, penthos = grief) and, in Greek mythology, is a drug that quells all sorrows with forgetfulness. Linnaeus explained:
If this is not Helen's Nepenthes, it certainly will be for all botanists. What botanist would not be filled with admiration if, after a long journey, he should find this wonderful plant. In his astonishment past ills would be forgotten when beholding this admirable work of the Creator!
A male Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca) resting on the edge of a stubble field on the prairie landscape southeast of Tofield, Alberta, Canada.
These birds will likely have already started their northward migration where they will spend the summer on the tundra raising a family.
22 January, 2012.
Slide # GWB_20120122_7313.CR2
Use of this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission is not permitted.
© Gerard W. Beyersbergen - All Rights Reserved Worldwide In Perpetuity - No Unauthorized Use.
Emigrant Lake - Jackson County - Oregon - USA
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
So today its 28 degrees in good old Kansas City with some freezing rain for good measure. It's the true start of Winter here in the Midwest.
A Southern California beach facing northward up the coastline with the sun setting in the distance will put my mind in the right place.
This image was taken off the Oceanside Pier as I raced up to catch the last bit of sunlight that I could capture. I like the inclusion of the people taking it all in and the waves just turned out better than I could have painted them in.
To all the sun chasers and souls drawn to the ocean I give thee this image.
Mike D.
Going-to-the-Sun Road is a 50-mile narrow, winding road that traverses Glacier National Park. It crosses the Continental Divide through Logan Pass at an elevation of 6,646 feet (2,026 m), the highest point along the road.
The Garden Wall escarpment is located along the west side of the Continental Divide and extends northward from Logan Pass. The Sun Road, as it’s sometimes called, was carved into the west face of the Garden Wall and is visible in this image about half way up the ridge.
Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Elevation: 6,434 ft. August 8, 2019.
A visual slice of the cacophony of Snow geese (Anser caerulescens) repositioning at dusk at Loess Bluffs NWR. We were told the first waves had already left on their northward journey. The number remaining was still astronomical.
The Middle Fork of the Cimarron River flows northward between Turret Ridge to the West and Pinnacle Ridge to the East--a scenic delight. Here, from a small meadow between the ridges, I watched the light of the setting sun creep up Pinnacle Ridge.
A few minutes later, Turret Ridge looked like this:
www.flickr.com/photos/jeff_mitton/48696766601/
San Juan Mountains, Colorado
Common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) is a deciduous flowering shrub widely used in landscaping. The bush gets its name from its unique exfoliating bark, which peels back in thin layers as its branches mature. This coarse-textured shrub is a member of the rose family, which also includes hawthorn and spirea, and features yellow, green, or reddish leaves that form an attractive cascading mound. Ninebark flowers in late spring with clusters of white or pink blooms, and it bears red fruit in late summer and autumn, attracting birds.
The shrub is found naturally across the eastern United States, stretching west into the Dakotas and south to northern Florida. Northward, it extends well into Canada. One variety thrives in the Rocky Mountain region and west to Oregon and Washington.
This is a northward view of Azumino Valley from the river terrace of the Takasegawa. The paddy in front was just planted with rice seedlings.
Kita Alps (北アルプス) is a mountain range that is part of Japan Alps. It is not an official name but the locals prefer the name to the official name of Ushiro-Tateyama Renpou (後立山連峰), which is too long.
Japan Alps (日本アルプス Nihon Alps), which is not also an official name, was publicised by Mr. Walter Weston, a British missionary of Anglican Church to Japan in late 19th century, whose hobby was mountaineering. Compared with his missionary works, he was much more successful in popularising mountaineering in Japan. His local guides and porters later became mountaineering pioneers.
There has been a religious tradition in Japan to climb mountains as a religious practice. Mr. Weston's hobby was a best fit into this cultural tradition. People who climbed mountains for asceticism were called Shugenja (修験者). You still find many Shugenja-type mountaineers in Kita Alps despite their modern equipment and clothes.
Did you know that while most birds with red coloration get their redness to a variety of plant pigment known as carotenoids the western Tanager gets its scarlet head feathers from a rare pigment called rhodoxanthin. Unable to make this substance in their own bodies Western Tanager probably obtain it fro insects in their diet.
This species ranges farther north than any other tanager, breeding northward to a latitude of 60 degrees into Canada's Northwest Territories. In the chilly northernmost reaches of their breeding range, Western Tanager may spend as little as two months before migrating south.
Sanderling begin arriving on Florida coasts in August and winter here through April, when they begin their migration northward to Artic breeding grounds.
At 8 inches Sanderling are a smaller shorebird often seen in groups of up to 20 birds. Running behind the receding waves they quickly probe the sand for the small crustaceans that make up the bulk of their diet, they then run ahead of the next wave, repeating this actionover and over.
American Robins are very common in Michigan, especially in the Spring at peak migration. Many continue northward, but many also remain in Michigan during breeding/nesting time. Some brave (foolhardy) ones even remain during winter.
What makes this one unique is the tracking band on its ankle. Of the hundreds of robins seen during that week, this is the only one I have ever seen that had been banded.
The American Robin is the State bird of Michigan.
Great White Egrets populations were decimated by plume hunters in late 1800s, recovered rapidly with protection early in 20th century. In recent decades, breeding range has been expanding gradually northward, while there is some evidence that southern populations have declined.
