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The Tonnara di Scopello dates back to 1200 and is one of the oldest in Sicily. The activity continued until 1984 and every year, on average, about 500 tuna were caught.
The tonnara rises in a magical inlet, framed by steep cliffs and bathed by clear waters. The stacks emerge from the sea a few meters from the shore and make this small gulf even more fascinating.
The tonnara is located in Sicily, in the western part, in the locality of Scopello.
Scopello is a small fraction of the Municipality of Castellammare del Golfo, in the province of Trapani, which has about 400 inhabitants.
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La Tonnara di Scopello risale al 1200 ed è una delle più antiche di Sicilia. L’attività è proseguita fino al 1984 e ogni anno, in media, venivano catturati circa 500 tonni.
La tonnara sorge in un’insenatura magica, incorniciata da ripide scogliere e bagnata da acque limpide. I faraglioni sbucano dal mare a pochi metri da riva e rendono ancora più affascinante questo piccolo golfo.
La tonnara si trova in Sicilia, nella parte occidentale, in località Scopello.
Scopello è una piccola frazione del Comune di Castellammare del Golfo, in provincia di Trapani, che conta circa 400 abitanti.
At 9 am, the sky had partly cleared up and the sun had melted most of the fresh snow covering the red mountains bordering Laguna Lejia's northwestern shores.
The highest red mountains are Cerro Lámpara (in the center, 5198 m) and Cerro Corona (behind it to the left, 5291 m).
Laguna Lejía (Bleach Lagoon) is a salt lake in the Atacama desert.
It is located in the Chilean Altiplano of the Antofagasta Region,
100 km (62 mi) south-east of San Pedro de Atacama,
at an altitude of 4325 m (14,200 ft).
It is shallow and has no outlet, currently covering an area of
nearly 2 km² (0.77 sq mi) with an average depth of 1.2 m (4 ft).
#308 in Explore on Apr 22, 2023.
© 2021 Jacques de Selliers. All rights reserved.
For reproduction rights, see www.deselliers.info/en/copyright.htm.
Photo ref: j8e_29280-ps2-Atacama
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Uhu (Bubo bubo) - Eurasian eagle-owl
My 2019-2023 tours album is here:
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Uhu (Bubo bubo) - Eurasian eagle-owl
Der Uhu (Bubo bubo) ist eine Vogelart aus der Gattung der Uhus (Bubo), die zur Ordnung der Eulen (Strigiformes) gehört. Der Uhu ist die größte Eulenart. Uhus haben einen massigen Körper und einen auffällig dicken Kopf mit Federohren. Die Augen sind orangegelb. Das Gefieder weist dunkle Längs- und Querzeichnungen auf. Brust und Bauch sind dabei heller als die Rückseite.
Der Uhu ist ein Standvogel, der bevorzugt in reich strukturierten Landschaften jagt. In Mitteleuropa brütet die Art vor allem in den Alpen sowie den Mittelgebirgen, daneben haben Uhus hier in den letzten Jahrzehnten aber auch das Flachland wieder besiedelt. Die Brutplätze finden sich vor allem in Felswänden und Steilhängen und in alten Greifvogelhorsten, seltener an Gebäuden oder auf dem Boden.
Beschreibung
Der Uhu ist die größte rezente Eulenart der Erde. Weibchen sind deutlich größer als Männchen (reverser Geschlechtsdimorphismus). Von Südwesten nach Nordosten zeigt die Art entsprechend der Bergmannschen Regel eine deutliche Größen- und Gewichtszunahme. Männchen aus Norwegen erreichen im Durchschnitt eine Körperlänge von 61 cm und wiegen zwischen 1800 und 2800 g, im Mittel 2450 g. Norwegische Weibchen haben im Durchschnitt eine Körperlänge von 67 cm und wiegen 2300 bis 4200 g, im Mittel 2990 g. Vögel aus Thüringen wiegen im Mittel 1890 g (Männchen), bzw. 2550 g (Weibchen). Die schwersten mitteleuropäischen Uhuweibchen wogen 3200 g. Der Größenunterschied zwischen Männchen und Weibchen zeigt sich auch bei der Flügelspannweite. Die Spannweite der Männchen beträgt durchschnittlich 157 cm, die der Weibchen 168 cm.
