The Beauty of Sloughs
View allAll Photos Tagged Reeds
We are back in the Netherlands. A short time ago we have had the first day of sun and clouds. I took advantage of the weather circumstances and made my first little photowalk near our home spot. Here are the dutch reeds. Enjoy!
Reeds and ice
A few weeks ago it was cold in the Netherlands. A real touch of winter. Now it looks like we've got an autumn storm.
Downy Emerald - Cordulia Aenea
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Pentax K-5
Takumar 200mm F3.5
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© 2023 stefanorugolo | All rights reserved.
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Thank you for your visit, most appreciated!
Early morning mist and reeds by the shores of the lake at Kastoria.
The boat is the traditional type in this area with flat bottom.
Kingfisher - Alcedo Atthis
The common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) also known as the Eurasian kingfisher, and river kingfisher, is a small kingfisher with seven subspecies recognized within its wide distribution across Eurasia and North Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but migrates from areas where rivers freeze in winter.
This sparrow-sized bird has the typical short-tailed, large-headed kingfisher profile; it has blue upperparts, orange underparts and a long bill. It feeds mainly on fish, caught by diving, and has special visual adaptations to enable it to see prey under water. The glossy white eggs are laid in a nest at the end of a burrow in a riverbank.
The female is identical in appearance to the male except that her lower mandible is orange-red with a black tip. The juvenile is similar to the adult, but with duller and greener upperparts and paler underparts. Its bill is black, and the legs are also initially black. Feathers are moulted gradually between July and November with the main flight feathers taking 90–100 days to moult and regrow. Some that moult late may suspend their moult during cold winter weather.
The flight of the kingfisher is fast, direct and usually low over water. The short rounded wings whirr rapidly, and a bird flying away shows an electric-blue "flash" down its back.
The common kingfisher is widely distributed over Europe, Asia, and North Africa, mainly south of 60°N. It is a common breeding species over much of its vast Eurasian range, but in North Africa it is mainly a winter visitor, although it is a scarce breeding resident in coastal Morocco and Tunisia. In temperate regions, this kingfisher inhabits clear, slow-flowing streams and rivers, and lakes with well-vegetated banks. It frequents scrubs and bushes with overhanging branches close to shallow open water in which it hunts. In winter it is more coastal, often feeding in estuaries or harbours and along rocky seashores. Tropical populations are found by slow-flowing rivers, in mangrove creeks and in swamps.
Like all kingfishers, the common kingfisher is highly territorial; since it must eat around 60% of its body weight each day, it is essential to have control of a suitable stretch of river. It is solitary for most of the year, roosting alone in heavy cover. If another kingfisher enters its territory, both birds display from perches, and fights may occur, in which a bird will grab the other's beak and try to hold it under water. Pairs form in the autumn but each bird retains a separate territory, generally at least 1 km (0.62 mi) long, but up to 3.5 km (2.2 mi) and territories are not merged until the spring.
Very few birds live longer than one breeding season. The oldest bird on record was 21 years.
They are also listed as a Schedule 1 species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act offering them additional protection.
Population:
UK breeding:
3,800-6,400 pairs
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Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-M 100mm F2.8
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© 2018 stefanorugolo | All rights reserved.
_
Thank you for your visit, most appreciated!
_
Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-M 100mm F2.8
_
© 2018 stefanorugolo | All rights reserved.
_
Thank you for your visit, most appreciated!
_
Pentax K-5
Pentacon 50mm f1.8 auto multi coating
_
© 2023 stefanorugolo | All rights reserved.
_
Thank you for your visit, most appreciated!
_
Pentax K-5
Pentacon 50mm f1,8 auto multi coating
_
© 2021 stefanorugolo | All rights reserved.
_
Thank you for your visit, most appreciated
_
Pentax K-5
SMC Pentax-M 100mm F2.8
_
© 2018 stefanorugolo | All rights reserved.
_
Thank you for your visit, most appreciated!
a green mirror for a woolly-necked stork (ciconia episcopus) ,Kruger national park,South Africa
original 3Kfile here:
On the weekend I will start a new series looking at Tasmania's Central Highlands and the world heritage area of Lake St Clair. So we really will be in the natural environment for the most part.
So to finish here with a simple scene from Nature will serve to remind us that civilisations come and go. As the poor indigenous people learned just over 200 years ago, patterns of life that have been followed for thousands of years can be wiped out in a moment.
We are but reeds, someone once remarked to the great French Polymath, Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). To which he replied, "Ah, but we are thinking reeds."
Fragile, yet gifted with the one thing that sets us apart as a species, we are the only ones with a godlike vision. We are made in the image of God. It is our choice then whether to fulfil our godlike destiny and let the earth flourish, or turn like Lucifer and demonically destroy our very foundations.
We are but reeds, but pray God we are truly THINKING reeds!