View allAll Photos Tagged THROUGHOUT
Mertola village and Guadiana river, before sunrise, taken from the comfort of the hotel room balcony, actually it was not very comfortable as my back was hurting very badly at the time, and the slightest movement was an ordeal, after 2 weeks of carrying luggage with a bad leg, the strain had gone to my back, it was quite bad throughout the rest of that week.
Enough about old man problems, Mertola is yet another gem of a village that no one knows about, I had great skies there, so many more photos to come from this village.
"The Australasian Grebe is found throughout Australia and on islands in the Pacific region. It is also present in New Zealand as self-introduced species.
It is usually found in freshwater waterbodies, ponds, reservoirs and small waterways, but the breeding habitat requires vegetated shores. It feeds on small fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic insects. It dives deeply and pursues some prey at water surface. This species is solitary nester and usually produces three broods per season. It nests on a floating platform anchored to the submerged vegetation.
In breeding plumage note bright yellow eye, dark face, and rusty brown neck. In non-breeding plumage it is much paler."
Eurasian blue tits, usually resident and non-migratory birds, are widespread and a common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and the western Palearctic in deciduous or mixed woodlands with a high proportion of oak. They usually nest in tree holes, although they easily adapt to nest boxes where necessary. Their main rival for nests and in the search for food is the larger and more common great tit.
The Eurasian blue tit prefers insects and spiders for its diet. Outside the breeding season, they also eat seeds and other vegetable-based foods. The birds are famed for their skill, as they can cling to the outermost branches and hang upside down when looking for food.
Throughout the galaxy the probes appeared. Their purpose and origins are unknown.
The Strakar of Mohkat fell into reverie and never awoke.
Reviver: Mikele
Arana: Abyss Tattoo available at CyberPunk
Repulse: Hatchling eyes available at CyberPunk
Ouroborus: Undead Veins
Dura: Hair B117
Gabriel: Otho One Armed Harness
Volkstone: Kurt Skin
Belleza: Jake
Lelutka: Jon
Poses are my own
My Grandfather once told me that Happiness is found when you stop comparing yourself to other people. One of these days, I'll give that a try : )
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The Lesser Goldfinch
Lesser Goldfinches are tiny, stub-billed songbirds with long, pointed wings, and short, notched tails. They are most common in California and Texas, with pockets of local populations throughout the rest of its U.S. range.
Lesser Goldfinches feed in weedy fields, budding treetops, and the brush of open areas and edges. Depending on food availability, they may concentrate in mountain canyons and desert oases, but they are also fairly common in suburbs.
The oldest known wild Lesser Goldfinch was a male, and at least 7 years old when he was recaptured and re-released during banding operations in California in 2015.
(Sony, 200-600 @ 559 mm, 1/1600 @ f/7.1, ISO 5000, processed to taste)
throughout its astonishing rise from a substitute for skill of hand to an independent art form :-)
Beaumont Newhall
HBW!! Hate Will Not make Us Great!! Resist the Despicable Authoritarian Orange Cockroach and his Cabinet of Stooges and Buffoons!!
asian aster, 'Ezo Murasaki', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina
La Ceja, Colombia.
Zenaida auriculata (Eared dove / Tórtola torcaza)
The Eared Dove is a resident breeder throughout South America from Colombia to southern Argentina. It is a close relative of the North American Mourning Dove. The head has a grey crown, black line behind the eye, and the blue-black on the lower ear coverts. These black markings give the species its English and specific name.
Wikipedia
Throughout the galaxy the probes appeared. Their purpose and origins are unknown.
The augmentations of the Kelvaks surged and popped as the alien current burned them from within.
Arana: Cyber Tech tattoo available at Cyberpunk, Noir Tattoo, (and just for the hell of it I used their Chaos tattoo’s materials layer to add complexity)
Reviver: Daydark and Mikele Makeup
Ouroborus: Undead Veins
Neurolab: Cyber Heart (from years and years ago!)