Der Kopf ist groß und hat auffallend lange Federohren. Diese stehen normalerweise schräg seitlich oder nach hinten ab. Der Uhu besitzt auch den für Eulen typischen Gesichtsschleier, der allerdings weniger stark ausgeprägt ist als beispielsweise bei der Waldohreule oder Schleiereule.
Das Körpergefieder ist in Mitteleuropa ein helles Braun mit dunkler Längs- und Querstreifung. Der Rücken ist dabei dunkler als der Bauch, auch die Flügelunterseiten sind heller befiedert. Die einzelnen Unterarten des Uhus unterscheiden sich in ihrer Körpergröße sowie in der Grundfärbung ihres Gefieders.
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Eurasian eagle-owl
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_eagle-owl
The Eurasian eagle-owl (Bubo bubo) is a species of eagle-owl that resides in much of Eurasia. It is also called the European eagle-owl and in Europe, it is occasionally abbreviated to just eagle-owl.[3] It is one of the largest species of owl, and females can grow to a total length of 75 cm (30 in), with a wingspan of 188 cm (6 ft 2 in), males being slightly smaller.[4] This bird has distinctive ear tufts, with upper parts that are mottled with darker blackish colouring and tawny. The wings and tail are barred. The underparts are a variably hued buff, streaked with darker colour. The facial disc is not very visible and the orange eyes are distinctive.
The Eurasian eagle-owl is one of the largest living species of owl as well as one of the most widely distributed.[5] The Eurasian eagle-owl is found in many habitats but is mostly a bird of mountain regions, coniferous forests, steppes and other relatively remote places. It is a mostly nocturnal predator, hunting for a range of different prey species, predominantly small mammals but also birds of varying sizes, reptiles, amphibians, fish, large insects and other assorted invertebrates. It typically breeds on cliff ledges, in gullies, among rocks or in other concealed locations. The nest is a scrape in which averages of two eggs are laid at intervals. These hatch at different times. The female incubates the eggs and broods the young, and the male provides food for her and, when they hatch, for the nestlings as well. Continuing parental care for the young is provided by both adults for about five months.[6] There are at least a dozen subspecies of Eurasian eagle-owl.[7]
With a total range in Europe and Asia of about 32 million square kilometres (12 million square miles) and a total population estimated to be between 250 thousand and 2.5 million, the IUCN lists the bird's conservation status as being of "least concern".[8] The vast majority of eagle-owls live in mainland Europe, Russia and Central Asia, and an estimated number of between 12 and 40 pairs are thought to reside in the United Kingdom as of 2016, a number which may be on the rise.[9] Tame eagle-owls have occasionally been used in pest control because of their size to deter large birds such as gulls from nesting.
The terraces were dug following the natural curves of the landscape. The thickness of the walls stores heat during the day and diffuses it at night. Thanks to this method it has been possible to obtain a different microclimate as one goes down and gets closer to the centre. An average temperature difference of 5°C was observed, whereas the difference is only 0.5°C over comparable height differences at the same location. Due to its sheltered position, each of the terraces represents approximately one thousand metres of altitude under normal growing conditions.
Splendor of ended day floating and filling me,
Hour prophetic, hour resuming the past,
Inflating my throat, you divine average,
You earth and life till the last ray gleams I sing.
--- Walt Whitman
From 1840 Cononley produced an average of 470 tons of lead ore per year until 1870, when output fell rapidly as the available ore was exhausted and new reserves were not found. The mine closed briefly in the slump of 1872, but reopened with a much smaller workforce before finally closing in 1881. www.nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/metal/mid-pennine-mines/fsouth/...
J'ai hésité à poster cette photo de qualité moyenne (photo prise entre 40 et 50m et fortement croppée), mais la situation : un Guêpier et une femelle de Loriot côte à côte, tellement surprenante m'a incité à la publier.
I hesitated to post this photo of average quality (photo taken between 40 and 50m and strongly cropped), but the situation: a Bee-eater and a Golden Oriole female side by side, being so surprising incited me to publish it.
Vallon de Marcillac - Aveyron - Occitanie - France
Red-footed Falcon,The average number of recorded birds yearly in the UK is less than 15 (BTO) a globally declining population its numbers are dwindling rapidly due to habitat loss and hunting. It is migratory bird wintering in Africa found in eastern Europe and Asia in the summertime.
