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Seals eagerly await some fish scraps as fisherman clean and prepare their fish for market in Valparaíso Chile.
A pair of Steel-blue Cricket Hunter Wasps circled my yard for several days. The only place they would stop was on the orange flowers of the Butterfly Weed.
They strongly resemble Blue Mud Dauber Wasps, which have a longer pedicel (the "stalk" that connects their thorax to their abdomen).
Butterfly Weed is a native plant species, and my favorite Michigan wildflower. Ironically, I have never seen a butterfly land on the flowers, although it does attract a variety of wasps and hornets.
Named from the similarity of their prominent proboscis that looks like the beak of a snipe. Adults can often be seen sitting on vegetation or on tree trunks waiting to catch and pounce on passing prey. Some species of snipe flies are hematophagous as adults and some are predatory of insects. Larvae develop as predators in the soil and wood detritus. Found in wet meadows, marshes and woodland margins. Can sometimes be know as the Down-Looker Fly as they have the habit of perching head-downward on tree trunks.
Dipper - Cinclus Cinclus
aka Water Ouzel
Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater.
They have a characteristic bobbing motion when perched beside the water, giving them their name. While under water, they are covered by a thin, silvery film of air, due to small bubbles being trapped on the surface of the plumage.
Dippers are found in suitable freshwater habitats in the highlands of the Americas, Europe and Asia. In Africa they are only found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. They inhabit the banks of fast-moving upland rivers with cold, clear waters, though, outside the breeding season, they may visit lake shores and sea coasts.
The high haemoglobin concentration in their blood gives them a capacity to store oxygen greater than that of other birds, allowing them to remain underwater for thirty seconds or more, whilst their basal metabolic rate is approximately one-third slower than typical terrestrial passerines of similar mass. One small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below −55 °C (−67 °F).
Dippers are completely dependent on fast-flowing rivers with clear water, accessible food and secure nest-sites. They may be threatened by anything that affects these needs such as water pollution, acidification and turbidity caused by erosion. River regulation through the creation of dams and reservoirs, as well as channelization, can degrade and destroy dipper habitat.
Dippers are also sometimes hunted or otherwise persecuted by humans for various reasons. The Cyprus race of the white-throated dipper is extinct. In the Atlas Mountains dippers are claimed to have aphrodisiacal properties. In parts of Scotland and Germany, until the beginning of the 20th century, bounties were paid for killing dippers because of a misguided perception that they were detrimental to fish stocks through predation on the eggs and fry of salmonids.
Population:
UK breeding:
6,200-18,700 pairs
Looks like the owner designed their own bed and hauling bin to this existing old Chey truck!
Happy Truck Thursday!
2nd Place , Beautiful Capture Group , Week 37 contest , Oct 2012
www.flickr.com/groups/beautifulcapture/discuss/7215763165...
Turtles are unable to regulate their body temperatures independently, so they are completely dependent on the temperature of their environment. For this reason, they need to sunbathe frequently to warm themselves and maintain their body temperatures.
The red-eared slider gets its name from the small, red stripe around its ears, or where its ears would be, and from its ability to slide quickly off rocks and logs into the water.
Red-eared sliders are native to the Southern United States and northern Mexico, but have become established in other places because of pet releases, and have become an invasive species in many areas where they outcompete native species.
The carapace of this species can reach more than 40 cm (16 in) in length, but the typical length ranges from 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in). The females of the species are usually larger than the males. They typically live between 20 and 30 years.
- Wikipedia
(Nikon, 500 mm, 1/200 @ f/8, ISO 400)
Snowy Egret in Mating Colors and Feathers
Snowy Egrets show their plumage during mating/breeding season. They start to show in early spring and keep their feathers for quite a while. Their beaks turn more of a yellow/orange/red color during the season. You will find these birds in shallow salt and fresh water areas with a small flock wading and dancing about. They will approach one another, start squawking, inflate their feathers and chase each other about. Sometimes they will start jumping in the air flapping their wings and dance around one another until one gives up and backs off.
... but still a joyful sight ;-))
(even after these unbearably hot months of summer)
Japanese Anemones / Herbstanemonen (Anemone japonica)
in Botanical Garden, Frankfurt
If you love them like I do, you'll find more anemones in my personal "from-spring-to-autumn" Anemone Collection.
At the very end of the dunes stands the old watchman who do feels the tension and the unrest while he looks the surrounding at ease.
