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Guillemot /Murre - Uria aalge
The common murre or common guillemot (Uria aalge) is a large auk. It is also known as the thin-billed murre in North America. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands.
Common murres have fast direct flight but are not very agile. They are more manoeuvrable underwater, typically diving to depths of 30–60 m (98–197 ft). Depths of up to 180 m (590 ft) have been recorded.
Common murres breed in colonies at high densities. Nesting pairs may be in bodily contact with their neighbours. They make no nest; their single egg is incubated on a bare rock ledge on a cliff face. Eggs hatch after ~30 days incubation. The chick is born downy and can regulate its body temperature after 10 days. Some 20 days after hatching the chick leaves its nesting ledge and heads for the sea, unable to fly, but gliding for some distance with fluttering wings, accompanied by its male parent. Chicks are capable of diving as soon as they hit the water. The female stays at the nest site for some 14 days after the chick has left.
Both male and female common murres moult after breeding and become flightless for 1–2 months. In southern populations they occasionally return to the nest site throughout the winter. Northern populations spend the winter farther from their colonies.
Some individuals in the North Atlantic, known as "bridled guillemots", have a white ring around the eye extending back as a white line. This is not a distinct subspecies, but a polymorphism that becomes more common the farther north the birds breed.
The common murre nests in densely packed colonies (known as "loomeries"), with up to twenty pairs occupying one square metre at peak season.[citation needed] Common murres do not make nests and lay their eggs on bare rock ledges, under rocks, or the ground. They first breed at four to nine years old, but most individuals recruit into the breeding population at ages six or seven, although birds may disperse (permanently depart their natal colony) if space is limited. Annual survival probability for birds aged 6–15 is 0.895, and average lifespan is about 20 years. Breeding success increases with age up to age 9-10 to 0.7 fledglings per pair, then declines in the oldest age birds, perhaps indicating reproductive senesence.
High densities mean that birds are close contact with neighbouring breeders. Common murres perform appeasement displays more often at high densities and more often than razorbills.
Allopreening is common both between mates and between neighbours. Allopreening helps to reduce parasites, and it may also have important social functions. Frequency of allopreening a neighbour correlates well with current breeding success.
Allopreening may function as a stress-reducer; ledges with low levels of allopreening show increased levels of fighting and reduced breeding success.
Alloparenting behaviour is frequently observed. Non-breeding and failed breeders show great interest in other chicks, and will attempt to brood or feed them. This activity is more common as the chicks get older and begin to explore their ledge. There has also been a record of a pair managing to raise two chicks. Adults that have lost chicks or eggs will sometimes bring fish to the nest site and try to feed their imaginary chick.
At time of extreme food stress, the social activity of the breeding ledge can break down.
On the Isle of May colony in 2007, food availability was low. Adults spent more of their time-budget foraging for their chicks and had to leave them unattended at times. Unattended chicks were attacked by breeding neighbour which often led to their deaths. Non-breeding and failed breeders continued to show alloparental care.
In areas such as Newfoundland, the birds, along with the related thick-billed murre, are referred to as 'turrs' or 'tuirs', and are consumed. The meat is dark and quite oily, due to the birds' diet of fish. Eggs have also been harvested.
Eggers from San Francisco took almost half a million eggs a year from the Farallon Islands in the mid-19th century to feed the growing city.
Population:
UK breeding:
950,000 pairs
“John knew the best love stories were the ones that were never told. For no medium—no book, no poem, no play or movie—could ever tell a love story in its entirety, its full span and depth, from the exhilarating beginning to the tragic ending of all love stories. He didn’t mind if his life was forgotten—it had never occurred to him to want to be remembered—as long as he had truly lived, and to live life without experiencing one great love story was to not live at all.”
― Ray Smith, The Magnolia That Bloomed Unseen
Great White Egret - Ardea Alba
The great egret is generally a very successful species with a large and expanding range, occurring worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. It is ubiquitous across the Sun Belt of the United States and in the Neotropics. In North America, large numbers of great egrets were killed around the end of the 19th century so that their plumes could be used to decorate hats. Numbers have since recovered as a result of conservation measures. Its range has expanded as far north as southern Canada. However, in some parts of the southern United States, its numbers have declined due to habitat loss, particularly wetland degradation through drainage, grazing, clearing, burning, increased salinity, groundwater extraction and invasion by exotic plants. Nevertheless, the species adapts well to human habitation and can be readily seen near wetlands and bodies of water in urban and suburban areas.
The great egret is partially migratory, with northern hemisphere birds moving south from areas with colder winters. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
In 1953, the great egret in flight was chosen as the symbol of the National Audubon Society, which was formed in part to prevent the killing of birds for their feathers.