This beautiful raptor visited Dengemarsh and was feeding on dragon flies with a group of Hobbies. Watching it hunt is amazing so fast and agile making the most incredible turns and dives it can hover like a Kestrel and in the company of the Hobbies there was little competition although it is about the same size and shape at a glance as the Hobbies
Months of lockdown., restricted or no access, (e.g. Rutland Water is still closed)
but nonetheless we wanted to find and photograph an Osprey
(Well why make it easy!?!)
And somehow we did!
Light wasn't the best., no fish or aerobatics., We know this shot isn't going to 'wow' you
(And we hope they'll be better ones to come)
But none of that really matters
What does matter (to us) it's our first Osprey the year
This is the male of the pair at Thursley from a couple of year ago. Taken on the same bit of dead tree the female I posted yesterday was shot on. The male would stick very close to his mate at all times rarely being more than 2 meters away. From photos of the ring, this same male has visited the same spot two years in a row.
Blunt nose, small eyes, and small hairy ears in contrast to other British species of mice and also much smaller; prehensile tail the same length as the head and body; russet orange fur with a white underside.
Size: 50-70mm.
Weight: 4-6g.
Lifespan: 18 months on average.
Origin & Distribution: The harvest mouse is a native species. The harvest mouse is mainly found from central Yorkshire southwards. Isolated records from Scotland and Wales probably result from the release of captive animals. Areas of tall grass provide favourable habitats, such as cereals, road side verges, hedgerows, reed beds, dykes and salt mashes where nests can be built.
Diet: They eat a mixture of seeds, berries and insects, although moss, roots and fungi may also be taken. Harvest mice sometimes take grain from cereal heads, leaving characteristic sickle-shaped remains. Noticeable damage to cereal crops is extremely rare.
General Ecology: Harvest mice are extremely active climbers and feed in the stalk zone of long grasses and reeds, particularly around dusk and dawn. Their hearing is acute and they will react sharply; they either freeze or drop into cover in response to rustling sounds up to 7m away. Harvest mice have high energy requirements; the cost of being warm blooded and coping with a high surface to volume ratio.
Breeding nests are the most obvious sign indicating the presence of harvest mice. The harvest mouse is the only British mammal to build nests of woven grass well above ground. Nests tend to be found in dense vegetation such as grasses, rushes, cereals, grassy hedgerows, ditches and brambles. They are generally located on the stalk zone of grasses, at least 30cm above ground in short grasses and up to a metre in tall reeds. The size of the nest can vary from only 5cm in diameter for non-breeding nests to 10cm in diameter for breeding nests.
Harvest mice have many predators: weasels, stoats, foxes, cats, owls, hawks, crows, even pheasants.
Breeding: Harvest mice usually have two or three litters a year in the wild, between late May and October, but even into December if the weather is mild. Most litters are born in August. Cold wet weather is a major cause of mortality. There are usually around six young in a litter. The young are born blind and hairless but grow extremely quickly and start to explore outside the nest by the 11th day. The young are abandoned after about 16 days, but continue using the nest which may at then start to look rather dilapidated. A fresh nest is built for each litter.
Another brisk day, woke up to 0°F after a surprising full 8 hours of sleep (I normally average 6 1/2). I have to admit that as much as I dislike the cold I have become aware of the wonderful silence that accompanies it. People and their animals stay inside so there is very limited noise pollution from vehicles running, dogs barking, birds chirping, and even leaves rustling in the trees. It is stillness and silence and peace.
Oh, the tea is "pomegranate burst" green tea from Good Earth, it is one of my favorites! Also, the journal has returned since that was my goal this week to include it in every shot. My daughter and I have been drawing together for 30 minutes each morning before she goes to school. I have very limited drawing skills and hope that I will improve with practice if not, that's ok, I just love spending the creative time with my girlie.
Running at mach 10 these lovely little birds were a challenge to photograph whilst laying in the wet sand.
Landscape of Tibet
Tibet is the highest country on earth with an average elevation of over 4000m. The lowest regions of Tibet are still over 2000m above sea level with Jomo Langma (Everest,Sagarmatha) ཇོ་མོ་གླང་མ being the highest point at 8848m. Tibet is covered in grasslands, mountains and valleys.
