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Greensboro, NC - 2/25/10
A Face to Face "social practice" event, The Soapbox Salon: Lee Walton's Search for the Most Average Bowlers
Greensboro, NC - 2/25/10
A Face to Face "social practice" event, The Soapbox Salon: Lee Walton's Search for the Most Average Bowlers
Not the best satay in town. If Nyok Lan Satay defines what Kajang satay is all about, then fuck that for a laugh as I'm no longer going back to Kajang for my satay fix.
Greensboro, NC - 2/25/10
A Face to Face "social practice" event, The Soapbox Salon: Lee Walton's Search for the Most Average Bowlers
Cyathus striatus (Huds.:Pers.) Willd.
Fluted Bird's Nest, DE: Gestreifter Teuerling
Slo.: črtkani košek
Dat.: July 30. 2014
Lat.: 46.36037 Long.: 13.70408
Code: Bot_819/2014_DSC2282
Habitat: abandoned and overgrown pasture, under Picea abies, slightly sloped southeast, shallow skeletal calcareous ground, old overgrown slope scree, in shade, warm and medium dry place, partly protected from direct rain by tree canopies, average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7-9 deg C, elevation 580 m (1.900 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.
Substratum: apparently on soil but more probably on small pieces of wood debris (Picea abies, Ostrya carprinifolia, Fagus sylvatica most probable) buried in ground.
Place: Lower Trenta valley, between villages Soča and Trenta, right bank of river Soča, near Trenta 2 farm house, East Julian Alps, Posočje, Slovenia EC
Comments: Cyathus striatus is a common species, but in spite of this it is rarely seen because of its small size and perfect blending in its habitat. To find its not yet mature, shaggy,brown fruit bodies in forest ground is almost impossible until one crawls on his knees through the woods. When the fruit bodies open, but are still covered by a whitish scurfy membrane, the chances to notice white small, round circles on ground are at maximum. However, the membrane soon raptures to reveal the 'eggs' and disappears. The tiny 'eggs' (spore bearing peridioles), not much more than 1 mm in diameter, and the brown-gray-blackish fruit bodies again become well hidden in ground debris and hard to find. Cyathus striatus can be easily distinguished from other species of this genus growing in Slovenia by its radially striate interior of peridium (wall of the 'nest').
Growing solitary and in small groups of a few fruit bodies, about a dozen fruit bodies found on 1 x 1 m plot. They are of 8-10 mm diameter and up to 15 mm tall. From unknown reason I was unable to get spores although a few sporocarps and their peridioles appear mature and in good shape.
Herbarium: Mycotheca and lichen herbarium (LJU-Li) of Slovenian Forestry Institute, Večna pot 2, Ljubljana, Index Herbariorum LJF
Ref.:
(1) G.J. Krieglsteiner (Hrsg.), Die Grosspilze Baden-Württembergs, Band 2., Ulmer (2000), p 159.
(2) D. Arora, Mushrooms Demystified, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley (1986), p 780.
(3) S. Buczacki, Collins Fungi Guide, Collins (2012), p 442.
(4) J. Breitenbach, F. Kraenzlin, Eds., Fungi of Switzerland, Vol.2.,Verlag Mykologia (1986), p
The treats arrived a little early for Average Betty this month! Flip to page 67 of the October MacLife Magazine and you'll see Betty in the latest MacGourmet Deluxe advertisement for Mariner Software. It's an honor for Betty to represent MacGourmet Deluxe and appear in such a well-respected publication. Thanks, Mariner Software! Betty loves you!
