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Scanned Velvia Slide film
Aigües Tortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Parc
copyright ©2010 Jordi Solé Joval. All rights reserved.
This image may not be used or reproduced in any way without my permission. If you'd like to use one of my images for any reason, please contact me: mountaincult[at]gmail.com
I am currently in the Tharu cultural show in Sauraha village in Chitwan, Nepal. The Tharus were the original inhabitants of Sauraha village which has now grown into a rather touristy town with lodges, shops, hotels and things as it is the base for exploring the Chitwan National Park. Notes about the Charu cultural show and the Tharu peoples themselves appeared earlier in this album. (see previous pictures). Back to the video on hand, this fast paced number in the Tharu cultural show where the dancers use foot long sticks bears close resemblance to the Dandia which is performed all over India but more so in Gujarat. (my Facebook viewers will find this video in a separate Videos folder under my profile). (Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
This Vesper Sparrow established a first record for Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk on 22-25 June 2015. I first heard it singing from the roof of the traveler's cabin just before midnight on 22 June.
Vesper Sparrow is casual in the Beaufourt Sea Region.
I am in Sauraha, Nepal, which is the base for exploring the Chitwan National Park. Almost every hotel or tour company which offer the Chitwan package also include the Tharu Cultural show. The show is almost over now, and I decided it was time to leave once the public was invited to participate and join the performers on stage. The Tharu were the original peoples in the original village of Sauraha, before it grew into a rather touristy town catering to the hordes of visitors who come to visit Chitwan National Park. Detailed notes about the Tharu peoples and the Tharu cultural show appeared earlier in this album (see previous pictures). I experienced this later in Pokhara as well, where the public is invited to join in on stage at the last act. This wraps up my Chitwan trip. See you now in Pokhara. (ny Facebook viewers will find this video in a separate Videos folder under my Profile.) (Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
Prosper Sabongo, a PHD student, measures the circumference of a Funtunia Africana in the forest reserve near the village of Masako. Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Photo by Ollivier Girard/CIFOR
If you use one of our photos, please credit it accordingly and let us know. You can reach us through our Flickr account or at: cifor-mediainfo@cgiar.org and m.edliadi@cgiar.org
Thanks to the heavy downpour with thunder and lightning the previous night, the morning was rather chill, and foggy. The first thing after breakfast was a boat ride on the East Rapti river, hopefully with some wild life spotting. As I was waiting for the car to get ready, which will take us to the boat quay, I noticed these beautiful red Ixora (Santan) flowers with dew in the hotel grounds- the rains had eased but it was still cloudy. Ixora or Santan is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family, which consists of tropical evergreen trees and shrubs and holds around 500 species. Ixora is a dense, multi-branched evergreen shrub that is fairly small that grows about 4 to 6 ft. commonly known as West Indian Jasmine. Other common names for these Ixora or Santan flowers include Viruchi, Rangan, Kheme, Ponna, Chann Tanea, Techi, Pan, Siantan, Jarum-jarum/ Jejarum, Jungle Flame, Jungle Geranium and Cruz de Malta among others. The plants possess leathery leaves, ranging from 3 - 6" in length, and produce large clusters of tiny flowers- like these ones seen here- in the summer. Members of Ixora prefer acidic soil, and are suitable choices for bonsai. It is also a popular choice for hedges in parts of South East Asia. In tropical climates they flower year round and are commonly used in Hindu worship, as well as in Ayurveda and Indian folk medicine. (Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
Mount Akita-Komagatake (1637 meters high) is one of the highest mountain in Akita Prefecture. It is an active volcano that last erupted in 1970-71. The mountain has multiple peaks and a network of relatively easy trails with attractive views that make for a rewarding few hours of hiking. It is part of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park.
The boat ride on the East Rapti river in the Chitwan National Park in Nepal (see previous pictures earlier in this album) was followed by a jungle walk through slushy jungle paths. Getting off the low slung canoe was an odyssey in itself- one had to get up from almost floor level on a dangerously rocking and unstable boat, stabilize oneself and then step onto a sloping river bank made slippery by slush and wet grass, thanks to last night's heavy downpour. Luckily for me, the Chinese tour group had reached here first and the bold tour guide (the lady with the white t-shirt- see previous pictures earlier in this album) helped me up the slope. My guide started walking right away, giving me no time at all to find my bearings after that adventure! Still, it was a relief to get off that unstable boat and stretch one's legs. We encountered several deer tracks on the wet mud as we walked along- you can see how slushy the ground was in this picture. These are the tracks of the Axis deer, a far view and notes of which appeared earlier in this album. (see previous pictures). (Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
Checkpoints of Pulau Dua Natural Reserve (estimated 30 hectares of mangroves). Pulau Dua Natural Reserve in Banten Province is one of the most pristine, natural mangrove reserves in the area encompassing the mega-city of Jakarta.