Sole: Nucleus and Wrap Belt
Legacy Athletic
Lelutka: Jon
Set: K&S Hope On (a great backdrop--so many good angles)
Pose and head augmentations are my own
Hope you like this one, of a small but amazingly attractive moth, which because of it's brass-like appearance has a metallic sheen. Hence the name: burnished brass moth (diachrysia chrysitis). It extends throughout Europe and across Asia as far as Siberia and Japan.
Thank you for all your comments.
Por lo general se considera que los peces globo son el tercer vertebrado más venenoso del mundo, después de la rana dorada venenosa y el pez piedra. Ciertos órganos internos, tales como el hígado, y a veces la piel, contienen tetrodotoxina o tetrogodina, esta se mantiene en su piel acumulada mientras continúan su vida, y son sumamente tóxicos para la mayoría de los animales que los consumen; sin embargo, la carne de algunas especies es considerada un manjar en Japón.
Pufferfish are generally considered the third most poisonous vertebrate in the world, after the golden poison frog and the stonefish . Certain internal organs, such as the liver, and sometimes the skin, contain tetrodotoxin , which accumulates in their skin throughout their lives and is highly toxic to most animals that consume them. However, the flesh of some species is considered a delicacy in Japan
All throughout the 1980's My preferred summer vacation was to spend a week with my Dad floating around on a small lake in Ontario. We would catch bass, northern pike and walleye (pickerel to Canadians). I got married in 1991 and made my last trip to Canada in 1996. This is part of the fifty odd dollars that I still have from that trip. One day my wife and I may drive to Niagara and buy some trinkets at a gift shop because I want to return unto Canada what is Canadian. Thank you to all that care to stop here to view, like and maybe comment. HMM!
Throughout the galaxy the probes appeared. Their purpose and origins are unknown.
Earth, 2064
Faced with the loss of yet another of his hand-reared replicants, Star Marshall Flash vows his revenge.
Reviver: Mikele Makeup
Gabriel: BRSK Coat and Suit
Modulus: Chance Hair
Volkstone: Kurt Skin
Belleza: Jake
Lelutka: Jon
Poses are my own
Nuthatch - Sitta europaea
The Eurasian nuthatch or wood nuthatch (Sitta europaea) is a small passerine bird found throughout temperate Asia and in Europe, where its name is the nuthatch. Like other nuthatches, it is a short-tailed bird with a long bill, blue-grey upperparts and a black eye-stripe. It is a vocal bird with a repeated loud dwip call. There are more than 20 subspecies in three main groups; birds in the west of the range have orange-buff underparts and a white throat, those in Russia have whitish underparts, and those in the Far East have a similar appearance to European birds, but lack the white throat.
The preferred habitat is mature deciduous or mixed woodland with large, old trees, preferably oak. Pairs hold permanent territories, and nest in tree holes, usually old woodpecker nests, but sometimes natural cavities. If the entrance to the hole is too large, the female plasters it with mud to reduce its size, and often coats the inside of the cavity too. The 6–9 red-speckled white eggs are laid on a deep base of pine or other wood chips.
The Eurasian nuthatch eats mainly insects, particularly caterpillars and beetles, although in autumn and winter its diet is supplemented with nuts and seeds. The young are fed mainly on insects, with some seeds, food items mainly being found on tree trunks and large branches. The nuthatch can forage when descending trees head first, as well as when climbing. It readily visits bird tables, eating fatty man-made food items as well as seeds. It is an inveterate hoarder, storing food year-round. Its main natural predator is the Eurasian sparrowhawk.
It breeds throughout England and Wales and has recently began to breed in southern Scotland. It is a resident, with birds seldom travelling far from the woods where they hatch.
Population:
UK breeding:
220,000 territories
Kaziranga National Park
State Of Assam
India
The barasingha (Cervus duvaucelii), also called swamp deer, is a deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occur in southwestern Nepal. It is extinct in Pakistan and in Bangladesh.The specific name commemorates the French naturalist Alfred Duvaucel.
The swamp deer differs from all the Indian deer species in that the antlers carry more than three tines. Because of this distinctive character it is designated barasingha, meaning "twelve-tined." Mature stags have 10 to 14 tines, and some have been known to have up to 20.