Many of Asia’s largest rivers have their headwaters in Tibet such as the Ma chu རྨ་ཆུ་ ( Yellow River), Dri chu འབྲི་ཆུ་ (Yangtze), Nag chu ནག་ཆུ་ - རྒྱ་མོ་རྔུལ་ཆུ (Salween), Yarlung Tsangpo ཡར་ཀླུངས་གཙང་པོ་ (Brahmaputra) and Dza chu རྫ་ཆུ་ (Mekong). Western Tibet (Ngari) is a high, arid region with few people, while southeast Tibet (Kham) is forested and suitable for farming. Northern Tibet (Amdo) is covered in vast grasslands filled with yaks and sheep and central Tibet (U-Tsang) is the most densely populated area of Tibet lying along the fertile Yarlung Valley.
Many thanks for your visits, faves and comments. Cheers.
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Scientific Name: Coracina novaehollandiae
Description: Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes have a black face and throat, blue-grey back, wings and tail, and white underparts. They are slender, attractive birds. They have a curious habit of shuffling their wings upon landing, a practice that gave rise to the name "Shufflewing", which is often used for this species. This shuffling is also carried out by most other species in this family. Young birds resemble the adults, except the black facial mask is reduced to an eye stripe.
Similar species: Young Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes may be confused with the White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike, Coracina papuenis, which also has a black eye stripe. However, this species is much smaller (26 - 28 cm).
Distribution: The Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike is widespread and common. Outside the breeding season, large family groups and flocks of up to a hundred birds form.
Habitat: The Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike is found in almost any wooded habitat, with the exception of rainforests. It is also familiar in many suburbs, where birds are often seen perched on overhead wires or television aerials.
Seasonal movements: Partially nomadic; some northwards migrations.
Feeding: Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes feed on insects and other invertebrates. These may be caught in the air, taken from foliage or caught on the ground. In addition to insects, some fruits and seeds are also eaten.
Breeding: Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes may mate with the same partner each year, and may use the same territories year after year. The nest is remarkably small for the size of the bird. It is a shallow saucer of sticks and bark, bound together with cobwebs. Both partners construct the nest and care for the young birds.
Cuckoo-shrikes are neither cuckoos nor shrikes, but are so called because their feathers have similar patterns to those of cuckoos and their beak shape resembles that of shrikes.
Calls: The call most often heard is a soft churring, often being described as a warbling "creearck".
Minimum Size: 32cm
Maximum Size: 34cm
Average size: 33cm
Average weight: 112g
Breeding season: August to February; varies in more arid areas
Nestling Period: 21 days
(Source: www.birdsinbackyards.net)
__________________________________________
© Chris Burns 2021
All rights reserved.
This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.
Before knowing the weather condition of the Himalayan region we should understand its geography. The Himalayan region covers an area of 2,250 km with an average width of 200 km.
The forest belt of the Himalayan region consists of Oak, Rhododendron, Birch, Pine, Deodar, and Fir. And the monsoon season in this region lasts for mid June till the end of September. The Himalayas influences the meteorological conditions in the Indian subcontinent to the south and in the Central Asian highlands to the north to a great extent. It acts a climatic divider circulating the air and water system to a great extent. Because of its altitude and location it blocks the passage of the cold winds coming from the north to the Indian sub continent thereby making India's climate much more moderate. It also influences the rainfall pattern in India. The combined effect of rainfall, latitude and altitude largely influences the forests belts in the Himalayan region. The rainfall is mostly recorded during the monsoon time of June to September but it decreases as you travel from east to west. The snow-capped ranges of the Himalayas stretch 2, 250 km from the Namcha Barwa to Nanga Parbat on the Indus. The range extends from east to west up to central-Nepal and then takes a southeast to northwest direction.
www.himalaya2000.com/himalayan-facts/climate-of-himalayas...
A stunning little beast. Quite fascinating creatures. As ever, Stephen Falk has documented them rather well - www.flickr.com/photos/63075200@N07/collections/7215763704...
A single frame shot taken handheld in a field in Pitstone, UK
Always love to photograph these. The seem to have a personality. This one was patrolling the top of a sawn off tree stump at Ockham. It had attacked a much larger garden spider as I arrived but I hadn't got my camera setup at that point. I always seem to miss those moments.