Photo by Aulia Erlangga/CIFOR
If you use one of our photos, please credit it accordingly and let us know. You can reach us through our Flickr account or at: cifor-mediainfo@cgiar.org and m.edliadi@cgiar.org
Glen Echo Park, also known as Glen Echo Amusement Park and Glen Echo Park Historic District, is a public park in Glen Echo, Maryland. It is managed by the National Park Service as part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. It began in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly and operated as an amusement park until 1968. As of 2007, the park hosts an arts education program and is also known for its antique carousel, its Spanish Ballroom, and its historic electric street car and its annual Washington Folk Festival.
Photo by Kevin Borland. Portions of text derived from Wikipedia.
These drawings are all award winners of a contest dedicated to World Environment Day with 80 children from seven schools where the Global Environment Facility and UNDP are piloting a project on protected areas. The kids are all from villages bordering the Surkhan Strict Nature Reserve in Uzbekistan.
Read more about the contest
A vibrant Northern Cardinal perches gracefully on a tree branch at the Hendrie Valley Sanctuary, part of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario. Its bright red plumage contrasts beautifully with the natural surroundings, capturing the charm and color of native Canadian birdlife. This striking image is ideal for themes involving birdwatching, Ontario wildlife, seasonal beauty, and nature photography.
Prosper Sabongo a PHD student measures the circumference of a Funtunia Africana in the forest reserve near the village of Masako. Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Photo by Ollivier Girard/CIFOR
If you use one of our photos, please credit it accordingly and let us know. You can reach us through our Flickr account or at: cifor-mediainfo@cgiar.org and m.edliadi@cgiar.org
Back to the carnow after a rather disappointing outing with only one wild bird -an Oriental Darter- seen on the entire 4 hr jeep safari. At the beginning of the ride, I had to ward off one pesky guide who tried to relegate me to the middle seat and give my seat to a couple of Caucasians- they were fortunately more sensible and asked the guide to back off. I told him to bugger off as well. The highlight of the four hour ride was probably the visit to this conservatory for the unusual narrow snouted Gharial crocodiles. In the early 1950s, about 235 Gharials occurred in the Narayani River in Nepal. Sadly, the population had declined dramatically to only 38 wild Gharials in 2003. Every year Gharial eggs are collected along the rivers to be hatched in the breeding center of the Gharial Conservation Project (the facility we have just visited- see previous pictures earlier in this album), where animals are reared to an age of 6–9 years. Every year young Gharials are re-introduced into the Narayani- Rapti river system. Sadly only very few of them survive. Still, it does keep the animals from total extinction I guess. Detailed notes about Gharial crocodiles appeared earlier in this album. (see previous pictures). As for the car in the foreground, most of the safari vehicles in Sauraha are Mahindra Bolero jeeps, with the odd Maruti Gypsy. This is one of the rare Tata Yodha vehicles- it's an Indian brand. (Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
This picture is simply a more tightly cropped version of the previous one so I will repeat the same caption here, as the previous one: Another goofy post opposite the Koh Tapu pillar rock (known as a 'stack' in geological terms) on Ko Phing Kan- the James Bond Island, courtesy my guide. After being rather rude, and sarcastic all morning, my guide surprisingly opened up later in the day and took several pictures of me on James Bond Island. This is the exact spot where 007 (Roger Moore) and the bad buy Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) have a duel in the 1974 Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. Another tour group was making their guests pose at the spot with dummy golden guns (see previous pictures earlier in this album). No golden gun here, my guide had me pose like I am holding one! I am here as part of the Ao Phang Nga/ James Bond islands speedboat tour out of Phuket, Thailand, and this is the fourth stop on the tour. . We had got off at other islands in ankle deep water due to which my trouser legs are rolled up, killing the shot somewhat. And since I was wearing jeans, it was even more difficult to manage the heavy fabric, and so the trouser legs were rolled up rather unevenly- one more than the other. That drew much flak from my good friend and colleague Lijo Jose, who grumbled that I have managed to kill the picture and it's more of a comdey relief than a serious selfie! Luckily I managed to edit this pic to cut out those dreaful unequally rolled up trouser legs. This island was the base of the film’s bad guy Scaramanga. Detailed notes about the movie, as well as about the Ao Phang Nga Bay National Park appeared earlier in this album. (see previous pictures). (Phuket, Thailand, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
The Appalachian Trail passes directly in front of you just 20 yards away. You can recognize it by the white blazes painted on trees. Also called the A.T., this footpath stretches more than 2,100 miles across mountaintop an ridge from Maine to Georgia.