In the 19th century, swamp deer ranged along the base of the Himalayas from Upper Assam to the west of the Yamuna River, throughout Assam, in a few places in the Indo-Gangetic plain from the Eastern Sundarbans to Upper Sind, and locally throughout the area between the Ganges and Godavari as far east as Mandla.
Swamp deer are mainly grazers. They largely feed on grasses and aquatic plants. They feed throughout the day with peaks during the mornings and late afternoons to evenings. In winter and monsoon, they drink water twice, and thrice or more in summer. In the hot season, they rest in the shade of trees during the day. - Wikipedia
You, Beloved, who are all
the gardens I have ever gazed at,
longing. An open window
in a country house —, and you almost
stepped out, pensive, to meet me.
Streets that I chanced upon,—
you had just walked down them and vanished.
And sometimes, in a shop, the mirrors
were still dizzy with your presence and, startled,
gave back my too-sudden image. Who knows?
perhaps the same bird echoed through both of us
yesterday, separate, in the evening...
~ Rilke
Photo taken at Goatswood. DO visit this build, take your time to discover the stories that are peppered throughout this eerily beautiful village.
Florida’s Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) is a songbird found throughout rural areas of Florida. Its breeding range covers most of eastern North America and parts of South America. Experts say it is difficult to distinguish between the Eastern and Western species as it can be determined only by voice and location. Seventeen subspecies of the Eastern Meadowlark are documented.
Actually, the meadowlark is not a lark at all. It is a member of the blackbird family (Icteridae) which also includes cowbirds and orioles. Meadowlarks are easily identified by the bright yellow throat and belly. However, the most distinguishing mark in adults is the black “V” on its chest. It can often be seen on a fence post belting out its clear, melodious songs and whistles.
Adult birds weigh just over five ounces, are seven to ten inches tall with a wingspan of 14 to 16 inches. Both sexes are similar in size, although females are normally smaller with a shorter wingspan.
This bird prefers grassy fields, pastures, cultivated fields, golf courses and other open habitats. It is a good friend to the farmer/rancher and a bug-eating machine. Insects comprise more than 75 percent of its diet, with grains and seeds making up the balance. It is especially fond of grasshoppers and crickets, as well as insect larvae and grubs. It feeds on the ground, picking insects from the surface or probing the soil to reveal its prey. Meadowlarks also eat the seeds of many weeds.
I found this one along Joe Overstreet Road with three differnt insects (bugs) in its beak!
Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the island was one of the world’s most prominent whaling spots. Countless ships flocked there to harvest the abundant whale population. Whaling around the island stopped in the early twentieth century, when a boom in whaling led to overproduction of oil and the industry’s eventual collapse. The remains of a station established by the Hektor Whaling Company are still present on the island, along with a cemetery for whalers, the largest cemetery in Antarctica.
Throughout much of September and the first part of October I shifted my birding and photography activities to the Ottawa River. The reasons were many, and included the possibility of shorebirds and clusters of late and fast moving migrants, mostly Warblers. These outings occurred (thanks to work and travel) early in the morning or before sunset.
I also shifted to a primarily horizontal approach. It was a couple of chance sightings, really, that convinced me that I had to be down in the weeds to get the kind of image I was looking for. And once down there, all sorts of things appeared or appeared differently. I would not normally look for images of Mallards, but things seem, well, different.
This bird was sitting in a tiny bay along the River, enjoying late day sunshine.
I have been lying down for images for quite a while, but have always had an aversion to the mucky shoreline stuff. It smells bad and is cold and seems to stain. But if you head out thinking that is where you will be working, and dress accordingly (in the stained grubby stuff you wore last time) and get fun results it doesn’t seem to matter the same way. And you find all kinds of things down there.
Wish you a most beautiful day:)
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Wādī Banī Khālid is one of the best-known wadis in the Sultanate of Oman.[8] Its stream maintains a constant flow of water throughout the year. Large pools of water and boulders are scattered along the course of the wadi. As a geographical area, the wadi covers a large swathe of lowland and the Hajar Mountains.