Greensboro, NC - 2/25/10
A Face to Face "social practice" event, The Soapbox Salon: Lee Walton's Search for the Most Average Bowlers
Greensboro, NC - 2/25/10
A Face to Face "social practice" event, The Soapbox Salon: Lee Walton's Search for the Most Average Bowlers
Greensboro, NC - 2/25/10
A Face to Face "social practice" event, The Soapbox Salon: Lee Walton's Search for the Most Average Bowlers
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_(season)
Definition
Meteorologists generally define four seasons in many climatic areas, winter, spring, summer and autumn (or fall). These are demarcated by the values of their average temperatures on a monthly basis, with each season lasting three months. The three warmest months are by definition summer, the three coldest months are winter, and the intervening gaps are spring and autumn. Spring, when defined in this manner, can start on different dates in different regions. In most of Northern Hemisphere locations, spring occurs during the months of March, April and May[1]. (Summer is June, July, August; Autumn is September, October, November; Winter is December, January, February.) The vast majority of Southern Hemisphere locations will have opposing seasons with spring in September, October and November.[2]
Astronomically, the vernal equinox (usually 20 March in the Northern Hemisphere, and 22 September in the Southern Hemisphere), should be the middle of spring (based on the angle of the sun and insolation) and the summer solstice (usually 21 June in the Northern Hemisphere and 21 December in the Southern Hemisphere) should be mid-summer (because the sun is at its highest) but daytime temperatures lag behind insolation by several weeks because the earth and sea have thermal latency and take time to warm up.
Some cultures, such as those who devised the Celtic and East Asian calendars, call the spring equinox mid-spring, but others (especially in the USA and sometimes in England) regard it as the "first day of spring". For most temperate regions, signs of spring appear long before the middle of March, but the folklore of 21 March being the "first day of spring" persists, and 21 June as the "first day of summer" is common in the USA. In South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, spring begins on 1 September, and has no relation to the vernal equinox.[3]
In East Asian Solar term, spring begins on 4 February and ends on 5 May. Similarly, according to the Celtic tradition, which is based solely on daylight and the strength of the noon sun, spring begins in early February (near Imbolc or Candlemas) and continues until early May (Beltane).
The phenological definition of spring relates to indicators, the blossoming of a range of plant species, and the activities of animals, or the special smell of soil that has reached the temperature for micro flora to flourish. It therefore varies according to the climate and according to the specific weather of a particular year.
Events
In spring, the axis of the Earth is increasing its tilt toward the Sun and the length of daylight rapidly increases for the relevant hemisphere. The hemisphere begins to warm significantly causing new plant growth to "spring forth," giving the season its name. Snow, if a normal part of winter, begins to melt, and streams swell with runoff. Frosts, if a normal part of winter, become less severe. Temperate climates have no snow and rare frosts, the air and ground temperature increases more rapidly. Many flowering plants bloom this time of year, in a long succession sometimes beginning even if snow is still on the ground, continuing into early summer. In normally snowless areas "spring" may begin as early as February (Northern Hemisphere) heralded by the blooming of deciduous magnolias, cherries, and quince, or August (Southern Hemisphere) in the same way. Subtropical and tropical areas have climates better described in terms of other seasons, e.g. dry or wet, or monsoonal, or cyclonic. Often the cultures have locally defined names for seasons which have little equivalence to the terms originating in Europe. Many temperate areas have a dry spring, and wet autumn (fall), which brings about flowering in this season more consistent with the need for water as well as warmth. Subarctic areas may not experience "spring" at all until May or even June, or December in the outer Antarctic.
While spring is a result of the warmth caused by the turning of the Earth's axis, the weather in many parts of the world is overlain by events which appear very erratic taken on a year-to-year basis. The rainfall in spring (or any season) follows trends more related to longer cycles or events created by ocean currents and ocean temperatures. Good and well-researched examples are the El Niño effect and the Southern Oscillation Index.
Unstable weather may more often occur during spring, when warm air begins on occasions to invade from lower latitudes, while cold air is still pushing on occasions from the Polar regions. Flooding is also most common in and near mountainous areas during this time of year because of snowmelt, accelerated by warm rains. In the United States, Tornado Alley is most active this time of year, especially since the Rocky Mountains prevent the surging hot and cold air masses from spreading eastward and instead force them into direct conflict. Besides tornadoes, supercell thunderstorms can also produce dangerously large hail and very high winds, for which a severe thunderstorm warning or tornado warning is usually issued. Even more so than in winter, the jet streams play an important role in unstable and severe weather in the springtime in the Northern Hemisphere.