A hike of roughly three million steps to your right will take you 1,220 miles to the A.T.'s northern end atop Mt. Katahdin in Maine. Only two million steps to your left brings you to the southern end on Springer Mountain, Georgia, 920 miles away. Each year, about 150 "thru-hikers" pass here as they trek the entire A.T.
Shenandoah National Park hosts ninety-five miles of the A.T. The trail crosses Skyline Drive 28 times.
Photo and transcription by Kevin Borland.
If you enjoy my photographs, I invite you to listen to my music as well. Follow this link to visit SPEED LIMIT MUSIC on Pinterest.
The Gharial crocs are primarily fish eaters- their unusual long snouts and their dentition are particularly well suited for this purpose. They spend most of their time in the water, coming to shore only rarely or for nesting. Male Gharials develop a hollow bulbous nasal protuberance (sort of lump) at the tip of the snout upon reaching sexual maturity.[ This protuberance resembles an earthen pot known locally as ghara in the local vernacular in India, where they are mostly found. And this is what gives the species the name Gharial. The male Gharial's ghara (lump at the tip of it's snout) starts growing over the nostrils at an age of around 11- 12 years and measures about 5 cm × 6 cm × 3.5 cm at an age of 15-16 years. It enables the males to emit a hissing sound that can be heard 75 mtr The Gharial is the only living crocodilian with such visible sexual dimorphism. Female Gharials reach sexual maturity at a body length of 2.6 mtr and grow up to 4.5 mtr. Males mature at a body length of at least 3 mtr and grow up to a length of 6 mtr. Adult males weigh about 160 kg on average. A gargantuan 6.55 mtr long Gharial was once killed in the Ghaghara River in Faizabad in northern India in August 1920. Male Gharials with an alleged length of 7.16–9.14 mtr were sighted around the turn of the 20th century in Indian rivers, but they sedom get that big. Detailed notes about the Gharial also appeared earlier in this album. (see previous pictures). (Sauraha, Chitwan, Nepal, Oct/ Nov. 2019)
Algunos de los participantes en el "Viaje fotográfico a Namibia 2013" de Oriol Alamany y Eulà lia Vicens fotografiando un Camaleón de Namaqua (Chamaeleo namaquensis) en el desierto, Namibia
Kittlitz's Murrelet, Glacier Bay, Alaska. 19 July 2016.
Yumi Arimitsu identified the prey as a lantern fish (aka the uber fatty Myctophid!); and notes that this mesopelagic fish is typically much deeper in the water column (200-600 m) during the day but near the glaciers it occurs near the surface because there's no light in the turbid waters. The vast majority of Myctophids in Glacier Bay are Northern Lampfish.
Kittlitz's Murrelet is one of the World's rarest seabirds -- with the total population numbering just 30-50,000. It is also a species at risk, as glaciers rapidly melt and their critical habitat is lost.
Glacier Bay, Alaska is the best place in the world to view numbers of Kittliz's Murrelets, and late July generally sees the highest numbers.
Pleased at my pictures of her, the lady guide made me pose yet again on the boat. I am on the Phi Phi Islands tour just off Phuket island in Thailand, and we have just made our first halt here at the exotic Maya Bay. Here is where the 1999 Hollywood film The Beach was filmed, consequent to which people started arriving in droves to experience for themselves the movie location. Over tourism meant much damage to the coral reefs and to the eco system, so much so that Maya Bay is now closed to tourists till 2021 at least. But scores of speedboats still bring in hundreds of tourists here for snorkeling and swimming in the sea at Maya Bay- so much for concern for the environment. There are several beaches here at Maya Bay, but most are really small and are visible only during low tide. The main beach, where most boats use to drop passengers just offshore, is a 200 mtr long strip of silky white sand, which is surrounded by clear waters filled with colorful coral and an abundance of exotic fish, making it an absolute haven for snorkelers. Walking inland also used to be a treat, with a path that winds through lush greenery and reveals some simply spectacular scenery. Sadly all that has been killed by over tourism, and today all you can do is to stare at the beauty of Maya Bay and it's turquoise waters from your boat- or swim here, which I couldn't do as I can't swim. Detailed notes about Maya Bay and the Phi Phi Islands Park appeared earlier in this album. (see previous pictures earlier in this album). (Phuket, Thailand, Oct/ Nov. 2019)