On 22 May 2012, a pair of great egrets was announced to be nesting in the UK for the first time at the Shapwick Heath nature reserve in Somerset. The species is a rare visitor to the UK and Ben Aviss of the BBC stated that the news could mean the UK's first great egret colony is established. The following week, Kevin Anderson of Natural England confirmed a great egret chick had hatched, making it a new breeding bird record for the UK. In 2017, seven nests in Somerset fledged 17 young, and a second breeding site was announced at Holkham National Nature Reserve in Norfolk where a pair fledged three young.
In 2018, a pair of great egrets nested in Finland for the first time, raising four young in a grey heron colony in Porvoo.
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Stilpnia heinei (Black-capped Tanager / Tangara capirotada)
Black-capped Tanagers are vividly-colored tropical birds that occur in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. They often occur in pairs foraging in bushes and trees for insects and fruit.
It is one of the few species in the genus that shows obvious sexual dichromatism, with males primarily gray-blue in color with a distinctive black cap, and females yellow-green without a black cap.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/identificati...
The African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) or the African sea eagle, is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. This species may resemble the bald eagle in appearance; though related, each species occurs on different continents, with the bald eagle being resident in North America.
The African fish eagle is a large bird. The female, at 3.2–3.6 kg (7.1–7.9 lb) is larger than the male, at 2.0–2.5 kg (4.4–5.5 lb). This is typical sexual dimorphism in birds of prey. Males usually have wingspans around 2 m (6.6 ft), while females have wingspans of 2.4 m (7.9 ft). The body length is 63–75 cm (25–29.5 in).
Naples Botanical Gardens
Southwest Florida
USA
The loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) is a passerine bird. It is the only member of the shrike family endemic to North America; the related northern shrike (L. excubitor) occurs north of its range but also in the Palearctic.
It is nicknamed the butcherbird after its carnivorous tendencies, as it consumes prey such as amphibians, insects, lizards, small mammals and small birds. Due to its small size and weak talons, this predatory bird relies on impaling its prey upon thorns or barbed wire for facilitated consumption.
The numbers of Loggerhead Shrike have significantly decreased in recent years, especially in the Midwest, New England and Mid-Atlantic areas.
Northern Bobwhites occur throughout Florida in appropriate habitat. They depend on early successional habitat created by frequent fire in mature upland pine forests. Other habitats include fallow agricultural fields dominated by species such as ragweed and the edges of cultivated grain fields. The best habitat combination is frequently burned upland pine forests interspersed with fallow fields/openings. At one time, this was a common habitat in Florida and abundant quail populations were a by-product. This is not the case today, and quail occur in abundant numbers only on those lands that are actively managed to replicate the land use patterns described above.
The northern bobwhite is one of the signature game species of upland long leaf pine forests. In the spring, visitors to these habitats can expect to hear the males whistle the tell-tale “bobwhite” call. In the fall/winter, it's not uncommon to be surprised by a covey of quail flushing from a brushy area.
Bobwhites feed and roost in coveys of 8 to 25 birds. They forage on the ground for a variety of seeds, insects, fruits and plant parts. Females lay 12 to 16 eggs in a shallow nest built on the ground and hidden beneath vegetation.
The northern bobwhite or bobwhite quail is a medium-sized, round-bodied bird with a short tail and neck. Plumage is reddish brown with streaking on the sides. Males have a black-and-white stripe above and below the eye with a white throat patch; in females, the stripe and throat patch is tan and buff brown.
I found this male greeting a new day along Peavine Road in Osceola County, Florida.
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
The Flame-rumped Tanager occurs from western Panama south through Colombia to western Ecuador. This is a sociable bird, being typically found in monospecific flocks, which inhabit shrubby semi-open areas.
Source: Neotropical Birds Online; Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species
/overview?p_p...
The first engagement occurred during the night of the 29–30 May 1982 when the 3rd Assault Section of 602 Commando Company, led by Captain Andrés Ferrero, ran into Air Troop from D Squadron, 22nd SAS, on the slopes of Mount Kent, sustaining one casualty (First-Sergeant Raimundo Viltes), abandoning much of its equipment to the anger of Major Aldo Rico, their Commanding Officer. The SAS sustained two wounded during the contact.
SAS patrols from Air and Boat Troop squadrons and Major Delves' tactical headquarters (THQ) fought a number of actions with the Argentine Special Forces before the Argentines were forced to withdraw. The SAS's Air Troop patrol was at first driven but managed to hold onto the summit of Mount Kent until Royal Marine reinforcements arrived.
A solar eclipse occurs when a portion of the Earth is engulfed in a shadow cast by the Moon which fully or partially blocks sunlight. This occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are aligned. Such alignment coincides with a new moon (syzygy) indicating the Moon is closest to the ecliptic plane. In a total eclipse, the disk of the Sun is fully obscured by the Moon. In partial and annular eclipses, only part of the Sun is obscured.
Oyomi marsh (親海湿原) is located near the source of the Himekawa river in Hakuba municipality. It is a small marsh surrounded by thick forests at an altitude of 700 m. It is much lower than the Tsugaike marshes; therefore the vegetation is different.