I've had a drone for nearly a year now and I'm still not sure if I really like it or not. Maybe I'm just slower than average but I was surprised that there was a bit of a learning curve as far as composition goes. Considering that I slaved away at the Saddledome and spent nearly every penny I made there on this contraption, you'd think I'd use more than I currently do. I thought so too, but it's just such a pain in the ass to try and set this thing up while there's an SD40 breathing down your neck. I often find myself having to decide whether to get a drone or a "normal" shot rather than both and seeing as this things camera is about on par with my phone, I almost always go with my camera.
That being said, it still manages to pull of some cool angles and I am trying to plan to use it more going into 2023.
Die Postalm ist ein Almgebiet in der Gemeinde Strobl im Bundesland Salzburg. Mit 42 Quadratkilometern ist es das größte Almengebiet in Österreich. Das Hochplateau besitzt eine mittlere Höhe von über 1300 m.
The Postalm is an alpine pasture area in the municipality of Strobl in the province of Salzburg. With 42 square kilometers it is the largest alpine pasture area in Austria. The plateau has an average altitude of over 1300 meters.
Noblex Pro 6/150 UX
Kodak TMY 400
Lithprint auf Kentmere Kentona (2007)
1) SE5 1+7, +1,5 f-stops, 2:20 min
2) Siena 25 + NH4Cl 8 + Carbonat 15 + H2O 800, 1:20 min
Lichter gebleicht
MT1 Selentonung 1+20, 1 min
Average annual rainfall averages a little over 8 inches a year in this area. But cottonwood trees thrive in the flood plain of the San Juan River.
Happy Monochrome Monday!
For my copyright by mankind theme I chose the average kitchen sponge. HSoS!. History below from reference.com:
German scientist Otto Bayer, who founded the Bayer Company, was the inventor of polyurethane foam, the material from which sponges are made. Bayer invented this material by accident in 1937.
As German scientists persisted in creating uses for polyurethane foam, they created a defective batch that had many air bubbles. The outcome resembled sea sponges, which had been used since the Middle Ages to help wash the body. Prior to that, people used rags to wash dishes.
The earliest polyurethane sponges were easily destroyed during dish washing due to their fragility. As the technology progressed, these sponges were designed to be more durable.
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©Christine A. Owens 10.5.18
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I really appreciate your comments and faves. I'm not a hoarder of contacts, but enjoy real-life, honest people. You are much more likely to get my comments and faves in return if you fit the latter description. Just sayin. :oD
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If you like b/w photography and/or poetry check out my page at:
expressionsbychristine.blogspot.com/</a
Remember when Average Joe Railfan's only hope of catching something worthwhile was just by virtue of showing up? I recently lucked into just such a morning of "old-school" railfanning.
With nary a "Heritage Units dot com" report, Facebook sighting, nor other railfan-network-inside-scoop-heads-up, I stumbled across NS 20T running under the abandoned C&NW bridge at Curran, IL, led by Reading heritage SD70ACe 1067. Better to be lucky than good I guess...at first glance, I thought it was a UP leader.
That paint surely needs some touching up, but I figure this unit's next trip to the paint booth will result in a new coat of the black and white...or the scrapper's torch.
I noticed this pigeon with unusual colours and markings the other day. We’ve had quite a few of them around recently!
Figures from Pixabay ,background room is in Bodie Ghost Town which is my image.All texture and tints done in Nik Efex and Perfect Effects.Thank you.
Fallow deer often have a distinctive black inverted horseshoe shape on their rumps, and a black stripe on their tails which are the longest of all British deer.
The Fallow deer is the only species in Britain with palmate antlers. These become full-sized after the deer are three/four years old and can reach up to 0.7m in length. Facially, their head is more elongated than some species with large angular ears.
Does and their young give short barks when alarmed. Bucks groan loudly during the breeding season.
Fallow deer leave large hoof prints (slots), about 6cm long in soft ground. Their feet are more elongated than Roe deer and are heavier, creating deeper prints.
Fully grown females (does) are 0.73 to 0.91m at the shoulder and weigh between 35 to 56kg. By comparison, an average adult man in Britain is 1.77m high and weighs 79kg.
A tack piece fly past.......