Common throughout much of North America and Eurasia, Mallard ducks such as this one are strong flyers. Migrating flocks of Mallards have been estimated traveling at 55 miles per hour, according to allaboutbirds.org.
========== A Journey Throughout Europe ==========
Austria (8)✔️
Belgium (5)✔️
Bulgaria (8) ✔️
Croatia (6)✔️
Cyprus (6) ✔️
Czech Republic (7)✔️
Denmark (7)✔️
Estonia (9)✔️
Finland (6)✔️
France (8)✔️
Germany (6)✔️
Greece (7)✔️
Hungary (5)✔️
Ireland (5)✔️
Italy (7)✔️
Latvia (8) ✔️
Lithuania (7)✔️
Luxembourg (8)✔️
Malta (6)✔️
Poland (8) ✔️
Portugal (5)✔️
Romania (7)✔️
Slovakia (8) ✔️
Slovenia (6)✔️
Spain (5)✔️
Sweden (5)✔️
The Netherlands (4)✔️
A Journey Throughout Europe: HOF
====================================================
This was only the second time I have seen this species of stick insect which is about 10 cm (4 in.) long. The prickly stick insect is found throughout New Zealand. It is not rare but usually well camouflaged. Despite its looks it is totally harmless. The species reproduces by parthenogenesis, producing eggs without the help of a male, and the population is entirely female.
A Common resident duck found throughout the year in the subcontinent. They are large ducks and make for wonderful target practice for shooting birds in flight.
I think this is the breeding season and hence we could hear their calls quite often. Due to rains, there are few shallow lakes in our region now. Most of them are filled up / overflowing which makes them unsuitable for ducks or waders. I wonder how these ducks will manage their chicks when food becomes a problem in these deeper lakes.
This one is a male as noted by the bright red patch on the forehead above its beak. The females lack this red patch.
Thanks in advance for your views and feedback.
These are resident waders found throughout the year around large lakes, shallow rivers, wetland areas and water logged paddy fields. End of Summer is the nesting time for these waders / reed birds and they contine to nest till the end of rainy season.
The swamphens nest in the reeds and I observed that the colors get more vivid around that time. There was a huge bed of reeds and there were around 15-20 of them sighted in it - I thought many were pairs and they are starting their nests around that time. The birds don't move far away from their nests and prefer to hunt for insects, beetles etc.. around the vicinity.
During this period, these birds turn predators and they attack the chicks of Jacanas, snipes and eat them. All these birds share the same habitat and hence become easy prey for these Swamphens and other birds like Black Kites.
Thank you so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.
========== A Journey Throughout Europe ==========
Austria (5)✔️
Belgium (6)✔️
Bulgaria(5)✔️
Croatia (7)✔️
Cyprus (6)✔️
Czech Republic (7)✔️
Denmark (4) ✔️
Estonia (5)✔️
Finland (5) ✔️
France (8)✔️
Germany (6)✔️
Greece (6)✔️
Hungary (5)✔️
Ireland (5)✔️
Italy (5)✔️
Latvia (5)✔️
Lithuania (6) ✔️
Luxembourg (6)✔️
Malta (6) ✔️
Poland (5)✔️
Portugal (7)✔️
Romania (6)✔️
Slovakia (5) ✔️
Slovenia (7) ✔️
Spain (7) ✔️
Sweden (6) ✔️
The Netherlands (4)✔️
A Journey Throughout Europe: HOF
====================================================
Berberis (/ˈbɜːrbərɪs/), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from 1–5 m (3.3–16.4 ft) tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in South America and Asia; Europe, Africa and North America have native species as well. The best-known Berberis species is the European barberry, Berberis vulgaris, which is common in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and central Asia, and has been widely introduced in North America. Many of the species have spines on the shoots and all along the margins of the leaves
A common garden bird throughout much of Asia, found in open forests, fields, and parks; introduced to several regions around the world. Often tame and approachable. Brown overall with a rosy breast and a unique white-spotted black nape patch. Plumage shows slight regional variation: western birds have dark centers to wing feathers, lacking in eastern birds. Turtle-doves are larger, have black centers to wing feathers and stripes rather than spots on the neck. Coos loudly and often: “coo-a-roooo”. (eBird)
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A familiar bird to us but welcome nevertheless. We saw or heard this pretty dove most days during our time in Singapore, usually deep in the trees or on the ground.
