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(Poecile palustris - Marsh Tit)
La plus aimable avec les autres oiseaux et spécialement
avec les autres mésanges,/
The friendliest with other birds and especially
with the other tits,/
- la prochaine pose, on la fera de face... mais s'il n'y a pas plus à becqueter je suis pas sûr de revenir.
Blossom, plus unexpected guest!
The 1st and so far only butterfly I’ve seen or captured this year.
Was focusing on another branch when I noticed a flutter, only had a second or so to capture this before he flitted away!
Shot with my iPhone 8 Plus
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Le plus grand des grèbes. Facile à reconnaître à sa huppe noirâtre et double, et, au printemps, à la collerette de plumes rousses et noires ornant les côtés de la tête. Cou mince, joues blanches. Patte palmée, mais chaque doigt reste indépendant (palmure lobée). Bec assez long, pointu, droit, rosé et noir
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili...
If you're interested, you'll find a more detailed closeup here (it's the 8th photo from the top): www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi...
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (it's very brief but pretty unusual: a tiny wall lizard attacks two young great tits): www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQqkSsyrm7E
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: MY LONG AND ARDUOUS JOURNEY TO BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY
If you've set yourself the challenge of exclusively shooting the wildlife in your own back yard, you might find - as I did - that bird photography is really, really hard.
It's not that reptiles are easy to photograph either, mind - but at least the ones in my garden stay (for the most part) on the ground, and one can learn how to carefully approach them with a camera. They're also clearly egoists, which from a photographer's point of view is is a great character trait: if a lizard detects a human in its vicinity, it's only interested in saving its own skin, and it won't alarm its buddies.
But birds... oh man. Over the years, my feathered friends and I have developed a lovely routine that now defines our peaceful co-existence. As soon as I as much as open a window (let alone the door), I'm instantly greeted by an eruption of panicky fluttering and hysterical shouts from my garden: "SAVE YOUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND FLY FOR YOUR LIVES: THE HAIRLESS, PINK MONSTER IS COMING!!! (Yes, I speak bird, and I know that this is exactly what they are shouting 😉).
Needless to say, with the exception of the redstart I already showed here, all my efforts to get the kind of detailed shots I usually strive for with my nature photography ended in complete failure and utter disillusionment. I was ready to give up on stalking the winged misanthropes in my garden altogether, but then winter came - and changed everything.
One day this past January I observed my neighbor Signora P - a kind, elderly Italian lady - putting something on the low garden wall in front of my house. At first I thought she was just putting some treat there for her cat Romeo; the young tom patrols that wall constantly (it's his favorite spot in the garden, and during the warmer months he usually lurks in the thick foliage next to it to prey on lizards).
But once I detected a lot of movement on that wall through my window, I understood she had put a little pile of bread crumbs there; she was feeding the birds who soon arrived in flocks. This was certainly well-intended on my neighbor's part, but her noble action came with a catch, and I'm afraid quite literally.
When I took a stroll through my garden the next day I discovered a suspicious amount of feathers on the ground next to the wall. Romeo had apparently switched from his low-calorie summer diet (lizard) to more energy-rich meals consisting of "fowl" (it was winter after all, so from a nutritionist's point of view this made sense).
I would find fresh traces of Romeo's victims (mostly feathers, but also the odd wing) in my garden over the following days; so my first intuition that my neighbor was feeding her cat hadn't been that far off after all, as Romeo was now clearly being "served" fresh birds on a daily basis. And although the hungry visitors seemed to be aware of the danger and became slightly more prudent, they just couldn't resist the tasty snacks Signora P put on that wall - and neither could Romeo.
It was obvious that I had to act, but talking to my neighbor - who is as stubborn as she is kind - would have been futile, I knew that much. I pondered the matter long and hard - until a light bulb went off in my head. The idea was genius. If successful, what I had in mind would not only increase the birds' chances of surviving Romeo's appetite, but also greatly benefit my own photographic endeavors.
I started to enact my master plan the very next day by buying a giant bag of bird feed (consisting mainly of sunflower seeds) from the store. Then I dragged a huge piece of a tree trunk (approx. 120 cm in height) that we normally chop firewood on in the shed out into the garden and emptied almost half of the bag's content on top of it. Signora P's buffet for birds (and cats) was about to get some serious competition 😊.
My reasoning was as follows: not only would the birds be lured away from the fatally low garden wall to a place where they were safe from the cat - there was nothing around that tree trunk that provided cover for a predator, and the birds had a nice 360° view around it at all times - but I was also able to photograph them while hiding in the shed.