The greylag goose (Anser anser) is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus Anser. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A large bird, it measures between 74 and 91 centimetres (29 and 36 in) in length, with an average weight of 3.3 kilograms (7 lb 4 oz). Its distribution is widespread, with birds from the north of its range in Europe and Asia often migrating southwards to spend the winter in warmer places, although many populations are resident, even in the north. It is the ancestor of most breeds of domestic goose, having been domesticated at least as early as 1360 BCE. The genus name and specific epithet are from anser, the Latin for "goose". In the USA, its name has been spelled "graylag".
Many thanks for your visits, faves and comments. Cheers.
Apostlebird (one of about twenty that landed in a tree within 5 metres from where I was sitting. They are unbelievably noisy! Not the most attractive bird, but they are real characters of the bush and always scruffy and grubby. They are also a very social bird. They went about their business as if I was not there.)
Scientific Name: Struthidea cinerea
Description: The Apostlebird is a medium-sized dark grey bird with a short strong bill, brown wings and black tail. It is normally seen in groups of six to ten birds, and is usally seen on the ground. It belongs to the group of birds known as 'mud-nesters', the Family Corcoracidae, noted for their communal life style and their bowl nests constructed of mud and plant fibres.
Similar species: The Apostlebird is often found in association with the White-winged Chough, which belongs to the same family and has similar habits (communal living, mud nests, ground-foraging). However the White-winged Chough is quite distinctive, being black with white wing panels visible in flight, as well as having a long curved beak and a bright red eye.
Distribution: The Apostlebird is found in eastern Australia in inland areas from lower Cape York Peninsula, Queensland to northern Victoria and from Naracoorte to Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia. There is also an isolated population in the Elliott and Katherine areas, Northern Territory.
Habitat: The Apostlebird is found in open dry forests and woodlands near water. It may also be found in farmlands with trees, as well as along roadsides, in orchards and on golf courses
Seasonal movements: Sedentary, with some local movements to more open areas in autumn and winter.
Feeding: The Apostlebird usually eats seeds and vegetable matter, insects and other invertebrates and, sometimes, small vertebrates. In autumn and winter, it will move to more open country, where seeds become the more important part of its diet. The Apostlebird forages on the ground in groups, often in association with the White-winged Chough. The Apostlebird can also be known as the 'Grey Jumper', for its hopping gait and, because it lives in groups, it can be known collectively as the 'Happy Family' or the 'Twelve Apostles'.
Breeding: Apostlebirds form a 'breeding unit' of around ten related birds - a dominant male and several females plus immature birds (the previous season's young) that act as helpers. The nest is a large mud bowl, placed on a horizontal branch 3 - 20 m high, and reinforced and lined with grass. All members of a group assist with nest building, as well as feeding of nestlings, while only the adults usually incubate the eggs. More than one female may lay eggs in the same nest. While many eggs may be laid usually only four nestlings will survive to fledge, with numbers possibly restricted by the size of the nest. Two broods may be raised in a season.
Calls: Rough, scratchy, discordant: 'ch-kew ch-kew'; also: nasal 'git-out' when disturbed.
Minimum Size: 29cm
Maximum Size: 33cm
Average size: 31cm
Average weight: 128g
Breeding season: August to March
Clutch Size: Two to five; more when more than one female lays
Incubation: 18 days
Nestling Period: 18 days
(Source: www.birdsinbackyards.net)
© Chris Burns 2025
__________________________________________
All rights reserved.
This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.
Ο Γαλαξίας φωτογραφήθηκε με ISO 3200 και χρόνο έκθεσης 10sec σε 8 συνεχόμενες φωτογραφίες με την μέθοδο του Image Averaging
RiverWalk
This 3.4-mile loop trail in Murphy, North Carolina, is generally considered an easy route, it takes an average of 1 h 3 min to complete. This is a very popular area for birding, fishing, and hiking.
Meticulously maintained, the trail is also home of the famed Leech Place of Cherokee Legend.
