For my video;

youtu.be/57fSIJ7kimA?si=DarakqVnAQcg-Vk1,

 

Fraser River,

New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada

Hyundai sky train bridge,

Pattullo Bridge,

Golden Ears,

Coast Mountains,

 

The SkyBridge is a cable-stayed bridge in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Built between 1987 and 1989, it spans the Fraser River and connects New Westminster with Surrey. The SkyBridge opened for revenue use on March 16, 1990 with the second half of the Phase II extension of SkyTrain to Scott Road Station.

 

The Pattullo Bridge is a through arch bridge that crosses the Fraser River and links the city of New Westminster to the city of Surrey in British Columbia. The bridge was named in honour of Thomas Dufferin Pattullo, the 22nd Premier of British Columbia. A key link between Surrey and the rest of Greater Vancouver, the Pattullo Bridge handles an average of 75,700 cars and 3840 trucks daily, or roughly 20 percent of vehicle traffic across the Fraser River as of 2013

 

The New Westminster Bridge (also known as the New Westminster Rail Bridge (NSRW) or the Fraser River Swing Bridge) is a swing bridge that crosses the Fraser River and connects New Westminster with Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

The bridge is owned by the Government of Canada, operated and maintained by the Canadian National Railway, with the Southern Railway of British Columbia (SRY), Canadian Pacific Railway, and BNSF Railway having track usage rights, as do Amtrak's Cascades (with service to Portland and Seattle) and Via Rail's The Canadian (with service to Toronto).

 

New Pattullo Bridge scheduled to open in 2024.

Melasti Beach, Bali - Indonesia

Nikon D7100

Tokina 11-16mm

Lee 0.9 hard graduated ND

Lee Big Stopper

Image Averaging

Here is a shot from a year ago on my first visit to Devon Tower. This is just such a cool place that I always wanted to visit so I figured it was time to get a few of these up on Flickr too.

 

Anyway, while waiting for the P&W freight that was the reason for this trip I also saw a parade of Amtrak and commuter train. I know you may find this hard to believe but until this day I'd never shot a moving Metro North train! Despite being the busiest railroad in New England and the third busiest commuter railroad in the nation I'd never photographed them out on the line.

 

I suppose the fact that almost all their trains are electric multiple units just didn't excite me, but now I kind of regret never shooting the old Budd M2s and now have to settle for the new Kawaski M8s of which over 400 are in service.

 

The New Haven line ranks as the single busiest commuter line in the nation with an average of 125,000 daily weekday riders on the 74 mile mainline and its three branches. To put it in perspective the entire nearly 400 mile MBTA commuter system where I work hauls about that same number daily on the entire network!

 

In addition to Amtrak three MTA trains passed while hanging out here at Naugatuck Junction next to old New Haven Devon Tower (SS71). First up was an eastbound for New Haven in the shadows, then train 1916 a branch shuttle headed to Waterbury behind a Brookville BL20GH seen here, and then a Westbound for Grand Central in brilliant sunshine.

 

Milford, Connecticut

Friday November 8, 2019

Not your average Vinny.

In 2021, an average of around 60 freight trains a week ran between the Port of Duisburg and destinations in China. Europe's largest inland port Duisburg is connected to China via a 12,000-kilometer rail link.

 

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road (Chinese: 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 70 countries and international organizations It is considered a centerpiece of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping's foreign policy. The BRI forms a central component of Xi's "Major Country Diplomacy" (Chinese: 大国外交) strategy, which calls for China to assume a greater leadership role for global affairs in accordance with its rising power and status.

 

Xi originally announced the strategy as the "Silk Road Economic Belt" during an official visit to Kazakhstan in September 2013. "Belt" is short for the "Silk Road Economic Belt," referring to the proposed overland routes for road and rail transportation through landlocked Central Asia along the famed historical trade routes of the Western Regions; whereas "road" is short for the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", referring to the Indo-Pacific sea routes through Southeast Asia to South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Examples of Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure investments include ports, skyscrapers, railroads, roads, bridges, airports, dams, coal-fired power stations, and railroad tunnels.

 

The initiative was incorporated into the Constitution of China in 2017.] The Chinese government calls the initiative "a bid to enhance regional connectivity and embrace a brighter future." The project has a target completion date of 2049, which will coincide with the centennial of the People's Republic of China (PRC)'s founding.

 

Source: wikipedia.org / wikipedia.de

 

Lilium bulbiferum, common names orange lily, fire lily, Jimmy's Bane, tiger lily and St. John's Lily, is a herbaceous European lily with underground bulbs, belonging to the Liliaceae.