In recent decades season creep has been observed, which means that many phenological signs of spring are occurring earlier in many regions by a couple of days per decade.
Spring is seen as a time of growth, renewal, of new life (both plant and animal) being born. The term is also used more generally as a metaphor for the start of better times, as in the Prague Spring. Spring in the Southern Hemisphere is different in several significant ways to that of the Northern Hemisphere. This is because: there is no land bridge between Southern Hemisphere countries and the Antarctic zone capable of bringing in cold air without the temperature-mitigating effects of extensive tracts of water; the vastly greater amount of ocean in the Southern Hemisphere at all latitudes; at this time in Earth's geologic history the Earth has an orbit which brings it in closer to the Southern Hemisphere for its warmer seasons; there is a circumpolar flow of air (the roaring 40s and 50s) uninterrupted by large land masses; no equivalent jet streams; and the peculiarities of the reversing ocean currents in the Pacific.
Greensboro, NC - 2/25/10
A Face to Face "social practice" event, The Soapbox Salon: Lee Walton's Search for the Most Average Bowlers
DAY 2 Of Legends Of Brands Hatch Superprix And it was time to see who could Brave the Grand Prix Circuit and Take Home Victory in The First Few Races held Thought Saturday.
After A Very Busy Day Yesterday with Qualifying it will be Interesting to see Which Drivers from each Support Race can take home Victory and The Win for their Respective Teams.
Classic Formula Ford With Historic Formula 3-(Race 1 Results)
Classic Formula Fords And Historic Formula 3 were up and After an Exciting Race and Qualifying Yesterday Lets See who Emerged in the First Race As The Winner.
In First Place and Taking Victory was (Cam Jackson) in his Winkelmann WDF2 with A Lap Time Of 1:52.141 and an Average Speed of 76.65mph.
An Amazing Drive from Cameron Jackson Showing the Speed and Commitment It takes to Race A Classic Formula Ford around the Grand Prix Loupe. Awesome Work Cam.
In Second Place was (Henry Chart) in his Van Diemen RF81 with A Lap Time Of 1:52.396 And An Average Speed of 75.86mph.
A Super Drive and A Really Good Battle with Cam Henry. Well Done
In Third Place was (Ben Tinkler) in his Van Diemen RF80 with a Lap Time of 1:57.181 And an Average Speed of 73.80mph.
A Fantastic Drive by Ben and a well Controlled Drive to take Third Place. Brilliant Work.
Fantastic Work to Cam, Henry And Ben for putting on one Hell of a Race and showing the Power of the Formula Ford Engine.
Looking forward to seeing more Race action from Thease Guys and the Rest of The Formula Ford And Historic Formula 3 Racing Drivers Tomorrow.
A Big Congratulations to all Three Drivers on First Second and Third.
HGPCA Historic Pre 66 Grand Prix Cars-(Race 1 Results)
Historic Pre 66 Grand Prix cars were Up Next and Featuring some very Big Names of Cars Racing such as Maserati Ferrari and Cooper.
Lets see what Happened and Who Managed to take Victory in the Pre 66 Grand Prix Cars Race.
In First Place and Taking Victory was (John Spiers) In His Maserati 250F with A Lap Time of 1:50.306 and An Average Speed of 77.84mph.
A Storming Drive From John to take The victory and Really showed Off just how Capable and Powerful Thease Pre 66 Grand Prix Cars can be. A Fantastic Victory John.
In Second Place was (Rod Jolly) in His Lister Jaguar Monza with A Lap Time of 1:51.705 and An Average Speed of 77.50mph.
Pushing His Jaguar to the Limit and Nearly Taking Victory Away from John on a Couple of Corners. Amazing Drive.
In Third Place was (Eddie McGuire) In His Scarab with A Lap Time of 1:52.196 and An Average Speed of 75.64mph.
A Well and Truly Earned Third Place for Eddie After Fighting Hard with Others Drivers for the Spot and Taking Third Place. A Very Committed Drive Eddie.
A Fantastic Result for The First Race for Pre 66 Grand Prix Cars and Three very Talented Drivers in John, Rod And Eddie. Good Luck to All Other Drivers Racing and Lets See What Tomorrow Brings for You. Hopefully A Podium Finish.