Lorong Halus Wetland, Singapore. March 2024.
Birding Singapore.
The most common resident shrike found throughout the year in our region. They are aggressive birds and we often sight chasing the pesky drongoes which spare no effort to trouble other birds including the raptors.
The birds prefer to perch on tall posts, dry trees with thorns or fence posts and survey the area around for insects. Usually beetles, crickets, small lizards, skinks, dragonflies etc... Once the prey is sighted they dive and get back to the perch for eating - maybe about 50% of the time. If the perch is a thorny perch, the chances of them coming back are much higher since they pierce the prey onto the thorn and then tear them to consume it. This is a behaviour to compensate for the weak legs that cannot hold the prey to tear.
Appreciate all your views and feedback. Many thanks in advance.
English Counties (04)
This is another collection of images which have been photographed over a long period of time. These are photographs taken mostly on holidays throughout our great English Counties. In the day we have travelled the length and breadth of Great Britain, with many coastal and country walks and a lot of photography.
This selection has been chosen from the many Dorset photographs I have taken. Dorset is a great county to visit and definitely one of my favourites with many places of interest and lots of diversity. Here are just a few of them.
Found this Big Boy resting in the shade of an Umbrella Thorn Acacia tree in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
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The African Lion:
In the past lions roamed throughout all of Africa and parts of Asia and Europe. However, this mighty species is now found only in fragments of sub-Saharan Africa, along with a critically endangered subpopulation in West Africa.
The largest lion populations can be found in Tanzania. Since lions are extremely adaptable big cats, they can survive in a wide variety of habitats, including dry forests, thick bush, floodplains, and semi-arid desert areas. However, they typically prefer open savannas where it is easier to stalk their prey.
Compared to other big cat species, lions are the most sociable. They live in groups called prides, which can consist of anywhere from two to 30 members, including three or four males, a dozen or more females, and their offspring.
Lionesses remain with the same pride for their entire lives. Male lions, on the other hand, leave after maturing to compete for control of another pride. Leading males defend their territory by marking it with urine and roaring to scare off intruders. A lion’s roar can be heard from five miles away.
Within their pride, female lions act as the primary hunters and work in teams to prey on zebras, wildebeests, antelope, and other large herbivores. Lions sleep up to 20 hours a day, so most of their hunting is done at night or early in the morning. This is because their eyes easily adapt to the dark, and it is easier to sneak up on prey at night.
Along with hunting for the pride, female lions are responsible for raising their offspring. They typically give birth to a litter every two years, which consists of one to four cubs.
It is estimated that between 23,000 to 39,000 lions remain in the wild. However, other data from recent years suggests that that number may be closer to 20,000, as three-quarters of their population is in decline. Although lions are not currently endangered, population numbers will continue to decrease without proper conservation efforts.
(Nikon, 100-400/5.6 @ 260 mm, 1/1250 @ f/8.0, ISO 1100, processed to taste)
Grey Heron - Ardea Cinerea
The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged predatory wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water or stalking its prey through the shallows.
The birds breed colonially in spring in "heronries", usually building their nests high in trees. A clutch of usually three to five bluish-green eggs is laid. Both birds incubate the eggs for a period of about 25 days, and then both feed the chicks, which fledge when seven or eight weeks old. Many juveniles do not survive their first winter, but if they do, they can expect to live for about five years.
In Ancient Egypt, the deity Bennu was depicted as a heron in New Kingdom artwork. In Ancient Rome, the heron was a bird of divination. Roast heron was once a specially-prized dish; when George Neville became Archbishop of York in 1465, four hundred herons were served to the guests.