Ko'oniyuri (Lilium leichtlinii) is a species of the lily genus (Lilium), which occurs in Northeast Asia and Russian Far East. It looks similar to Oniyuri (tiger lily, Lilium lancifolium) but is a different species and grows in higher altitude areas than tiger lily, but in lower altitude areas than Kuruma-yuri (Lilium medeoloides).
Several different species in the lily genus that look like Oniyuri are also called tiger lily.
Gynandromorphism occurs when an organism has both male and female characteristics. They can be "bilateral" in which one side is female and the other male or "mosaic" in which there is a blending of traits throughout the organism. The mosaic form is much rarer.
Last year I was hiking the trails in Elkridge, Maryland and saw several Zabulon Skippers nectaring on some thistle in peak bloom. I walked closer and saw a skipper that I did not recognize. It’s funny how your brain tries to process what you are seeing for the first time. It took me a few seconds to figure out that this butterfly was, in fact, a Zabulon Skipper. But what a skipper it was! It had both male and female characteristics. I have seen rare gynandromorph photos of Swallowtail butterflies with one side female and the other male but this one showed a blending of traits throughout. For example, the underside of a normal Zabulon male skipper is yellow orange with several small brown spots and the female is dark brown and purple gray with a white-edged coastal margin. This one showed the dark brown color and white-edge of the female along with the yellow orange markings of the male. I have never seen anything quite like it. I started taking photos from all angles.
Upon returning home, I emailed Harry Pavulaan, a world-renowned butterfly expert and friend, with photos of my find. Harry’s response, "In a nutshell: WOW. Gynandromorphs, in this case a mosaic gynandromorph, usually are only noticed in Swallowtails and species where males and females look quite different. But what makes this one yet more significant is that it’s a skipper. I have never seen or heard of a skipper with mosaic gynandromorph features. You may be the first to document this, though it’s possible there are older reports of bilateral gynandromorphs out there."
After later investigations and subsequent emails, it turns out that this Zabulon Skipper may be the only North American Skipper ever documented with mosaic gynandromorphism.
A short article appeared in the "Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey, Volume 10 Number 2, April 20, 2022" (Pages 9-10). If you are interested, the article has more photos of this amazing butterfly, and the link is below:
lepsurvey.carolinanature.com/ttr/ttr-10-2.pdf
Explored October 22, 2022
A small vessel passes in front of the setting sun. I like this image, in particular, because of the mock-mirage of the sun. This occurs when a layer of cooler air is trapped below an inversion layer, creating the appearance of a sun that is no longer round.
Great Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopus Major
Double Click to view
The great spotted woodpecker occurs in all types of woodlands and is catholic in its diet, being capable of extracting seeds from pine cones, insect larvae from inside trees or eggs and chicks of other birds from their nests. It breeds in holes excavated in living or dead trees, unlined apart from wood chips. The typical clutch is four to six glossy white eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs, feed the chicks and keep the nest clean. When the young fledge they are fed by the adults for about ten days, each parent taking responsibility for feeding part of the brood.
The great spotted woodpecker occurs in Eurasia from the British Isles to Japan, and in North Africa from Morocco to Tunisia, and it is absent only from those areas too cold or dry to have suitable woodland habitat. It is found in a wide variety of woodlands, broadleaf, coniferous or mixed, and in modified habitats like parks, gardens and olive groves. It occurs from sea-level to the tree line, up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in Europe, 2,200 m (7,200 ft) in Morocco and 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in Central Asia.
The great spotted woodpecker became extinct in the island of Ireland in the seventeenth century, due to deforestation, but the island was naturally recolonised by this species, with the first proven nesting in County Down in 2007. Its expansion in range is continuing, with breeding proven or suspected in at least 10 counties by 2013, with the main concentration in Down and County Wicklow. Genetic evidence shows the birds to be of British, rather than Scandinavian, ancestry, with the populations in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic having separate origins. The great spotted woodpecker was also found to have been nesting in the Isle of Man from 2009.
Population:
UK breeding:
140,000 pairs
Black-throated Mango - Male - Occurring throughout the tropics of South America from Panama to northeast Argentina, the Black-throated Mango is the most widespread member of its genus, and among the most widespread of all hummingbirds. It is primarily found in open vegetation with bushes and scattered trees in many kinds of humid and dry habitats. Despite it widespread distribution it shows almost no geographic variation due perhaps to its impressive dispersal capabilities. Within its large range, the Black-throated Mango is fairly distinctive being the only predominantly green hummingbird with extensive black throat and underparts. Although they are common and widespread, and despite the fact that their plumage may seem "drab" compared with many tropical hummingbirds, male Black-throated Mangos are certainly worth a second look if the opportunity arises to view them in direct sunlight or at close range (Birds of the World) - as shown in my picture - LOL!
Happy Tuesday!
Thanks a lot for your visits, comments, faves, invites, etc. Very much appreciated!