However, in order for my plan to work there was one little extra measure I had to take, and it was one that risked lowering my own life expectancy considerably once the owner of the property - my mom - discovered it. You see, our shed is completely windowless, so if I wanted to use it as a blind, I had no choice but to cut a hole into one of its wooden walls... which I promptly did (I figured all's fair in love - and photography 😉).
Granted, I have absolutely zero carpentering skills, and it showed. That hole was an ugly mess: the shed's wall seemed to have had an encounter with Jack Nicholson's ax-wielding lunatic character from the film 'The Shining'. Needless to say, I was incredibly proud of my work (I mean, come on: there now was a hole where before there wasn't a hole, and it was big enough for the lens of my camera to peek through, so it was mission accomplished as far as I was concerned).
Now all I had to do was wait for the birds to discover the tree trunk. In the meantime I started to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable confrontation with my mom and go through possible explanations for that splintering hole in the wall (it was either gonna be a rabid woodpecker attack or an emergency rescue mission with a feeding tube for a little kid that had accidentally locked himself inside the shed - both seemed valid options, though I slightly preferred the locked-in kid due to the involved drama and heroism 😉).
A whole day went by, and not a single bird visited the sunflower seeds. I had expected that it might take a few hours until the first of the ever curious great tits or blue tits would show up, but given how tiny my garden is, an entire day seemed excessive. Then another day came and went: the birds kept flocking to the bread crumbs on the wall, and my tree trunk kept collecting dust. To add injury to insult, a few fresh feathers on the ground were proof that Romeo was still feasting.
It was incredibly frustrating: I provided my winged guests with a much better view - plus a higher chance of surviving the cuisine - than Signora P's place; I risked (almost) certain death at the hands of my own mother (OK, the act of vandalism on the shed I had committed for my own benefit, but still), yet the birds kept ignoring me.
Then, after three days, just before sunset, I spotted a single blue tit on the tree trunk picking away at the sunflower seeds.
When I got up the next morning I immediately realized that the loud noise that accompanies each and every tit activity had shifted from the wall to the shed. At last the dam had broken: there was a flurry of movement around the tree trunk, and I counted at least 5 different species of birds feasting on the sunflower seeds.
From day 4 onward my plan worked beautifully: the birds now indeed mostly ignored Romeo's "snack wall" and kept to the tree trunk. And yes, I was able to play peeping tom from behind the shed's wall and photograph them!! 😊
Thus, dear readers, I finally managed to produce some acceptable bird photos, and I had even saved my feathered friends from a deadly foe in the process. All through winter and spring I took advantage of my new bird hide, and in late May I started mixing some cherries with the sunflower seeds. The idea was to attract a Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius), and as you can see, it worked!
It took me almost three weeks and more than a few tricks to capture that clever fella, but given how long I've been rambling here already, that's a story for another day. As for my mom, she still doesn't know about the hole in the wall, so please don't snitch! 😉.
I hope you like the photo and wish you all a wonderful weekend! Many greetings from Switzerland, and as always: let me know what you think in the comments 🙏 😊 ❤!
P.S. if anyone has their own funny tale about the obstacles we photographers are prepared to overcome for a desired photo, please write it in the comments: I love such stories 😊
Ce château renaissance de L' Islette à quelques kms d' Azay le Rideau fut achevé vers 1530 .
Enserré dans les bras de L ' Indre , dans un cadre romantique , ce château a abrité les amours tumultueuses de Camille Claudel et de Rodin vers 1890 .
Ils y exercèrent leur art et travaillèrent à certaines de leurs oeuvres les plus célèbres comme "la Petite Châtelaine " et " les Causeuses" de Camille et "Balzac" de Rodin ...
Wir waren zu viert, ich ... und meine drei
Droogs .... und saßen in der Korowa Milchbar und ließen uns
durch die Rassudocks gehen, wie der Abend laufen sollte...
La visite éclair de Burano lors de notre séjour à Venise était des plus agréables, colorée et étonnante. Je recommande à tous ceux qui le peuvent d'y passer plus de temps pour admirer le paysage et vivre pleinement le calme qui y règne.
FedEx Feeder on a snowy ramp ...a fresh 3 " after a foot plus fell the day before from winter storm IZZY
Cessna 208B Super Cargomaster
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After Europes largest land animal, let's get back into my garden to the other extreme, the Goldcrest, which is one of Europes smallest birds.