Audubon Field Guide
Eurema salome (Salome Yellow / Salomé Amarilla)
The Salome Yellow (Eurema salome) is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found from Peru northward through tropical America. It is an extremely rare migrant to the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. The habitat consists of forest openings and edges and roadcuts.
This is a very small butterfly.
Wikipedia
Photo taken in La Ceja, Antioquia, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
The fourth, late summer generation of eastern US Monarch butterflies differ from their three previous generations in that they survive many months, as long as late August to early April as adults. They make the autumn migration south to Mexico where they spend the winter months and then return partway north in the early spring. The new first generation adults live April through June, completing the return migration northward. The second and third generations live shorter lives, around a month each.
If this Ibis had landed on the other side of the road, the beautiful iridescence would not have been picked up by the light.
White-faced Ibis have become more common in central Alberta over the past few years. They are the western counterpart of the Glossy Ibis, and seem to be slowly extending their summer range northward.
Beaver county, Alberta.
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.
Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are some of the most easily recognized birds. They can often be seen perched on a branch slightly hunched over with their long tails pointed down. In winter cardinals stand out against the evergreens or leafless trees and in the summer their whistles are one of the sweet sounds of morning. These birds don’t migrate so you can enjoy their presence year-round in your landscape.
Male cardinals are large, long-tailed, fire-engine red birds with a short thick bill and prominent crest. Males also have a black mask and throat. Females also have short thick bills and a large crest. Female cardinals are pale brown with tinges of red in the wings, tails, and crest. Juvenile cardinals look similar to adult female cardinals, except they have a grey to black colored bill. Cardinals’ thick bills are well-used to cut or crush seed shells.
Did you know that very few female North American songbirds actually sing? The Northern cardinal is one of those singers. They often sing while sitting on their nest — it’s not often that wild animals resemble their cartoon depictions, but for female cardinals, fiction matches the truth.
Cardinals live in open woodlands and are one of a few species that has been helped by urban sprawl, which contributed to its expanded range northward.
I found this one in my backyard in Polk County, Florida.
"Common Gallinules expanded their range northward during the twentieth century. They started breeding in Pennsylvania for the first time in 1904; now they breed as far north as the Maritime Provinces of Canada. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology
"Photograhed in the wild, Florida, USA.
This northbound Metro North commuter train is just about at the same spot as my posting of an Amtrak train earlier today, but about a year earlier and at sunrise and not sunset. This is probably the first northward "off peak" train of the day. Years ago I posted a similar shot of this train on Flickr with it farther off. This shot had made it into a Trains magazine center spread with a great caption by Mark Hemphill, I believe.Scanned and cleaned a bit it looks almost as good as when they published it.
Southern Alps, New Zealand.
The Southern Alps (Māori: Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side.
The range runs 500 km north to south. The tallest peak is Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest point in New Zealand at 3,724 metres (12,218 ft) and there are sixteen other points that exceed 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) in height. The mountains are cut through with glacial valleys and lakes.
The Southern Alps lie along a geological plate boundary, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, with the Pacific Plate to the southeast pushing westward and colliding with the northward-moving Indo-Australian Plate to the northwest.
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VIDEO → Scenic Flight over the Southern Alps
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A Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus) stops to rest and feed during its northward migration to the arctic nesting grounds where it will spend the summer and raise a family. This stopover occurred on Big Lake next to St. Albert, Alberta, Canada.
19 April, 2016.
Slide # GWB_20160419_9251
Use of this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission is not permitted.
© Gerard W. Beyersbergen - All Rights Reserved Worldwide In Perpetuity - No Unauthorized Use.
Yovimpa Point
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce, Utah, USA
The Grand Staircase is an immense sequence of sedimentary rock layers that stretch south for 100 miles (161 km) from Bryce Canyon National Park through Zion National Park and into the Grand Canyon. In the 1870s, geologist Clarence Dutton first conceptualized this region as a huge stairway ascending out of the bottom of the Grand Canyon northward with the cliff edge of each layer forming giant steps. Dutton divided this layer cake of Earth history into five steps that he colorfully named Pink Cliffs, Grey Cliffs, White Cliffs, Vermilion Cliffs, and Chocolate Cliffs. Since then, modern geologists have further divided Dutton's steps into individual rock formations.
What makes the Grand Staircase worldly unique is that it preserves more Earth history than any other place on Earth. Geologists often liken the study of sedimentary rock layers to reading a history book--layer by layer, detailed chapter by detailed chapter. Unlike igneous and metamorphic rocks, only sedimentary rocks are capable of preserving fossils.
Source: www.nps.gov/brca/learn/nature/grandstaircase.htm
More Info: ugspub.nr.utah.gov/publications/public_information/pi-64.pdf
A southbound BN loaded coal train on the double track north of Walsenburg. A Santa Fe SD40-2 leads four BN 3,000 hp General Electrics. The southward track was owned and maintained by the BN while the northward main was D&RGW.
A village near Zafra, Extremadura. The 'Via de la Plata" is one of the many Pilgrimage routes to Santiago, starting in Seville and continuing northward.
Textures: Isabel Marchan & Darkwood
The simple buzzy song of the Blue-winged Warbler is often heard in brushy overgrown fields and thickets in the East during the summer. Although the bird is not especially shy, it can be a challenge to observe as it forages actively in the dense brush. In recent decades this species has been expanding its range northward, encroaching on the territory of its close relative, the Golden-winged Warbler. The two species often interbreed.