The Leech Place
Murphy, North Carolina
A small little town in Murphy, North Carolina sits atop an old Cherokee Indian mythology site known as “The Leech Place”. This spot was a place where the waters of the Hiwassee river would cross and notoriously swept hapless people to the bottom of the river. The river was controlled by a giant house-sized leech who made the waters drag people under so it could consume them. Its original name was “Tlanusi-yi” or “The Leech Place”. The story is told as “just above the junction where Murphy now sits is a deep hole in the river valley above which is a rock ledge running across the stream that early people’s once used as a foot bridge. On the south side of this trail was an ascension where one could look down into the river. One day, some men crossing the bridge saw a large red object as big as a house lying on the rock ledge in the middle of the stream below them. As they wondered what it was they saw it unroll and very alive, stretching itself out in full length like a giant leech with red and white stripes along its body. It rolled into a ball and stretched again at full length, crawling down the rock, into the deep waters. When it hit the waters, the water boiled and foamed causing a column of white spray billowing into the air like a waterspout drenching the area the men had been standing, which would have swept them away into the river had they not spotted it. Legend has it more than one person was carried down into that water hole by this method with their friends finding their bodies afterwards with their ears and nose eaten off. People feared crossing this bridge afterwards. One man fearless and laughing at the legend wanted to prove the townsfolk, painted his face, put on his bucksin, headed to the river, leading the townspeople down to watch. He went onto the ledge, sang to the high spirits: Tlanu’si gäe’ga digi’gäge, Dakwa’nitlaste’stï. I’ll tie red leech skins, On my legs for garters.” As he crossed, the waters boiled into white foam creating a great wave that rose and swept over the rock carrying him down to never to be seen again.” Legend also tells that 60 years ago before the great Removal, two women went to fish from that ledge, ignoring warning from their friends, and laid her child down on the rock to prepare her fishing line when the water rose and swept over the ledge, almost carrying off the child, with the mother barely saving it. People believe the great leech is still there as they can see something moving down below. Others say what is seen moving is the underground waterway across to Nottely river not far above the mouth where the river bends over towards Murphy and sometimes the leech goes there to make the waters boil as it used to at the rock ledge, calling this place on Nottely the Leech place as well. More about the Hiwassee River can be found at www.technogypsie.com/reviews/?p=5395. More information about the Leech place can be found at www.sacred-texts.com/nam/cher/motc/motc077.htm.
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Purple-backed Fairy-wren (prior to 2018 called verigated fairy wren)
Scientific Name: Malurus assimilis
Description: The purple-backed fairywren is on average 14.5 cm (5.5 in) long.[citation needed] Like other fairywrens, it is notable for its marked sexual dimorphism, males adopting a highly visible breeding plumage of brilliant iridescent blue and chestnut contrasting with black and grey-brown. The brightly coloured crown and ear tufts are prominently featured in breeding displays. The male in breeding plumage has striking bright blue ear coverts and blue-purple crown and forehead, a black throat and nape, a blue-purple upper back, chestnut shoulders and a bluish-grey tail. The wings are drab brown and the belly white. Within subspecies assimilis, the plumage of both sexes is becomes paler from east to west across its range, with those of northwestern Australia paler still. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles of subspecies assimilis are predominantly grey-brown in colour, while those of subspecies rogersi and dulcis are mainly blue-grey. Males of all subspecies have a black bill and lores (eye-ring and bare skin between eyes and bill), while females of subspecies assimilis and rogersi have a red-brown bill and bright rufous lores, and those of subspecies dulcis have white lores. Immature males will develop black bills by six months of age, and moult into breeding plumage the first breeding season after hatching, though this may be incomplete with residual brownish plumage and may take another year or two to perfect. Both sexes moult in autumn after breeding, with males assuming an eclipse non-breeding plumage. They will moult again into nuptial plumage in winter or spring. The blue coloured plumage, particularly the ear-coverts, of the breeding males is highly iridescent due to the flattened and twisted surface of the barbules. The blue plumage also reflects ultraviolet light strongly, and so may be even more prominent to other fairywrens, whose colour vision extends into that part of the spectrum.
Distribution and habitat: The purple-backed fairywren is widely distributed over much of the Australian continent. It is replaced in southwestern Western Australia by the red-winged and blue-breasted fairywrens, and by the lovely fairywren north of a line between Normanton and Townsville in north Queensland. Some early evidence suggested subspecies assimilis may be nomadic, but later more detailed fieldwork indicated it was generally sedentary, with pairs of purple-backed fairywrens maintaining territories year-round. There is little information on the other subspecies.