I found this little guy almost accidentally when I saw an unusual movement in a conifer, where he was looking for insects. Due to his behavior of feeding from the underside of the conifers, I had a tough task getting to a half decent shot in the short timeframe he was around. Eventually I got this one, showing him in his natural habitat, framed by the conifer branches.
Thanks for watching and have a great day.
Après Praline la plus petite, voici Päquerette la plus blanche :-)
After Praline the tiniest, here is Pâquerette the whitest :-)
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Le plus lourd fardeau, c’est d’exister sans vivre.
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El fardo más pesado es el de existir sin vivir.
Victor Hugo
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Photo : Hilbesheim (Moselle). Eglise St-Brice de 1764 qui conserve son clocher rond romain et son vieux cimetière.
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Foto: Hilbesheim es un pequeño pueblo del noreste de Francia (Lorena) y ésta es su iglesia de estilo barroco con su campanario redondo romano del siglo XII y su viejo cementerio.
Cette cathédrale se dresse au 10 Lossi plats, en face du Parlement, dans la Ville haute de Tallinn, la capitale d’Estonie.
Elle est la plus importante et la plus belle cathédrale à coupoles de Tallinn. C’est un chef-d’œuvre architectural dont l’intérieur est richement décoré de mosaïques et d’icônes. Elle a été bâtie par Mikhail Preobrazhenski (de Saint-Pétersbourg), sur la colline Toompea. Construite entre 1895 et 1900, lorsque l’Estonie était une partie de l’empire russe tsariste, la cathédrale avait pour objectif originel d’être un symbole de la domination impériale – à la fois politique et religieuse—sur le territoire Balte de plus en plus insoumis et déloyal. L’église fut dédiée au prince de Novgorod, Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky, qui a dirigé la célèbre bataille du lac Peïpous (Peipi) le 5 avril 1242, et ainsi stoppé l’avancée vers l’est des croisés Teutons. Depuis le parvis de la cathédrale, on a une belle vue sur Tallinn.
Les origines de Tallinn remontent au 13e siècle, lorsqu'un château fut édifié par les croisés de l'ordre Teutonique. La cité s'est développée pour devenir un poste clé de la Ligue hanséatique et sa prospérité s'est traduite par l'opulence des édifices publics (en particulier ses églises) et l'architecture domestique des maisons de marchands, remarquablement bien préservées malgré les ravages des incendies et des guerres au cours des siècles.
En fait, la vieille ville de la capitale d’Estonie est une citadelle blottie au fond d'un golfe, protégée par des remparts et des tours conservés datant du 13e siècle. La combinaison de la Ville haute perchée sur la colline de calcaire de Toompea et de la Ville basse au pied de celle-ci, avec les nombreux clochers de ses églises, dessine une silhouette singulière qui se voit de loin, depuis la mer comme depuis l’intérieur des terres. Elle abrite ainsi de nombreux vestiges de l'époque médiévale et hanséatique et des bâtiments à la façade pastel de style baroque, Renaissance et classique. Le centre historique (vieille ville) de Tallinn est classé au Patrimoine de L'UNESCO depuis 1997 (WHL- 822bis).
L’Estonie est généralement regroupé avec la Lettonie et la Lituanie dans un ensemble géopolitique appelé pays baltes dont il est le plus petit. L'Estonie est une démocratie parlementaire depuis le rétablissement de l'indépendance en 1991. Elle fait partie de l’Union européenne depuis le 1er mai 2004 et a intégré la zone euro le 1er janvier 2011. Elle est membre de l’OTAN depuis le 29 mars 2004. Le pays a connu diverses dominations au cours de son histoire dont celle des Allemands (époque Hanséatique), des Suédois au 17e siècle, des Russes au 18e siècle, de l'Allemagne nazie puis l'intégration à l'URSS après la 2e guerre mondiale.
The Morgan Plus 8 is a sports car built by British car maker Morgan from 1968 to 2004 and again in revised form between 2012 and 2018. Its instant and enduring popularity has been credited with saving the company and keeping the company famous during the 36 years of its manufacture. Among Morgan enthusiasts, it is deeply associated with Peter Morgan, the owner-chairman behind its design.