© All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission. All rights reserved. Please contact me at thelma.gatuzzo@gmail.com if you intend to buy or use any of my images.
Visit my instagram if you like: @thelmag and@thelma_and_cats
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Stilpnia heinei
(Black-capped Tanager / Tangara capirotada)
Black-capped Tanagers are vividly-colored tropical birds that occur in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. They often occur in pairs foraging in bushes and trees for insects and fruit.
It is one of the few species in the genus that shows obvious sexual dichromatism, with males primarily gray-blue in color with a distinctive black cap, and females yellow-green without a black cap.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/identificati...
A typical Lofoten scenario where one encounters sunshine and blizzard side by side and that makes for a wonderful photographic experience.
Unfortunately violence in the home still occurs, it is often hidden and not named - we need to stop domestic violence.
- Face Tattoo - The Crow Ink Art- NO VIOLENCE EvoX Bom 50% off @ I Said NO Event
The Long-tailed Tyrant is a distinctive flycatcher that occurs at the edge of montane evergreen forest and of lowland forest from Honduras south to western Colombia and western Ecuador, and from southeastern Ecuador south to Brazil, Paraguay and northeastern Argentina; there also is a population in northeastern South America. Long-tailed Tyrants are dull black with a white crown and rump, and sport a pair of elongated central tail feathers that extend up to 13 cm beyond the rest of the tail. Long-tailed Tyrants feed exclusively on flying insects, especially stingless bees. Insects are captured by making quick aerial sallies from a high exposed snag or branch. The Long-tailed Tyrant is resident throughout most of its range, although the populations in southern Brazil perhaps are migratory. doi.org/10.2173/bow.lottyr1.01
Wild - at Trilha dos Tucanos.
Thanks a lot for your visits, comments, faves, invites, etc. Very much appreciated!
© All my images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without my written explicit permission. All rights reserved. Please contact me at thelma.gatuzzo@gmail.com if you intend to buy or use any of my images.
My instagram if you like: @thelmag and @thelma_and_cats
The 1970 Huascarán debris avalanche occurred on May 31, when a debris avalanche and mudflow triggered by the Ancash earthquake destroyed the Peruvian town of Yungay and ten nearby villages, leaving up to 18,000 people dead. It is the most deadly avalanche or glacier-related disaster in history and the third or fourth most deadly landslide-related disaster of the 20th century. The 1970 earthquake destabilized a glacier and snowmass which surged rapidly downhill, becoming a mudflow as it accumulated large volumes of loose dirt, rock and surface water. The slide then entered the Río Santa and caused extensive damage as it flowed all the way downstream to the Pacific Ocean.
Yungay is located in the Callejon de Huaylas on Rio Santa at an elevation of 2,500 m. East of the small town are the mountain ridges of snow-covered Cordillera Blanca, with Huascaran, Peru's highest mountain, no more than 15 km east of Yungay. Campo Santo is memorial to the 1970 Ancash earthquake victims.
Although most of Yungay was completely leveled by the earthquake and mudflow, some remnants, including the ruined cathedral and cemetery, can still be seen in the area.
Peru, Andes, Yungay
Please don't use my images without my permission. All images © Aivar Mikko.
The Prince Edward Point Lighthouse, built in 1881, is a squaretapered wooden lighthouse with an attached dwelling. The lighthouse is located on the eastern tip of Prince Edward Point, Ontario. Besides the combined 7.8-metre (26 foot) lighthouse and keeper’s residence, the lightstation also includes a detached shed. The lighthouse was automated in 1941 and operated until 1959 when it was replaced by a steel skeleton tower.
The lighthouse is associated with various shipwrecks that occurred in this area, colloquially called the “Graveyard of Lake Ontario”.
The Prince Edward Point Lighthouse supported the shipping industry, marking a safe avenue for commercial ships travelling through the waters of Lake Ontario for nearly 80 years. The lighthouse marks the only protected harbour for a distance of approximately 60 nautical miles.
Prince Edward Point Lighthouse was recognized as a Heritage Lighthouse in 2015. (Parks Canada)
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The end of the trail at the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, the lighthouse is a good spot to look for sea ducks during migration, as well as gulls and cormorants. Over 300 species of birds have been recorded on the trails and lake.
Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, Ontario, Canada. June 2022.
The dragon's mouth orchid (Arethusa bulbosa) is widely distributed in East North America. It occurs in wetlands (bogs and fens) and grows from a bulb to a height of about 10-15 cm. Although it usually produces a single flower, specimens with multiple flowers are occasionally found. Like many orchids it does not produce nectar to reward insect pollinators.
For more information see:
goorchids.northamericanorchidcenter.org/species/arethusa/...
and
explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.142646/Ar...