 

The Latin name bulbiferum of this species, meaning "bearing bulbs", refers to the secondary bulbs on the stem of the nominal subspecies.

 

Description

Lilium bulbiferum reaches on average 20–90 centimetres (7.9–35.4 in) of height, with a maximum of 120 centimetres (47 in). The bulbs are ovoid, with whitish large and pointed scales and can reach about 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in) of diameter. The stem is erect, the leaves are lanceolate, up to 10 centimeters long. The inflorescence has one to five short-haired flowers. They are hermaphroditic and scentless, have six upright tepals, the outer are slightly narrower than the inner ones. The flowers can reach 4–6 centimeters in length and are bright yellow-orange with reddish-brown dots. The stamens are erect, about half as long as the tepals, with red anthers. The style is orange, 35 millimetres (1.4 in) of height. The flowering period extends from May through July.

 

There are two varieties, L. b. var. croceum (Chaix) Baker in the western part of the range, and L. b. var. bulbiferum in its eastern part. Only the last one always produces secondary aerial bulbs (bulbils) in the axils of the upper leaves. These bulbils fall to the ground and mature after two to three years. When manually separated from the stem they can easily be used for propagating the plant.

 

The dwarf plants from the Maritime Alps, formerly described as var. chaixii (Elwes) Stoker, and the large plants from the region of Naples, formerly described as var. giganteum N. Terracc., are now considered as local variants of var. croceum.

 

Distribution and habitat

L. bulbiferum is widely distributed in much of Europe from Spain to Finland and Ukraine. It grows in mountain meadows and on hillsides. They prefer calcareous soils in warm, sunny places, but also grow on slightly acid soils. They can be found at an altitude of 500–1,900 metres (1,600–6,200 ft) above sea level.

 

In culture

The orange lily has long been recognised as a symbol of the Orange Order in Northern Ireland.

 

Toxicity

Cats are extremely sensitive to lily toxicity and ingestion is often fatal; households and gardens which are visited by cats are strongly advised against keeping this plant or placing dried flowers where a cat may brush against them and become dusted with pollen which they then consume while cleaning. Suspected cases require urgent veterinary attention. Rapid treatment with activated charcoal or induced vomiting can reduce the amount of toxin absorbed (this is time-sensitive so in some cases veterinarians may advise doing it at home), and large amounts of fluid by IV can reduce damage to kidneys to increase the chances of survival

Grábrók è un piccolo vulcano a nord del villaggio di Bifröst e del lago Hreðavatn(area di Borgarfjörður).

Il vulcano ha circa 3400 anni e ha formatouna montagna alta circa 170 metri.

Grábrók è uno dei tre crateri della zona, uno si chiama Grábrókarfell (il più grande) e un altro si chiama Litla Grábrók (Il più piccolo).

La lava che fuori uscita dai vulcani è di circa 7 km quadrati e il suo spessore medio è di circa 20 metri.

 

Grábrók is a small volcano north of the village of Bifröst and Lake Hreðavatn (Borgarfjörður area).

The volcano is about 3400 years old and has formed a mountain about 170 meters high.

Grábrók is one of the three craters in the area, one is called Grábrókarfell (the largest) and another is called Litla Grábrók (the smallest).

The lava that comes out of the volcanoes is about 7 square km and its average thickness is about 20 meters.

 

IMG_4011m

London United DE20097 (SN10CBU) is seen at Chiswick Business Park working route 70.

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Photos without meaning or purpose: an average day, day 2

Prints available at: metroonline.co.uk/1259

 

Prints available at: www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/63757101

Uploaded by : Beto marquez

 

Just an average working truck 2015 pete 389 525 hp 13 speed

These satsumas were going to be my Tradition subjects for Macro Mondays, but I didn't get around to that in the end.

An in-camera double exposure still life, with one sharp and one blurred, blended with the Average setting.

Happy Monday Blues all!

 

Here's a shot of one of the towers around The Taj Mahal. I have deliberately kept the other small structure in the frame for the sake of perspective.

 

More of the Taj Mahal here: www.flickr.com/photos/ashumittal/sets/72157622017700886/

 

Give this a try to browse Flickr, you won't be disappointed: flickroom.org/

 

View On Black

Average red-bellied trogon of subtropical forests. Male is iridescent green on breast, head, and back; female is brown. Namesake dark mask is usually obvious, especially on females. Nearly identical to Collared Trogon but very little overlap; Masked is almost always found at higher elevations. Where both are possible, look especially at tail pattern on males: large white tips on underside of tail feathers, otherwise dark with very fine white barring.

 

This one was photographed in Ecuador guided by Neotropic Photo Tours. ISO 16,000.