The grey heron has a slow flight, with its long neck retracted (S-shaped). This is characteristic of herons and bitterns, and distinguishes them from storks, cranes, and spoonbills, which extend their necks.
Fish, amphibians, small mammals and insects are taken in shallow water with the heron's long bill. It has also been observed catching and killing juvenile birds such as ducklings, and occasionally takes birds up to the size of a water rail. It may stand motionless in the shallows, or on a rock or sandbank beside the water, waiting for prey to come within striking distance. Alternatively, it moves slowly and stealthily through the water with its body less upright than when at rest and its neck curved in an "S". It is able to straighten its neck and strike with its bill very fast.
Small fish are swallowed head first, and larger prey and eels are carried to the shore where they are subdued by being beaten on the ground or stabbed by the bill. They are then swallowed, or have hunks of flesh torn off. For prey such as small mammals and birds or ducklings, the prey is held by the neck and either drowned, suffocated, or killed by having its neck snapped with the heron's beak, before being swallowed whole. The bird regurgitates pellets of indigestible material such as fur, bones and the chitinous remains of insects. The main periods of hunting are around dawn and dusk, but it is also active at other times of day. At night it roosts in trees or on cliffs, where it tends to be gregarious.
Population:
UK breeding:
13,000 nests
UK wintering:
63,000 birds
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Chlorostilbon melanorhynchus
(Western Emerald / Esmeralda occidental)
The Western Emerald is found in Colombia and Ecuador. They have a more straight flight pattern than do many hummers, and forage individually at flowers in the lower and middle strata. Males sparkle with green throughout while females are green above and gray below.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p...
Resident waders found throughout the year around large lakes, shallow rivers and wetland areas. Summer is the nesting time for these waders / reed birds and they contine to nest till the end of summers to rainy season and through it. This year, our summer is varying between moderate and cool temperatures. The swamphens haven't started nesting yet, but I suspect some of them have started demonstrating the breeding plumage - the colors are more vivid than usual and quite beautiful - like in this picture.
These swamphens are sighted in large numbers now around reed beds where they usually nest. The birds don't move far away from their nests and prefer to hunt for insects, beetles etc.. around the vicinity. During this period, these birds turn predators and they attack the chicks of Jacanas and snipes and eat them. All these birds share the same habitat and hence become easy prey for these Swamphens and other birds like Black Kites.
Thank you so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.
A Black-crowned Night-heron heads homeward with a small addition for its nest of twigs on a Costa Rican pond. These widespread herons can be seen near small ponds and streams throughout much of Eurasia and the Americas.
The pukeko is a large, conspicious rail found throughout New Zealand and is a widespread and easily recognisable bird that has benefitted greatly by the clearing of land for agriculture. In addition to its brilliant red frontal shield and deep violet breast plumage, the pukeko is interesting for having a complex social life. In many areas, pukeko live in permanent social groups and defend a shared territory that is used for both feeding and breeding. Social groups can have multiple breeding males and females, but all eggs are laid in a single nest and the group offspring are raised by all group members. (nzbirdsonline.org.nz)
© Dominic Scott 2021
Found throughout Europe and Asia, as far as northwestern China, it can be seen throughout the summer months fluttering gracefully along the margins of slow moving water, particularly where there is lush vegetation.
As beautiful as may look, they are predators of other insects, which they takes on the wing.
To attract female, males perform aerial displays, while showing off their banded wings. The female lays her eggs beneath the surface of the water, and is able to submerge herself if necessary, using air trapped between her wings to breathe.
They prefer water bodies with muddy bottoms, where larvae thrive, which hunt prey over a period of two years, before emerging as adults.
On a Wednesday morning in November, CTrail train 4403 passes the Russell Hall Company in Meriden. Russell Hall was established in 1854 for selling tinware and grocery supplies. They now specialize in paper products and cleaning supplies, delivering their goods throughout Connecticut.
In recognition of World Wildlife Day. March 3rd 2024
"Although hyenas appear similar to dogs, they are actually more closely related to cats. They live throughout much of Africa and eastwards through Arabia to India. Spotted hyenas live together in large groups called clans that may include up 80 individuals and are led by females".