Photograph taken June 2020. A floating fen, West Quebec, Canada
Camera: Olympus EM5 MkII
Lens: Ross London 1 inch (25 mm) f1.9 (C mount, cine lens)
P6120016
"Moiré pattern occurs when a scene or an object that is being photographed contains repetitive details (such as lines, dots, etc) that exceed the sensor resolution. As a result, the camera produces a strange-looking wavy pattern"
Great Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopus Major
The great spotted woodpecker occurs in all types of woodlands and is catholic in its diet, being capable of extracting seeds from pine cones, insect larvae from inside trees or eggs and chicks of other birds from their nests. It breeds in holes excavated in living or dead trees, unlined apart from wood chips. The typical clutch is four to six glossy white eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs, feed the chicks and keep the nest clean. When the young fledge they are fed by the adults for about ten days, each parent taking responsibility for feeding part of the brood.
The great spotted woodpecker occurs in Eurasia from the British Isles to Japan, and in North Africa from Morocco to Tunisia, and it is absent only from those areas too cold or dry to have suitable woodland habitat. It is found in a wide variety of woodlands, broadleaf, coniferous or mixed, and in modified habitats like parks, gardens and olive groves. It occurs from sea-level to the tree line, up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in Europe, 2,200 m (7,200 ft) in Morocco and 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in Central Asia.
The great spotted woodpecker became extinct in the island of Ireland in the seventeenth century, due to deforestation, but the island was naturally recolonised by this species, with the first proven nesting in County Down in 2007. Its expansion in range is continuing, with breeding proven or suspected in at least 10 counties by 2013, with the main concentration in Down and County Wicklow. Genetic evidence shows the birds to be of British, rather than Scandinavian, ancestry, with the populations in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic having separate origins. The great spotted woodpecker was also found to have been nesting in the Isle of Man from 2009.
Population:
UK breeding:
140,000 pairs
The giant green anemone is a species of intertidal sea anemone of the family Actiniidae.
Generally, it is found along the low to mid intertidal zones of the Pacific Ocean, from Alaska to southern California and sometimes downwards to Panama, where cold water swells can occur. It prefers to inhabit sandy or rocky shorelines, where water remains for most of the day. They can generally be found in tide pools up to 15 m deep. Occasionally it can also be found in deep channels of more exposed rocky shores and concrete pilings in bays and harbors.
These anemones tend to live a solitary life, but can be occasionally seen as groups with no more than 14 individuals per square meter. They can move slowly using their basal disks, but usually stay sessile.
The anemone feeds on sea urchins, small fish, and crabs, but detached mussels seem to be the main food source. There are rare instances where the giant green anemone has consumed seabirds. It is not known whether the birds were alive or dead when engulfed by the anemone. (Wikipedia)
One evening we went to the tidal pools along the coast to look for fish, anemones and sea stars. It was adventure scrambling over the huge rocks, but we were rewarded with this anemone just under the surface of the water. No evidence of it having eaten a bird recently was found :-)
Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada. May 2022.
Eagle-Eye Tours - Ultimate British Columbia.
Great Spotted Woodpecker - Dendrocopus Major
The great spotted woodpecker occurs in all types of woodlands and is catholic in its diet, being capable of extracting seeds from pine cones, insect larvae from inside trees or eggs and chicks of other birds from their nests. It breeds in holes excavated in living or dead trees, unlined apart from wood chips. The typical clutch is four to six glossy white eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs, feed the chicks and keep the nest clean. When the young fledge they are fed by the adults for about ten days, each parent taking responsibility for feeding part of the brood.
The great spotted woodpecker occurs in Eurasia from the British Isles to Japan, and in North Africa from Morocco to Tunisia, and it is absent only from those areas too cold or dry to have suitable woodland habitat. It is found in a wide variety of woodlands, broadleaf, coniferous or mixed, and in modified habitats like parks, gardens and olive groves. It occurs from sea-level to the tree line, up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in Europe, 2,200 m (7,200 ft) in Morocco and 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in Central Asia.
The great spotted woodpecker became extinct in the island of Ireland in the seventeenth century, due to deforestation, but the island was naturally recolonised by this species, with the first proven nesting in County Down in 2007. Its expansion in range is continuing, with breeding proven or suspected in at least 10 counties by 2013, with the main concentration in Down and County Wicklow. Genetic evidence shows the birds to be of British, rather than Scandinavian, ancestry, with the populations in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic having separate origins. The great spotted woodpecker was also found to have been nesting in the Isle of Man from 2009.
Population:
UK breeding:
140,000 pairs
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Black-capped Tanagers (Stilpnia heinei) are vividly-colored tropical birds that occur from Venezuela to Ecuador. This species is primarily found in montane forest edges, at forest clearings (natural as well as man-made), and in tall second-growth forest. Black-capped Tanagers often occur in pairs and sometimes in mixed-species flocks, foraging in bushes and trees for insects and fruit.
It is one of the few species in the genus that shows obvious sexual dichromatism, with males primarily gray-blue in color with a distinctive black cap, and females yellow-green without a black cap.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p...