It is found in scrubland with plenty of vegetation providing dense cover. It prefers rocky outcrops and patches of Acacia, Eremophila or lignum in inland and northern Australia. Fieldwork in the Northern Territory showed that the species preferred open woodland dominated by thickets of lancewood (Acacia shirleyi) and bullwaddy (Macropteranthes kekwickii) than eucalyptus. Chenopod scrubland with plants such as saltbush, bluebush, black rolypoly (Sclerolaena muricata), nitre goosefoot (Chenopodium nitrariaceum), grass tussocks, and overstory plants such as black box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) and native cypress (Callitris).
Clearing of native vegetation for agriculture in the Western Australian wheatbelt and Murray-Mallee region of Victoria had a negative impact on the species, as does the consumption of saltbush by cattle.
Breeding: Breeding can occur at any time in inland Australia, with birds taking the opportunity to nest after heavy rains, although only one brood is usually raised each year.
The nest is a round or domed structure made of loosely woven grasses, twigs, bark and spider webs, with an entrance in one side, and is often larger than those of other fairywrens. Nest measured at Shark Bay ranged from 9 to 11 cm tall and 5 to 9 cm wide.
This months full moon will be the closest it's been since 1948, it'll be roughly 14% bigger and 30 % brighter than an average full moon, the moon will appear at it's largest as it rises above the horizon.
The image above is a composite of three images captured this year, starting with the marina as the base image, with the stars and moon blended to create the final scene for fun. :-)
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Top and pants: .Malediction. Toki Set Anatomy Update
Male body: .Malediction. .Anatomy. Male Body
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Other:
Hairs: *barberyumyum*B20(neon)
Septum: Fewness - Thick Sphere Septum
Earings: [//REBIRTH/]-croissant
Nose band aid: kotte - band aid
Phone: MAJESTY - !Phone Crystal
Smart watch: MAJESTY - !Watch Charm
Icecream: Junk Food - Ice Cream Bouquet
Tattoo: .: CORAZON :. Belle Ame
Body piercing: Fewness - Bow Pelvis Piercing
Socks: [ VERSOV ] OMNI SOCKS
Shoes: -FLUID- Bun Sneaka
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I've got the pen
You cannot find the vape in your hand
It's offensive you want to be friends
Do not mention me ever again
You're disposable I'm undeniable
Let's not pretend
I am a legend already
Right now I am being mentioned
In therapy sessions
Across the state of Connecticut
They talk about me incessantly
Whispering "cunt"
The average porcupine has about 30,000 quills and as I watched it forage my parent’s yard I remembered that dogs and porcupines don’t mix well. Lucky for me, they don’t have any dogs now so the presence of a porcupine no longer requires an expensive painful trip to the vet, and I enjoyed watching this fella for a few minutes one early morning.
Blasting up a desert mountain at walking speed with 5 Geeps and 22 loads of sulphur and acid! I have done some research to figure out just how steep this grade actually is. First I talked to the crew and found out the hardest pull is from this point to a spot about a 1/4 , mile below. Here is what I have found: The actual grade averages around 3.5 to 3.7%. There is a couple very short spots where it tops 4 to 4.2%. The craziest part is the curves are actually a bit steeper than the straight sections. That means when figuring out compensation the grade against loads could be figured as steep as 5% at this exact spot!
PN013 leads 82P5, a Townsville bound Pacific National freight train, along Denison Street, Rockhampton.
Queensland's North Coast railway line includes this section of 2 kilometres of street running which sees 28 train movements a day, including the Spirit of Queensland Tilt Train and various freight trains. Train speeds are restricted to a leisurely 25 km/h along the section.
Rockhampton, QLD.
Tuesday, 26 July 2022.
Kangra valley (average altitude 2000 feet) is my favourite destination in Himachal Pradesh.Thankfully it is not as popular with tourists as Shimla and Kullu- Manali but I think in the springtime few places in India can rival its sublime beauty. With its picturesque villages with their houses of slate covered roofs, wheatfields of soothing green,orchards in blossom,gushing mountain streams and the glistening white peaks of the Dhauladhars as a stunning backdrop it is no less than a paradise on earth
The Dhauladhar range is one of the ranges of the Middle Himalayas,.They lie entirely in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India.They are distinctive in their typical dark granite rocky formations with a remarkably steep rise culminationg in streaks of snow and ice at the top of their crested peaks.The elevation of the Dhauladhars ranges from around 3500 metres to nearly 6000 metres avove sea level.They are best seen from the beautiful Kangra valley from where they appear to shoot up almost vertically.
Source -: Wikipedia