At his feet the tide is rising and the sea lips and murmurs slowly through the sand.
In the distance he hears the growling waves appoaching..........
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Inland the wind picked up and it was as if the heaven leaden sky would compress everything in its way.
The reed bent so far as if it were trying to break free from the earth to flee.
The last rays of the sun would soon give way to a macabre darkness........
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their eyes don't light up when you walk through the front door :-)
Robert Brault
rose, little theater rose garden, raleigh, nirth carolina
Three young egret siblings fight over a piece of small but apparently desirable real estate near their nest in a rookery on Anastasia Island in northeast Florida. c.2021 John M. Hudson | jmhudson1.com
Chinese palaces, temples and mansions have on their roofs a special kind of ornaments called wenshou or zoomorphic ornaments, some on the main ridges and some on the sloping and branch ridges.
The monstrous thing at either end of the main ridge, called chiwen, appears roughly like the tail of a fish. Fierce and formidable, it looks as if it were ready to devour the whole ridge; so it is also known as tunjishou or the ridge-devouring beast. It is, according to Chinese mythology, one of the sons of the Dragon King who rules the seas. It is said to be able to stir up waves and change them into rains.
So ancient Chinese put a chiwen at either end of the main ridge for its magic powers to conjure up a downpour to put out any fire that might break out. But for fear that it might gobble up the ridge, they transfixed it on the roof with a sword.
At the end of the sloping and branch ridges there are often a string of smaller animals, their sizes and numbers being decided by the status of the owner of the building in the feudal hierarchy.
These small animals were also believed to be capable of putting out fires. While this can be easily dismissed as superstition, they do add to the grandeur and magnificence of the imperial buildings.
For Memorial Day.
Thanks to FOCUS Magazine for including this pic in your amazing edition June 2021 as winner in the contest "The Military".
Drowsy caterpillars are transforming into moths with a cunning skill - producing their own cyanide.
Plump in their yellow cocoons, caterpillars of six-spot burnet moths have been pupating in the Museum grounds.
And this common British species has started to emerge, complete with eye-catching red and black wings.
The red spots are a sign of a deadly talent. The moths are able to produce hydrogen cyanide - a chemical compound that gives them a bad taste and, in large quantities, can kill a predator.With dark, faintly iridescent forewings bearing six bright red spots, the burnet moths (Zygaena filipendulae) are easy to spot against green grass.
The species is widespread in Britain and Europe, and it has hydrogen cyanide at every stage of its life cycle.The caterpillar food is birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), a grassland plant that grows in the Wildlife Garden. When caterpillars feed on its leaves, they are able to metabolise toxins found inside the plant for their own use, without being harmed.
If the caterpillars do not get enough hydrogen cyanide from their food, they can produce it themselves.
The cyanide is also used as a mating tactic. Females can release plumes of the chemical, which is likely to combine with normal sexual pheromones and help attract males. Males can also transfer the cyanide to a female during mating.The six-spot burnet moth thrives in grassland, and visitors to the Museum will be able to see it fly and lay eggs during July and August.
Caterpillars will then start feeding in autumn, before hibernating through the winter and pupating next spring.
Unlike many species of nocturnal moths, the six-spot burnet is active during the day, relying on its striking wings to warn off predators.
I must look clueless when I am out shooting and have sad puppy dog eyes were friendly people want to help correct my ways.
On this sunset, I was at Panorama Point in Capitol Reef National Park. The "view" is the opposite direction, and I was set up with my tripod looking in the opposite direction from everyone else.
Three separate people came up to me, letting me know where I was supposed to be shooting. I thanked them for their kindness and stood my ground :-)
Mechelen - Zandpoortvest
Copyright - All images are copyright © protected. All Rights Reserved. Copying, altering, displaying or redistribution of any of these images without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.
” Their hands steady on my shoulder as I ride for them. Though they not know that when I ride it isn’t for show ….. I ride for the escape, to flee my chains, To ride the wind and outrun the rain I ride for being grateful I am still alive ”
Rest hope you all enjoy amsy work as always ^^
Amsy ♡
Nikon micro-nikkor 55mm f2.8 AI-S @ f11
Credit to mum & dad for use of their lawn, and to my brother for holding the lighting rig.
A fairly warm October is ending, and we can feel the chill of November approaching. These little asters or Michaelmas daisies in Erba Park have been able to hold on until now, but their color has lost its summer brightness, and they are fading fast. The annual cycle moves on . . . Similar shots with a 35mm prime didn't turn out quite as well, so here's one with the kit zoom (on my backup camera). [DSC06261_lr_2000]
Thank you all for the clicks, comments & faves.