Maine Coons are one of the largest breeds of domestic cat. Males weigh from 15 to 25 lb (6.8 to 11 kg) with females weighing from 10 to 15 lb (4.5 to 6.8 kg).[18] The height of adults can vary between 10 and 16 in (25 and 41 cm) and they can reach a length of up to 40 in (100 cm), including the tail, which can reach a length of 14 in (36 cm)[19] and is long, tapering, and heavily furred, almost resembling a raccoon's tail. The body is solid and muscular, which is necessary for supporting their own weight, and the chest is broad. Maine Coons possess a rectangular body shape and are slow to physically mature; their full potential size is normally not reached until they are three to five years old, while other cats take about only one year.[20]

In 2010, the Guinness World Records accepted a male purebred Maine Coon named "Stewie" as the "Longest Cat" measuring 48.5 in (123 cm) from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail.[21][22]

The Maine Coon is a longhaired, or medium-haired, cat. The coat is soft and silky, although texture may vary with coat color. The length is shorter on the head and shoulders, and longer on the stomach and flanks with some cats having a lion-like ruff around their neck. Minimal grooming is required for the breed, compared to other long-haired breeds, as their coat is mostly self-maintaining due to a light-density undercoat. The coat is subject to seasonal variation,[23] with the fur being thicker in the winter and thinner during the summer. Maine Coons, due to their large size, have larger claws. There have been cases of Maine Coons using their claws to grip into walls.[citation needed]

Maine Coons can have any colors that other cats have. Colors indicating hybridization, such as chocolate, lavender, the Siamese pointed patterns or the "ticked" patterns, are unaccepted by breed standards.[7] The most common color seen in the breed is brown tabby.[24] All eye colors are accepted under breed standards, with the exception of the occurrence of blue-colored or odd-eyes (i.e., two eyes of different colors) in cats possessing coat colors other than white.[23]

        

Maine Coon Silver Tabby in the snow

        

Shaded tan or "buff" Maine Coon

Maine Coons have several physical adaptations for survival in harsh winter climates. Their dense water-resistant fur is longer and shaggier on their underside and rear for extra protection when they are walking or sitting on top of wet surfaces of snow or ice.[25] Their long and bushy raccoon-like tail is resistant to sinking in snow, and can be curled around their face and shoulders for warmth and protection from wind and blowing snow and it can even be curled around their backside like a insulated seat cushion when sitting down on a snow or ice surface.[26][27] Large paws, and especially the extra-large paws of polydactyl Maine Coons,[28] facilitate walking on snow and are often compared to snowshoes.[25] Long tufts of fur growing between their toes help keep the toes warm and further aid walking on snow by giving the paws additional structure without significant extra weight.[27] Heavily furred ears with extra long tufts of fur growing from inside help keep their ears warm.[25]

Many of the original Maine Coon cats that inhabited the New England area possessed a trait known as polydactylism (having one or more extra toes on the feet).[25] While some sources claim that trait is thought to have occurred in approximately 40% of the Maine Coon population in Maine at one time, little evidence has been given to substantiate this claim.[29] Polydactylism is rarely, if ever, seen in Maine Coons in the show ring since it is unacceptable by competition standards.[30] The gene for polydactylism is a simple autosomal dominant gene,[31] which has shown to pose no threat to the cat's health.[32] The trait was almost eradicated from the breed due to the fact that it was an automatic disqualifier in show rings.[33] Private organizations and breeders were created in order to keep polydactylism in Maine Coons from disappearing.

Maine Coons are known as the "gentle giants"[4] and possess above-average intelligence, making them relatively easy to train.[3] They are known for being loyal to their family and cautious—but not mean—around strangers, but are independent and not clingy.[26] The Maine Coon is generally not known for being a "lap cat" but their gentle disposition makes the breed relaxed around dogs, other cats, and children. They are playful throughout their lives, with males tending to be more clownish and females generally possessing more dignity, yet both are equally affectionate.[25] Many Maine Coons have a fascination with water[26] and some theorize that this personality trait comes from their ancestors, who were aboard ships for much of their lives.[5] Maine Coons are also well known for yowling, chattering, chirping, "talking" (especially "talking back" to their owners), and making other loud vocalizations

The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100–115 cm (39–45 in) from beak tip to end of tail, with a 155–215 cm (61–85 in) wingspan. The two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe (north to Finland), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan) and southern Africa. The white stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends for soaring do not form over water.

 

A carnivore, the white stork eats a wide range of animal prey, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. It is a monogamous breeder, but does not pair for life. Both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. Each year the female can lay one clutch of usually four eggs, which hatch asynchronously 33–34 days after being laid. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and both feed the young. The young leave the nest 58–64 days after hatching, and continue to be fed by the parents for a further 7–20 days.