Design
The development of the Plus 8 was led by Maurice Owen, an engineer taken on specifically for the role. The Plus 8 prototype was based on a modified chassis from the Plus 4, altered to accept the Rover alloy block 215 cu in (3.5 L) V8, purchased from GM-Buick in 1967. Plus 4's Moss gearbox was carried over and the Salisbury 7HA axle was uprated with a limited-slip differential. The chassis was developed in stages to accommodate gearbox changes in 1973 and 1976, 1995 the body widened in 1976 to accommodate the widened chassis and the wings widened to accommodate larger tires to handle the increasing power and trend for lower profile and wider tires. The original 1968 Plus 8 was 57 inches (1,400 mm) wide and the last was 64 inches (1,600 mm) (with an optional "widebody" at 67 inches (1,700 mm)) From the 1960s and (according to all auto magazines) through the 1980s for acceleration between 20-80mph, the Plus Eight was the fastest-accelerating UK production car. To this day, early Plus 8s are frequently the winners in the 1960-1970 class in the UK.
In 2002, Morgan created a "LeMans Edition" with similar exterior feature to the 1960s Plus 4 LeMans winner. In 2003, Morgan created a 35th year "Anniversary Edition" of the Plus 8. The 35th Anniversary model was built in 100 examples and has a walnut dashboard, mesh behind the grille bars, a "LeMans style" gear knob, and a badge on the rear panel. The original brochure also referenced the fact that the Plus 8 was to be discontinued the following year.
Following the discontinuation of the Rover V8, production of Plus 8 ended in 2004. A revised Aero, powered by a 4.8-litre BMW V8 engine, was placed on an Aero chassis, with Aero 8 suspension, axles, brakes, steering, gearbox, and altered wings was introduced in 2012, They also called this model "Plus 8" and it was sold concurrently with the Aero 8 from that date until the elimination of the Aero line-up in 2020.
In 2014, Morgan created another edition called the Plus 8 'Speedster' models based on the later Aero configuration noted above. It began as a limited edition, but production was not limited to the originally advertised 60 examples. This limited run forwent the traditional roof in favor of a small fly screen and hidden roll bars behind the front seats. Pitched as an entry-level Plus 8 model, they went on sale for £69,999.
The Morgan Plus 8 is a sports car built by British car maker Morgan from 1968 to 2004 and again in revised form between 2012 and 2018. Its instant and enduring popularity has been credited with saving the company and keeping the company famous during the 36 years of its manufacture. Among Morgan enthusiasts, it is deeply associated with Peter Morgan, the owner-chairman behind its design.
Design
The development of the Plus 8 was led by Maurice Owen, an engineer taken on specifically for the role. The Plus 8 prototype was based on a modified chassis from the Plus 4, altered to accept the Rover alloy block 215 cu in (3.5 L) V8, purchased from GM-Buick in 1967. Plus 4's Moss gearbox was carried over and the Salisbury 7HA axle was uprated with a limited-slip differential. The chassis was developed in stages to accommodate gearbox changes in 1973 and 1976, 1995 the body widened in 1976 to accommodate the widened chassis and the wings widened to accommodate larger tires to handle the increasing power and trend for lower profile and wider tires. The original 1968 Plus 8 was 57 inches (1,400 mm) wide and the last was 64 inches (1,600 mm) (with an optional "widebody" at 67 inches (1,700 mm)) From the 1960s and (according to all auto magazines) through the 1980s for acceleration between 20-80mph, the Plus Eight was the fastest-accelerating UK production car. To this day, early Plus 8s are frequently the winners in the 1960-1970 class in the UK.
In 2002, Morgan created a "LeMans Edition" with similar exterior feature to the 1960s Plus 4 LeMans winner. In 2003, Morgan created a 35th year "Anniversary Edition" of the Plus 8. The 35th Anniversary model was built in 100 examples and has a walnut dashboard, mesh behind the grille bars, a "LeMans style" gear knob, and a badge on the rear panel. The original brochure also referenced the fact that the Plus 8 was to be discontinued the following year.
Following the discontinuation of the Rover V8, production of Plus 8 ended in 2004. A revised Aero, powered by a 4.8-litre BMW V8 engine, was placed on an Aero chassis, with Aero 8 suspension, axles, brakes, steering, gearbox, and altered wings was introduced in 2012, They also called this model "Plus 8" and it was sold concurrently with the Aero 8 from that date until the elimination of the Aero line-up in 2020.
In 2014, Morgan created another edition called the Plus 8 'Speedster' models based on the later Aero configuration noted above. It began as a limited edition, but production was not limited to the originally advertised 60 examples. This limited run forwent the traditional roof in favor of a small fly screen and hidden roll bars behind the front seats. Pitched as an entry-level Plus 8 model, they went on sale for £69,999.