The Flame-rumped Tanager occurs from western Panama south through Colombia to western Ecuador. This is a sociable bird, being typically found in monospecific flocks, which inhabit shrubby semi-open areas.
Source: Neotropical Birds Online; Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species
/overview?p_p...
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
It’s such a small window in time when the feeding occurs outside the nest area, but today they sat on the edge of the stables, in bright sunlight allowing me to use a high shutter speed and Low ish ISO, the results were just breathtaking. With the naked eye all that was seen was a flurry of action that lasted just over a second, this was captured in 1/3200th of a second. A moment of perfect nature captured forever.
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
The Palm Tanager is one of the most widespread and familiar birds of the neotropics, from Nicaragua south to southern Brazil. They are common at forest borders, but also occur in the canopy of the interior of forest. As the name suggests, Palm Tanagers often are associated with palm trees, but by no means are they restricted to living in palms.
Source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p...
The American lady occurs from southern Canada throughout the U.S. and southward to northern South America.
In the Andean region is located from 1,600 to 3,000 meters. American painted lady flies in open areas and forest edge; it feeds on flowers nectar and bird droppings.
Vanessa virginiensis is most easily distinguishable by its two large eyespots on the ventral side.
Source:
Mariposario Comfenalco Piedras Blancas, Antioquia.
____________________________________________
Photo taken in La Ceja, Colombia; 2300 meters above sea level.
I know, there it is again, but I can't resist catching this phenomenon every time it occurs out my back door. This time the moon is setting to the left of Lone Peak just as the rising sun is hitting the peak.
Squabbling Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)
Smaller than blackbirds, with a short tail, pointed head, triangular wings, starlings look black at a distance but when seen closer they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens.
Their flight is fast and direct and they walk and run confidently on the ground. Noisy and gregarious, starlings spend a lot of the year in flocks.
Still one of the commonest of garden birds, its decline elsewhere makes it a Red List species. What they eat: Invertebrates and fruit. Starlings are conspicuous and widespread in the UK, occurring everywhere except for the highest parts of the Scottish Highlands. They are most abundant in southern England and are more thinly distributed in upland areas with moorland. Still one of the UK's commonest garden birds. In winter, huge roosts can be found in plantations, reedbeds and city centres (Courtesy RSPB).
Thanks for viewing my photos and for any favourites and comments, it’s much appreciated 👍
The common oriole in the eastern U.S., wintering to northern South America. Adult males are stunning: bright orange with a black head and bold white wingbar. Females vary from yellowish to bright orange below, often with blotchy black on the head. Breeds in deciduous trees in open woodlands, forest edges, orchards, riversides, parks, and backyards. Listen for rich whistled song. Visits feeders with nectar and fruits. Females can be very difficult to distinguish from Bullock's Oriole, and hybrids do occur. Baltimore is usually brightest on the breast, not the face. (eBird)
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The first oriole of the year was busy feeding from the new growth. His mate was nearby but was reluctant to show herself. I just love the colour and the beautiful song of these lovely birds.
Britannia Conservation Area, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. May 2023.
Redstart (M) - Phoenicuros Phoenicuros
The common redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus), or often simply redstart, is a small passerine bird in the redstart genus Phoenicurus. Like its relatives, it was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, (Turdidae), but is now known to be an Old World flycatcher (family Muscicapidae).
Common redstarts prefer open mature birch and oak woodland with a high horizontal visibility and low amounts of shrub and understorey especially where the trees are old enough to have holes suitable for its nest. They prefer to nest on the edge of woodland clearings. In Britain it occurs primarily in upland areas less affected by agricultural intensification, but further east in Europe also commonly in lowland areas, including parks and old gardens in urban areas. They nest in natural tree holes, so dead trees or those with dead limbs are beneficial to the species; nestboxes are sometimes used. A high cover of moss and lichen is also preferred. They also use mature open conifer woodland, particularly in the north of the breeding range. Management to thin out the trees is thus favoured.
In England, where it has declined by 55% in the past 25 years, the Forestry Commission offers grants under a scheme called England's Woodland Improvement Grant (EWIG); as does Natural Englands Environmental Stewardship Scheme. It is a very rare and irregular breeding bird in Ireland, with between one and five pairs breeding in most years, mainly in County Wicklow.
It is a summer visitor throughout most of Europe and western Asia (east to Lake Baikal), and also in northwest Africa in Morocco. It winters in central Africa and Arabia, south of the Sahara Desert but north of the Equator, from Senegal east to Yemen. It is widespread as a breeding bird in Great Britain, particularly in upland broadleaf woodlands and hedgerow trees, but in Ireland it is very local, and may not breed every year.
The males first arrive in early to mid April, often a few days in advance of the females. Five or six light blue eggs are laid during May, with a second brood in mid summer in the south of the breeding range. It departs for Africa between mid-August and early October. It often feeds like a flycatcher, making aerial sallies after passing insects, and most of its food consists of winged insects. The call is chat-like and the alarm a plaintive single note, wheet, like that of many other chats.