HSCC / FJHRA Silverline Historic Formula Junior-(Race 1 Results)
It Was Time For HSCC And Historic Formula Junior To Take to the Track and See who Could Take Victory in their Respective Race.
With Junior Drivers Involved Anything Is Possible. Lets See who put the Pedal to the Metal and Made History in This One.
In First Place was (Chris Goodwin In His Lotus 22 with A Lap Time of 1:42.576 And an Average Speed of 65.29mph.
A Spirited Drive from Chris has allowed him to take The Victory. Congratulations Chris and an Amazing Drive from Pole Position. Keep up The Fantastic Performance And Commitment.
In Second Place was (Richard Wilson) in his Brabham BT6 with A Lap Time of 1:45.325 And An Average Speed of 65.02mph.
Another Triumphen Drive from Richard to Take Second Place Well Done Richard.
In Third Place was (Adrian Russel) in His Lotus 22 with A Lap Time of 1:45.853 And An Average Speed of 64.94mph.
Very Well Driven Adrian and a Close Finish with Richard for Second Place in the Process. That was One Incredible Charge.
Another Fantastic Race from The Historic Formula Junior Racing Drivers. Each One showing the Skill and Commitment To Taming Thease Little Beasts.
Congratulations to Chris, Richard and Adrian And Good Luck to all Other Drivers Work Hard And Keep Pushing for That All Important Victory.
HSCC Classic Formula 3 -(Race 2 Results)
Historic Formula 3 was about to Take on the Might of The Brands Hatch GP Loop Featuring Cars from the Classic Formula 3 Era Such as The March 783 The Chevron B43 and The Royal RP27.
Thease Machines May Look Docile but When Racing they put on a Huge Display of Both Power and Speed to Rival even that of their Formula 1 Counterparts of the Era.
Let's See How The Race went and Who was Able To take Victory and Stand on the Top Step of the Podium.
In First Place was (Andy Smith) In his March 783 with A Lap Time of 1:42.113 and An Average Speed of 82.64mph.
Very Fast and Very Consistent Driving from Andy to Take Victory and End Up on the Top Step of the Podium. Congratulations Andy Well Deserved.
In Second Place was (Murray Shepherd) in His Van Diemen RF82 with A Lap Time of 1:44.583 And an Average Speed of 81.75mph.
Another Fantastic Drive from Murray to keep The Pace up and Defend Second Place from the Others Drivers All Fighting to take it away. Well Done Murray.
In Third Place was (Ben Tilley) In His March 743 with A Lap Time of 1:43.571 And an Average Speed of 81.75mph.
Matching The Speed of Murray and Still Keeping Him on His Toes in order to Try and Take that Second Place Away from Him.
A Very Well Driven Race from Ben and Keep Working towards that Second Place Finnish. Outstanding Drive.
Classic Formula 3 Has Shown us Three Capable Drivers who Battled it out and Came out Victorious in the Race. Andy Murray and Ben will have to Keep Working Hard to Defend Their Respective Places.
Could anyone Else Take those Victories from them? Only Time will Tell.
HSCC Historic Formula Ford 2000
Its Time for Historic Formula Ford 2000 and To see who Can Take The Victory in This Race. With Cars that Are capable of Nearly 100mph Around The Grand Prix Circuit it will be Interesting to see who is Brave Enough to Push Their Ford to its Limits.
In First Place was (Graham Fennymore) in His Reynard SF81 with A Lap Time of 1:35.793 And an Average Speed of 89.99mph. A Fierce Drive with Speedy Reactions to Claim the Victory. Incredible Work Graham.
In Second Place was (Ian Pearson) in His Royal RP30 with A Lap Time of 1:36.029 And an Average Speed of 89.74mph.
Another Super Drive From Ian with Speeds and Performance Very Close to Graham. Both Drivers Pushing Hard and Not giving an Inch Thought the Race.
In Third Place was (Andrew Storer) in his Reynard SF79 with A Lap Time of 1:37.187 and An Average Speed of 88.64mph.