The challenge calls for "My Favourite Things". I have lots of favourite things to choose from but visiting the Sumatran Tigers at Australia Zoo is really a great pleasure.
"Australia Zoo is home to some of the last surviving Indonesian species of big cat – the Sumatran tiger!
Found throughout the forests and grasslands of Sumatra, these big cats are the smallest of all remaining tiger species. They are an impressive and powerful hunter with the ability to jump up to 5 metres (16 feet) in length! Using their stealthy stalking abilities, they will successfully hunt deer, pigs, jungle fowl and fish. Sumatran tigers have a range of vocalisations and communication tools. Their roar can be heard up to 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) away. Crikey! Like all tiger species, their beautiful orange and black striped coat is unique to every individual, just like our fingerprints!
Sumatran tigers are a critically endangered species. There are fewer than 350 left in the wild. These beautiful animals are victim to the illegal wildlife pet trade, illegal poaching for traditional medicine, illegal hunting for pelts and meat, as well as experiencing rapid deforestation and habitat loss. They are a species that is facing certain extinction without our protection."
You've seen it a thousand times, but you're not tired of it yet. It's business as usual on the Montana Rail Link this afternoon as the ML rounds the bend at Jens, Montana and passes the "Second Most Photographed Barn in Montana" with a matched pair of Aussie SD70ACes and a modest-sized train of odds and ends to disperse throughout the trip. I thought about trying to shake it up a little bit as I followed the train east from Missoula, but I just couldn't help myself with this classic little post card.
Dactylorhiza sambucina (Orchidaceae) 116 21
The Elder-flowered Orchid (Dactylorhiza sambucina) is an herbaceous plant belonging to the family Orchidaceae. It is quite common and widespread throughout much of Europe from Portugal east to Finland and Ukraine. The flowers appear in spring and summer, in various colors from yellow to purple.
This orchid reaches on average 10–40 centimeters in height.
The inflorescence is 5–10 centimeters long and it is composed of flowers gathered in a dense spike. The flowers grow in the axils of bracts that are membranous and lanceolate-shaped. The flowers appear from mid-April to early July. Their colors vary from yellow with light reddish stains or purple speckled with darker spots on the labellum.
It prefers fresh or dry meadows (subalpine and alpine grasslands), light woods, and clearings or scrubland.
I was after the bee, but I'm glad he landed on these flowers. Aeonium arboreum, the tree aeonium, tree houseleek, or Irish rose, is a succulent, subtropical subshrub in the flowering plant family Crassulaceae.
It is an invasive weed in places outside its natural distribution, for example as a garden escape throughout temperate southern Australia.
It's not a plant I'd want in my garden, if I had a garden, and not because it's invasive, but because I don't particularly care for whatever that green/yellow color is called. As I said, I was after the bee, and it was extremely difficult seeing it against a thousand flowers through the relatively small viewfinder.
(Just noticed. I also have three ants as a hangers on. Can you find them?)
“They did what human beings looking for freedom, throughout history, have often done. They left.”
Isabel Wilkerson
American journalist
isabelwilkerson.com
Isabel Wilkerson is an American journalist and the author of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. She is the first woman of African-American heritage to win the Pulitzer Prize in journalism.
Throughout the morning it had rained continuously. And in the afternoon, when it stopped raining we came to a clearing from which one we had and amazing view over the entire city of Biel. The air was still damp and dark clouds hung in the sky. Nevertheless we were glad the rain stopped it at least! We stood there and enjoyed the view, our dogs ran around and the kids were playing on the fields.
And suddenly there was this one special moment. This very brief moment lasting only for half a minute. The clouds broke and the sun rays lit up this tree in front of us. I’m not very religious, and I also never pray. But I think it would be not bad if I did it now and then. In younger years I have even read the Old Testaments several times out of curiosity and I must admit that I did not understand it until today.