The male’s song is similar to that of the Robin, but never more than a prelude, since it has an unfinished, feeble ending.
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La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Stilpnia heinei
(Black-capped Tanager / Tangara capirotada)
Black-capped Tanagers are vividly-colored tropical birds that occur in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. They often occur in pairs foraging in bushes and trees for insects and fruit.
It is one of the few species in the genus that shows obvious sexual dichromatism, with males primarily gray-blue in color with a distinctive black cap, and females yellow-green without a black cap.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/identificati...
The Flame-rumped Tanager occurs from western Panama south through Colombia to western Ecuador. This is a sociable bird, being typically found in monospecific flocks, which inhabit shrubby semi-open areas.
Source: Neotropical Birds Online; Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species
/overview?p_p...
This impressively large woodcreeper occurs throughout Central America, the Northern Andes, and locally into lowland forests of South America, though it is inconspicous and easily overlooked. San Lorenzo Experimental Station, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Park, Colombia
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Melanerpes rubricapillus rubricapillus
(Red-crowned woodpecker / Carpintero habado)
The red-crowned woodpecker (Melanerpes rubricapillus) is a resident breeding bird from southwestern Costa Rica south to Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and Tobago.
The male has a red crown patch and nape. The female has a buff crown and duller nape. Immature birds are duller, particularly in the red areas of the head and neck.
This woodpecker occurs in forests and semi-open woodland and cultivation. Red-crowned woodpeckers feed on insects, but will take fruit.
San Vito
Costa Rica
Wilson Botanical Garden
The silver-throated tanager (Tangara icterocephala) is a small passerine bird. This brightly coloured tanager is a resident from Costa Rica, through Panama and western Colombia, to western Ecuador.
In Costa Rica it is a common bird from 600 to 1,700 metres (2,000 to 5,600 ft) altitude in the lower and middle levels of wet mountain forests and adjacent semi-open areas like clearings with shade trees, second growth and woodland edges. In the heavy rains of the wet season, it will descend to sea level. In the South American part of its range it mainly occurs between 500 and 1,300 metres (1,600 and 4,300 ft), but can be found at altitudes of 150 to 2,100 metres (490 to 6,890 ft).
Silver-throated tanagers occur in pairs, small groups, or as part of a mixed-species feeding flock. They eat small fruit, usually swallowed whole, insects and spiders.
The compact cup nest is built 1–13 metres (3.3–42.7 ft) in a tree on a branch. The normal clutch is two brown-blotched off-white eggs. This species will raise two broods in a season. – Wikipedia
Pyrrhosoma nymphula is one of the first damselflies to appear in spring. They emerge in April/May and fly until August. The only damselfly flying earlier is the Common Winter Damselfly (Sympecma fusca) which overwinters as an imago.
The species occurs in many parts of Europe.
Hey everyone! I hope your weekend has been a great one! I discovered several years back that there is only one morning during each monthly lunar cycle when a photo op of the combination of the moon and predawn color can coincide closely...the last day before the new moon, when the moon rises an hour before sunrise. The moon can be seen well above sunrise earlier in this cycle, but I like how the thin sliver of crescent moon seems to float on the predawn glow! I've seldom caught this composition, as it usually occurs during the workweek or on cloudy or rainy mornings...so when all the conditions were perfect this morning, I rousted out of bed at 3 am, got ready and made the run over to Big Lagoon to get set up before the moon began to rise! It was cold, but so peaceful in the predawn dark, and a great chance to do some stargazing!
The Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea) is the rarest heron to migrate north to San Diego County from Mexico. It ranges from the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve to San Diego Bay and La Jolla Shores.
The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron occurs in very small numbers in San Diego County at only a few favored locations near the coast. Breeding does occur but the species remains a rare waterbird in the county.
I happened to come across him as I was shooting the sunset at the lagoon, a place he does not frequent in Del Mar. I was able to capture a number of photos of him feeding and finally flying away.
Chosen by San Diego Audubon Society's cover photo for October 2020 newsletter.
Cirrocumulus is one of the three main genus-types of high-altitude tropospheric clouds, the other two being cirrus and cirrostratus. They usually occur at an altitude of 5 kilometres to 12 kilometres. Like lower altitude cumuliform and stratocumuliform clouds, cirrocumulus signifies convection. Unlike other high-altitude-tropospheric clouds like cirrus and cirrostratus, cirrocumulus includes a small amount of liquid water droplets, although these are in a supercooled state. Ice crystals are the predominant component, and typically, the ice crystals cause the supercooled water drops in the cloud to rapidly freeze, transforming the cirrocumulus into cirrostratus. This process can also produce precipitation in the form of a virga consisting of ice or snow. Thus cirrocumulus clouds are usually short-lived. They usually only form as part of a short-lived transitional phase within an area of cirrus clouds and can also form briefly as a result of the breaking up of part of a cumulonimbus anvil. Properly, the term cirrocumulus refers to each cloud, but is typically also used to refer to an entire patch of cirrocumulus. When used in this way, each cirrocumulus element is referred to as a 'cloudlet'. 21758
Apparently, they occur only in New England in late August, and can only be seen by plastic cameras. The dream continues. Hate that this must end.