Awesome Work from Andrew Despite Finishing Second in the Previous Race. Keep Pushing Hard.
A Fantastic Day for The Formula Ford 2000 and An Excellent Set of Victories for Graham Ian and Andrew.
Well Done to all other Drivers who Took Part as well Work Hard and Always Keep Pushing to Your Limits And Beyond.
HSCC Thundersports -(Race Results)
Finally it was the turn of the Thundersports High Powered Machinery Versus The Grand Prix Loop. With Close Qualifying from Yesterday.
Lets find out who the Final Three Drivers are for Saturday who took too The Podium.
In First Place was (James Claridge) in his Chevron B23 with A Lap Time of 1:31.148 and An Average Speed of 84.64mph.
A Fantastic Job from James in a Machine that is so fast And Yet Looked so At Home on the Race Track with Him Behind the Wheel.
Congratulations James A Fine Job Indeed.
In Second Place was (Mark Richardson) in His Lola T290 with A Lap Time of 1:30.458 and An Average Speed of 84.62mph.
Another Drive by A True Racing Driver and Even Eric Broadly would Have been Proud To see that One. Fantastic Work Mark.
In Third Place was (Robert Shaw) in His Chevron B19 with A Lap Time of 1:33.032 And an Average Speed of 82.62mph.
Very Well Done from Robert Who Defended Third Place Like his Life Depended on it.
A Wonderful Way to End Saturday at The Superprix Of Brands Hatch with Many New and Rising Talents Still Left to show what they can do Come Sundays FINALE.
Congratulations to all of the Race Winners and Good Luck to Those still fighting for that all Important Podium Spot.
See You All on Sunday.
Three year average (mean).
Three years ago now I made a little Processing script to average sets of photos, and a few weeks before that I started a photo-a-day project, where I was careful to get as close to the same angle as possible.
This image is the result of finding the mean (sum of all values / number of items) of the whole three years of photos.
For a little more about this: www.alexjacque.com/project/average
Average Betty does for home n' cooking what punk did for rock n' roll: she cuts the length and cranks the volume! But you don't need a mohawk to enjoy Average Betty's culinary creations. Check out www.averagebetty.com for recipes and more.
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An average block in the Westminster business section of London. But...this block contained 3 American fast food restaurants. You can see the Subway sandwich shop and the KFC. If you enlarge the picture, you can see the Burger King was down on the corner. The Burger King was advertising "Texican Barbecue Burgers".
Double Check is a sculpture by John Seward Johnson II, dating back to 1982. It was completely covered in ashes during the 911 attack, and mistaken for a real man.
IGUAZU FALLS
Taller than Niagara Falls, twice as wide with 275 cascades spread in a horsehoe shape over nearly two miles of the Iguazu River, Iguazú Falls are the result of a volcanic eruption which left yet another large crack in the earth. During the rainy season of November - March, the rate of flow of water going over the falls may reach 450,000 cubic feet (12,750 cubic m) per second.
These matter of fact details do nothing to describe the grandeur of the falls, the tremendous amount of water (an average of 553 cubic feet per second) thundering down 269 feet, the tropical location and the sheer beauty that led Eleanor Roosevelt to say Poor Niagara. Four times the width of Niagara Falls, Iguazu Falls are divided by various islands into separate waterfalls. One of the best known is Devil's Throat, or Gargantua del Diablo with its perpetual spray high over the falls. Other notable falls are the San Martin, Bossetti, and Bernabe Mendez.
Iguazú Falls, called Foz do Iguaçu in Brazilian, and Cataratas del Iguazú in Spanish, lie on the Argentina - Brazil border and are a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site.
Excerpt from gosouthamerica.about.com
Three year average (median).
Three years ago now I made a little Processing script to average sets of photos, and a few weeks before that I started a photo-a-day project, where I was careful to get as close to the same angle as possible.
This image is the result of finding the median (middle value of a sorted set) of the whole three years of photos.
For a little more about this: www.alexjacque.com/project/average
Today we out for about 16 miles through a mix of hilly and flat country. Lots of good scenery, and an average speed of about 12.5 on the box bike.