The cliffs at Hunstanton, Norfolk are famous for their colour bands and revealed geology.
The lowest dark brown level was laid down in shallow warm seas 70 million years ago during the Cretaceous. It is a 'Carstone' composed of sand and iron compounds and used as a local building material.
The younger much thinner 'red rock' layer is chalk coloured with iron pigments. Above that is a thick layer of white chalk. All have fossils but frequent rock falls make it dangerous to be too close.
The wreck is the remains of a 130ft long trawler 'S T Sheraton'. Built in 1907 it saw additional duty in WW1 and WW2 for minesweeping and anti-submarine patrols. If five years of war was not enough, she was then selected for bombing practice! She escaped that ignominy by breaking her moorings and going aground for a peaceful life (including providing a nice foreground for photographers) under the cliffs.
at long last! I've been waiting for their return!!! Hope to have more in the next couple of weeks, but sadly they are on the decline drastically from last year!
Texture: 2 Lil' Owls
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/conservationists-monarch-b...
Great Egret Juvenile - Explored
From Egret.Org:
....egrets feed their newly hatched young by regurgitating food into the nest and the chicks pick it up and gulp it down. As the chicks increase in size and strength they seize their parents' bills on their own at feeding time and try to pull them down into the nest perhaps hoping to hasten the delivery of food.
After egret chicks are large enough to grasp their parents' bills in this way, food goes directly into the mouths of the young instead of being deposited in the nests.
Not all chicks survive to independence. In broods of 3 or 4, the chicks that hatch later are smaller and weaker than their older nest mates. Older chicks aggressively peck the younger ones at feeding time and force them away from the food. When the adults bring plenty of food all the chicks in the brood survive, but if food is limited, the younger chicks die.
Successful adults usually raise 2 young, sometimes 3 and rarely 4.
is THEIR photography is not art :-)
James Elliott
HFF! Character Matters!
tulip, sarah p duke gardens, duke university, durham, north carolina
i was driving on a dirty road looking for birds when i saw a shape at my right.
i'm used to find owls that are very mimetic and cannot be search easily with a sight.
the best thing to do with all the wild animals is to be used to their shape.
so i stopped the car and i came back...nothing there...but i decided to wait a bit and after a minute ...
peekaboo!!! a curious spotted eagle owl (bubo africanus) rose from behind some rocks.
i really love these birds!!
"peek-a-boo"
overberg ,South Africa
original 3K file here:
Main courtyard of the palace with that giant mosaic in perfect condition and the rooms with their Arabic arches accompanied by some very green plants.
Patio principal del palacio con ese mosaico gigante en perfecto estado y las salas con sus arcos arabes acompañados por unos plantas muy verdes.
Pati principal del palau amb aquest mosaic gegant en perfecte estat i les sales amb els arcs àrabs acompanyats per unes plantes molt verdes.
... towards the long weekend - TGIF !
African Elephants / Afrikanische Elefanten (Loxodonta africana)
with Cattle Egrets / Kuhreiher (Bubulcus ibis) in morning light
in Amboseli Game Reserve, Kenya, Africa
One more from the Bronze frieze at St Pancras International Station .
With the Easter holidays approaching it is a time all over the country to get the railway tracks and works done ..so if you are travelling after this evening be prepared for massive delays and cancellations !!
As for this title , next year in January , the tracks under the Mersey Tunnel are due for replacing ,so hopefully the Mersey Ferries will be geared up for extra passengers ,as for the road tunnels, well it will mean congestion most of the time I would think ....
Relying on their feet for a speedy escape from predators Brown Hares need to look after their feet as this one is doing!
Thank you all for your kind responses.
COVID numbers are continuing to rise around the world. So many people are in lockdown and not able to get out, many have been sick and have had loved ones die, and so many, including me, who haven't been able to hug their families since the beginning of this pandemic. And we have no idea when the end is in sight, or if things will ever get back to "normal."
When I saw this little vine wrapped around a post in a nearby garden, I thought of how much all of us need a hug right about now. So I'm sending out a virtual hug to all of you.
Here's a song from one of my favourite bands, Walk of the Earth, that I think might give you a smile:
Dipper - Cinclus Cinclus
aka Water Ouzel
Double Click to view
Dippers are members of the genus Cinclus in the bird family Cinclidae, named for their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater.