Guillemot /Murre - Uria aalge
The common murre or common guillemot (Uria aalge) is a large auk. It is also known as the thin-billed murre in North America. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands.
Common murres have fast direct flight but are not very agile. They are more manoeuvrable underwater, typically diving to depths of 30–60 m (98–197 ft). Depths of up to 180 m (590 ft) have been recorded.
Common murres breed in colonies at high densities. Nesting pairs may be in bodily contact with their neighbours. They make no nest; their single egg is incubated on a bare rock ledge on a cliff face. Eggs hatch after ~30 days incubation. The chick is born downy and can regulate its body temperature after 10 days. Some 20 days after hatching the chick leaves its nesting ledge and heads for the sea, unable to fly, but gliding for some distance with fluttering wings, accompanied by its male parent. Chicks are capable of diving as soon as they hit the water. The female stays at the nest site for some 14 days after the chick has left.
Both male and female common murres moult after breeding and become flightless for 1–2 months. In southern populations they occasionally return to the nest site throughout the winter. Northern populations spend the winter farther from their colonies.
Some individuals in the North Atlantic, known as "bridled guillemots", have a white ring around the eye extending back as a white line. This is not a distinct subspecies, but a polymorphism that becomes more common the farther north the birds breed.
The common murre nests in densely packed colonies (known as "loomeries"), with up to twenty pairs occupying one square metre at peak season.[citation needed] Common murres do not make nests and lay their eggs on bare rock ledges, under rocks, or the ground. They first breed at four to nine years old, but most individuals recruit into the breeding population at ages six or seven, although birds may disperse (permanently depart their natal colony) if space is limited. Annual survival probability for birds aged 6–15 is 0.895, and average lifespan is about 20 years. Breeding success increases with age up to age 9-10 to 0.7 fledglings per pair, then declines in the oldest age birds, perhaps indicating reproductive senesence.
High densities mean that birds are close contact with neighbouring breeders. Common murres perform appeasement displays more often at high densities and more often than razorbills.
Allopreening is common both between mates and between neighbours. Allopreening helps to reduce parasites, and it may also have important social functions. Frequency of allopreening a neighbour correlates well with current breeding success.
Allopreening may function as a stress-reducer; ledges with low levels of allopreening show increased levels of fighting and reduced breeding success.
Alloparenting behaviour is frequently observed. Non-breeding and failed breeders show great interest in other chicks, and will attempt to brood or feed them. This activity is more common as the chicks get older and begin to explore their ledge. There has also been a record of a pair managing to raise two chicks. Adults that have lost chicks or eggs will sometimes bring fish to the nest site and try to feed their imaginary chick.
At time of extreme food stress, the social activity of the breeding ledge can break down.
On the Isle of May colony in 2007, food availability was low. Adults spent more of their time-budget foraging for their chicks and had to leave them unattended at times. Unattended chicks were attacked by breeding neighbour which often led to their deaths. Non-breeding and failed breeders continued to show alloparental care.
In areas such as Newfoundland, the birds, along with the related thick-billed murre, are referred to as 'turrs' or 'tuirs', and are consumed. The meat is dark and quite oily, due to the birds' diet of fish. Eggs have also been harvested.
Eggers from San Francisco took almost half a million eggs a year from the Farallon Islands in the mid-19th century to feed the growing city.
Population:
UK breeding:
950,000 pairs
Leucism occurs when there is a "partial loss of pigment or loss of some pigments in some body parts,". Near my home in Fairfield Harbour, NC
It occurred to me that a number of my landscape images taken at sunset, have a colorful sky, periodically sacrificing what was not in the sky, to little more than a silhouette. So, with the tides at their low point around 2:30pm, out I ventured to a predetermined spot where the opposite might occur.
Now the land would fill with the colors of yellowed rocks, green seaweed, and other vividly colored elements normally covered by the ocean. In this reversal, a distant island would replace the colored sky and instead play the part of a silhouette.
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Black-capped Tanagers are vividly-colored tropical birds that occur in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. They often occur in pairs foraging in bushes and trees for insects and fruit.
It is one of the few species in the genus that shows obvious sexual dichromatism, with males primarily gray-blue in color with a distinctive black cap, and females yellow-green without a black cap.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/identificati...
Azure-shouldered Tanager - Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near-threatened. Occurs mainly inside humid forest and is less able to utilize forest edge and second growth than are most others in the genus, a factor that has contributed to its severe range contraction and fragmentation following deforestation. Believed to be in decline. Possibly occurs in only relatively few areas outside protected sites. birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/azstan1
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