As usual the the little one loved it-- smiling or putting sleepd dog to work. The sippy cup and crackers also remained close at hand.
Common Crane
Grus grus
also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane. Along with the sandhill and demoiselle cranes and the brolga, it is one of only four crane species not currently classified as threatened with extinction or conservation dependent at the species level.
Description
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Common crane (Grus grus)
The common crane is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane. It is 100–130 cm (40–52 in) long with a 180–240 cm (71–96 in) wingspan. The body weight can range from 3 to 6.1 kg (6.6 to 13.4 lb), with the nominate subspecies averaging around 5.4 kg (12 lb) and the eastern subspecies (G. g. lilfordi) averaging 4.6 kg (10 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 50.7–60.8 cm (20.0–23.9 in) long, the tarsus is 20.1–25.2 cm (7.9–9.9 in) and the exposed culmen is 9.5–11.6 cm (3.7–4.6 in).
This species is slate-grey overall. The forehead and lores are blackish with a bare red crown and a white streak extending from behind the eyes to the upper back. The overall colour is darkest on the back and rump and palest on the breast and wings. The primaries, the tips of secondaries, the alula, the tip of the tail, and the edges of upper tail coverts are all black and the greater coverts droop into explosive plumes. This combination of colouration ultimately distinguishes it from similar species in Asia, like the Hooded and black-necked cranes. The juvenile has yellowish-brown tips to its body feathers and lacks the drooping wing feathers and the bright neck pattern of the adult, and has a fully feathered crown. Every two years, before migration, the adult common crane undergoes a complete moult, remaining flightless for six weeks, until the new feathers grow.
It has a loud trumpeting call, given in flight and display. The call is piercing and can be heard from a considerable distance. It has a dancing display, leaping with wings uplifted, described in detail below.
This species is found in the northern parts of Europe and Asia. Formerly the species was spread as far west as Ireland, but about 200 years ago, it became extinct there. However, it has since started to return to Ireland naturally and there are now plans to help it return to Ireland on a greater scale. The common crane is an uncommon breeder in southern Europe, smaller numbers breeding in Greece, Yugoslavia, Romania, Denmark and Germany. Larger breeding populations can found in Scandinavia, especially Finland and Sweden. The heart of the breeding population for the species is in Russia, however, where possibly up to 100,000 cranes of this species can be found seasonally. In Russia, it is distributed as a breeder from the Ukraine region to the Chukchi Peninsula. The breeding population extends as far south as Manchuria but almost the entire Asian breeding population is restricted to Russia.
The species is a long distance migrant predominantly wintering in northern Africa. Autumn migration is from August to October and spring migration is in March through May. Important staging areas occur anywhere from Sweden and Germany to China (with a large one around the Caspian Sea) and many thousand cranes can be seen in one day in the Autumn. Some birds winter in southern Europe, including Portugal, Spain and France. Most eastern common cranes winter in the river valleys of Sudan, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Eritrea with smaller numbers in Turkey, northern Israel, Iraq and parts of Iran. The third major wintering region is in the northern half of Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan. Minimal wintering also occurs in Burma, Vietnam and Thailand. Lastly, they winter in eastern China, where they are often the most common crane (outnumbering black-necked cranes ten-to-one). Migrating flocks fly in a V formation.
It is a rare visitor to Japan and Korea, mostly blown over from the Chinese wintering population, and is a rare vagrant to western North America, where birds are occasionally seen with flocks of migrating sandhill cranes.
Habitat
In Europe, the common crane predominantly breeds in boreal and taiga forest and mixed forests, from an elevation of sea-level to 2,200 m (7,200 ft). In Northern climes, treeless moors, on bogs, or on dwarf heather habitats, usually where small lakes or pools are also found. In Sweden, breeders are usually found in small, swampy openings amongst pine forests while, in Germany, marshy wetlands are used. Breeding habitat used in Russia are similar, though they can be found nesting in less likely habitat such as steppe and even semi-desert, so long as water is near. Primarily, the largest number of common cranes are found breeding in wooded swamps, bogs and wetlands and seem to require quiet, peaceful environs with minimal human interference. They occur at low density as breeders even where common, typically ranging from 1 to 5 pairs per 100 km2 (39 sq mi).