They have a characteristic bobbing motion when perched beside the water, giving them their name. While under water, they are covered by a thin, silvery film of air, due to small bubbles being trapped on the surface of the plumage.
Dippers are found in suitable freshwater habitats in the highlands of the Americas, Europe and Asia. In Africa they are only found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. They inhabit the banks of fast-moving upland rivers with cold, clear waters, though, outside the breeding season, they may visit lake shores and sea coasts.
The high haemoglobin concentration in their blood gives them a capacity to store oxygen greater than that of other birds, allowing them to remain underwater for thirty seconds or more, whilst their basal metabolic rate is approximately one-third slower than typical terrestrial passerines of similar mass. One small population wintering at a hot spring in Suntar-Khayata Mountains of Siberia feeds underwater when air temperatures drop below −55 °C (−67 °F).
Dippers are completely dependent on fast-flowing rivers with clear water, accessible food and secure nest-sites. They may be threatened by anything that affects these needs such as water pollution, acidification and turbidity caused by erosion. River regulation through the creation of dams and reservoirs, as well as channelization, can degrade and destroy dipper habitat.
Dippers are also sometimes hunted or otherwise persecuted by humans for various reasons. The Cyprus race of the white-throated dipper is extinct. In the Atlas Mountains dippers are claimed to have aphrodisiacal properties. In parts of Scotland and Germany, until the beginning of the 20th century, bounties were paid for killing dippers because of a misguided perception that they were detrimental to fish stocks through predation on the eggs and fry of salmonids.
Population:
UK breeding:
6,200-18,700 pairs
Wenn im Garten der Lavendel blüht, dann ist Sommer.
When the lavender blooms in the garden, it is summer.
Dear friends, thank you for visiting my photo stream and the rating of my photos. I wish everyone the best of luck in their search for interesting and beautiful subjects
As they run, their hooves barely touch the ground. Their movements are synchronized, as if they are dancing to an invisible melody, embodying the harmony of nature. The wildflowers they pass by paint the landscape and create a delicate contrast against the lush green grass.
These beautiful Arabians are bred by a friend who had me over for a day to photograph them in the gorgeous late summer pasture. I came away with amazing images and he got photos for his breeding portfolio.
Please enjoy the flowing manes in Large!
Thank you so much for your visit!
Red Squirrel - Sciurus Vulgaris
Highlands, Scotland.
The red squirrel is found in both coniferous forest and temperate broadleaf woodlands. The squirrel makes a drey (nest) out of twigs in a branch-fork, forming a domed structure about 25 to 30 cm in diameter. This is lined with moss, leaves, grass and bark. Tree hollows and woodpecker holes are also used. The red squirrel is a solitary animal and is shy and reluctant to share food with others. However, outside the breeding season and particularly in winter, several red squirrels may share a drey to keep warm. Social organization is based on dominance hierarchies within and between sexes; although males are not necessarily dominant to females, the dominant animals tend to be larger and older than subordinate animals, and dominant males tend to have larger home ranges than subordinate males or females.
Red squirrels that survive their first winter have a life expectancy of 3 years. Individuals may reach 7 years of age, and 10 in captivity. Survival is positively related to availability of autumn–winter tree seeds; on average, 75–85% of juveniles die during their first winter, and mortality is approximately 50% for winters following the first.
Although not thought to be under any threat worldwide, the red squirrel has nevertheless drastically reduced in number in the United Kingdom; especially after the grey squirrels were introduced from North America in the 1870s. Fewer than 140,000 individuals are thought to be left in 2013; approximately 85% of which are in Scotland, with the Isle of Wight being the largest haven in England. A local charity, the Wight Squirrel Project,[26] supports red squirrel conservation on the island, and islanders are actively recommended to report any invasive greys. The population decrease in Britain is often ascribed to the introduction of the eastern grey squirrel from North America, but the loss and fragmentation of its native woodland habitat has also played a role.
In January 1998, eradication of the non-native North American grey squirrel began on the North Wales island of Anglesey. This facilitated the natural recovery of the small remnant red squirrel population. It was followed by the successful reintroduction of the red squirrel into the pine stands of Newborough Forest. Subsequent reintroductions into broadleaved woodland followed and today the island has the single largest red squirrel population in Wales. Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour is also populated exclusively by red rather than grey squirrels (approximately 200 individuals).