But the sun’s rays brought the tree to light up and I remembered dare a passage in the Old Testament which can be said to describe the different trees in the Garden of Eden. Out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
I want to thank all very much for your "views", "Comments" and "Favourites" :-) The only thing that matters is that you have joy in this photo. Again, thank you :-)
Happisburgh Lighthouse with a dusting of PS snow.
Thank you to everyone who has viewed, ‘faved’ and/or commented on my photographs throughout this year.... and for many years in some cases. All very much appreciated.
2 year old, 400 pound male grizzly, Max is the name!
There are about 55,000 wild grizzly bears located throughout North America, 30,000 of which are found in Alaska. Only around 1,500 grizzlies remain in the lower 48 United States. Of these, around 1,000 are found in the Northern Continental Divide in northwestern Montana. About 600 more live in Wyoming, in the Yellowstone-Teton area. There are an estimated 70–100 grizzly bears living in northern and eastern Idaho. Its original range included much of the Great Plains and the southwestern states, but it has been extirpated in most of those areas. Combining Canada and the United States, grizzly bears inhabit approximately half the area of their historical range.
Although the once-abundant California grizzly bear appears prominently on the state flag of California and was the symbol of the Bear Flag Republic before California's admission to the Union in 1850, the subspecies or population is currently extinct. The last known grizzlies in California were killed in the Sierra foothills east of Fresno in the early 1920s.
The killing of the last grizzly bear in Arizona in 1936 at Escudilla Mountain is included in Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac.
In September 2007, a hunter produced evidence of one bear in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness ecosystem, by killing a male grizzly bear there. In the North Cascades ecosystem of northern Washington, grizzly bear populations are estimated to be fewer than 20 bears. One sighting of a grizzly bear in 2010 has been recorded. There has been no confirmed sighting of a grizzly in Colorado since 1979.
Other provinces and the United States may use a combination of methods for population estimates. Therefore, it is difficult to say precisely what methods were used to produce total population estimates for Canada and North America, as they were likely developed from a variety of studies. The grizzly bear currently has legal protection in Mexico, European countries, some areas of Canada, and in all of the United States. However, it is expected that repopulating its former range will be a slow process, due to various reasons, including the bear's slow reproductive habits and the effects of reintroducing such a large animal to areas prized for agriculture and livestock. Competition with other predators and predation on cubs are other possible limiting factors for grizzly bear recovery, though grizzly bears also benefit from scavenged carcasses from predators as an easy food source when other food sources decline
Hibernation
Grizzly bears hibernate for 5 to 7 months each year (except where the climate is warm, as the California grizzly did not hibernate). During this time, female grizzly bears give birth to their offspring, who then consume milk from their mother and gain strength for the remainder of the hibernation period. To prepare for hibernation, grizzlies must prepare a den, and consume an immense amount of food as they do not eat during hibernation. Grizzly bears do not defecate or urinate throughout the entire hibernation period. The male grizzly bear's hibernation ends in early to mid-March, while females emerge in April or early May.
In preparation for winter, bears can gain approximately 180 kg (400 lb), during a period of hyperphagia, before going into hibernation. The bear often waits for a substantial snowstorm before it enters its den: such behavior lessens the chances predators will find the den. The dens are typically at elevations above 1,800 m (5,900 ft) on north-facing slopes. There is some debate amongst professionals as to whether grizzly bears technically hibernate: much of this debate revolves around body temperature and the ability of the bears to move around during hibernation on occasion. Grizzly bears can "partially" recycle their body wastes during this period. Although inland or Rocky Mountain grizzlies spend nearly half of their life in dens, coastal grizzlies with better access to food sources spend less time in dens. In some areas where food is very plentiful year round, grizzly bears skip hibernation altogether
The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is a tiny but long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing Owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or any other open dry area with low vegetation. They nest and roost in burrows, such as those excavated by prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.). Unlike most owls, Burrowing Owls are often active during the day, although they tend to avoid the midday heat. But like many other kinds of owls, Burrowing Owls do most of their hunting from dusk until dawn, when they can use their night vision and hearing to their advantage. Source: #Wikipedia