While winter, this species moves to flooded areas, shallow sheltered bays, and swampy meadows. During the flightless moulting period there is a need for shallow waters or high reed cover for concealment. Later, after the migration period, the birds winter regularly in open country, often on cultivated lands and sometimes also in savanna-like areas, for example on the Iberian Peninsula.
Diet
The common crane is omnivorous, as are all cranes. It largely eats plant matter, including roots, rhizomes, tubers, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds. They also commonly eat, as available, pond-weeds, heath berries, peas, potatoes, olives, acorns, cedarnuts and pods of peanuts. Notably amongst the berries consumed, the cranberry, is possibly named after the species.
Animal foods become more important during the summer breeding season and may be the primary food source at that time of year, especially while regurgitating to young. Their animal foods are insects, especially dragonflies, and also snails, earthworms, crabs, spiders, millipedes, woodlice, amphibians, rodents, and small birds.
Common cranes may either forage on land or in shallow water, probing around with their bills for any edible organism. Although crops may locally be damaged by the species, mostly they consume waste grain in winter from previously harvest fields and so actually more commonly benefit farmers by cleaning fields for use in the following year. As in other cranes, all foraging (as well as drinking and roosting) is done in small groups, which may variously consist of pairs, family groups or winter flocks.
Breeding
This species usually lays eggs in May, though seldom will do so earlier or later. Like most cranes, this species displays indefinite monogamous pair bonds. If one mate dies, a crane may attempt to court a new mate the following year. Although a pair may be together for several years, the courtship rituals of the species are enacted by every pair each spring. The dancing of common cranes has complex, social meanings and may occur at almost any time of year. Dancing may include bobs, bows, pirouettes, and stops, as in various crane species. Aggressive displays may include ruffled wing feathers, throwing vegetation in the air and pointing the bare red patch on their heads at each other. Courtship displays begin with a male following the female in a stately, march-like walk. The unison call, consists of the female holding her head up and gradually lowering down as she calls out. The female calls out a high note and then the male follows with a longer scream in a similar posture. Copulation consists of a similar, dramatic display.
The nesting territory of common cranes is variable and is based on the local habitat. It can range in size from variously 2 to 500 hectares. In common with sandhill cranes (and no other crane species), common cranes "paint" their bodies with mud or decaying vegetation, apparently in order to blend into their nesting environment. The nest is either in or very near shallow water, often with dense shore vegetation nearby, and may be used over several years. The size and placement of the nest varies considerably over the range, with Arctic birds building relatively small nests. In Sweden, an average nest is around 90 cm (35 in) across.
The clutch of the common crane usually contains two eggs, with seldom one laid and, even more rarely, 3 or 4. If a clutch is lost early in incubation, the cranes may be able to lay another one within a couple of weeks. The incubation period is around 30 days and is done primarily by the female but occasionally by both sexes. If humans approach the nest both parents may engage in a distraction display but known ground predators (including domestic dogs) are physically attacked almost immediately.
New hatchlings are generally quite helpless but are able to crawl away from danger in a few hours, can swim soon after hatching and can run with their parents at 24 hours old. Chicks respond to danger by freezing, using their camouflaged brownish down to defend them beyond their fierce parents. Young chicks use their wings to stabilise them while running, while by 9 weeks of age they can fly short distances. The adult birds go through their postbreeding moult while caring for their young, rendering them flightless for about 5 to 6 weeks around the time the young also can't fly yet. According to figures of cranes wintering in Spain, around 48% birds have surviving young by the time they winter and around 18% are leading two young by winter. By the next breeding season, the previous years young often flock together. The age of sexual maturity in wild birds has been estimated at variously from 3 to 6 years of age. It is thought that it is common for this species to live up to 30 or 40 years of age.[2]
File:Baltsende en parende kraanvogels-Stichting Natuurbeelden-170687.webm