 

The white stork has been rated as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It benefited from human activities during the Middle Ages as woodland was cleared, but changes in farming methods and industrialisation saw it decline and disappear from parts of Europe in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Conservation and reintroduction programs across Europe have resulted in the white stork resuming breeding in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden. It has few natural predators, but may harbour several types of parasite; the plumage is home to chewing lice and feather mites, while the large nests maintain a diverse range of mesostigmatic mites. This conspicuous species has given rise to many legends across its range, of which the best-known is the story of babies being brought by storks.

 

For more information, please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_stork

 

Olympus E-3

ZD 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 ED SWD

Aperture Priority Mode

f/8

ISO 100

37mm

1/25

Metering: Center Weighted Average

White Balance: Cloudy

B+W UV MRC filter

Hoya Circular Polarizer

LAKHTA

.This small village on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, about 15 km northwest of the city, is home to human settlements on the banks of the Neva. It was on the territory of Lakhta that the remains of a man’s parking site of three thousand years ago were found.

In official documents, a settlement named Lakhta dates back to 1500. The name is derived from the Finnish-speaking word lahti - "bay". This is one of the few settlements that has not changed its name throughout its 500-year history. Also known as Laches, Lahes-by, Lahes and was originally inhabited by Izhora. In the last decades of the 15th century, Lakhta was a village (which indicates a significant population) and was the center of the eponymous grand-parish volost, which was part of the Spassko-Gorodensky graveyard of the Orekhovsky district of the Vodskaya Pyatina. In the village, there were 10 courtyards with 20 people (married men). In Lakhta, on average, there were 2 families per yard, and the total population of the village probably reached 75 people.

From the notes on the margins of the Swedish scribe book of the Spassky graveyard of 1640, it follows that the lands along the lower reaches of the Neva River and parts of the Gulf of Finland, including Lakhta Karelskaya, Perekulya (from the Finnish “back village”, probably because of its position relative to Lakhti) and Konduy Lakhtinsky, were royal by letter of honor on January 15, 1638 transferred to the possession of the Stockholm dignitary, Rickschulz general Bernhard Sten von Stenhausen, a Dutchman by birth. On October 31, 1648, the Swedish government granted these lands to the city of Nyuen (Nyenschanz). With the arrival of the Swedes in Prievye, Lakhta was settled by the Finns, who until the middle of the 20th century made up the vast majority of the villagers.

On December 22, 1766, Catherine 2 granted Lakhta Manor, which was then in the Office of the Chancellery from the buildings of palaces and gardens, "in which and in her villages with courtyards 208 souls," her favorite Count Orlov. Not later than 1768, Count J.A. Bruce took over the estate. In 1788, Lakhta Manor was listed behind him with wooden services on a dry land (high place) and the villages Lakhta, Dubki, Lisiy Nos and Konnaya belonging to it also on dry land, in those villages of male peasants 238 souls. On May 1, 1813, Lakhta passed into the possession of the landowners of the Yakovlevs. On October 5, 1844, Count A.I. Stenbok-Fermor entered into the possession of the Lakhtinsky estate, which then had 255 male souls. This clan was the owner of the estate until 1912, when its last representative got into debt and noble custody was established over the estate. On October 4, 1913, in order to pay off his debts, he was forced to go for corporatization, and the Lakhta estate passed into the ownership of the Joint Stock Company “Lakhta” of Count Stenbock-Fermor and Co.

After the revolution, Lakhta was left on its own for a while, here on the former estate of the counts Stenbock-Fermorov on May 19, 1919, the Lakhta excursion station was opened, which existed there until 1932. In the early 1920s, sand mining began on Lakhta beaches, and the abandoned and dilapidated peat plant of the Lakhta estate in 1922 took over the Oblzemotdel and put it into operation after major repairs. In 1963, the village of Lakhta was included in the Zhdanovsky (Primorsky) district of Leningrad (St. Petersburg).

  

At the beginning of Lakhtinsky Prospekt, on the banks of the Lakhtinsky spill, there was the village of Rakhilax (Rahilax-hof, Rahila, Rokhnovo). Most likely, under this name only one or several courtyards are designated. There is an assumption that the name of the village was formed from the Finnish raahata - “drag, drag,” because there could be a place for transportation through the isthmus of the Lakhtinsky spill (we should not forget that not only the bridge over the channel connecting the spill with the Gulf of Finland was not yet here, the duct itself was many times wider than the current one). The search book of the Spassko-Gorodensky graveyard of 1573, describing the Lakhta lands, mentions that there were 2 lodges in the “Rovgunov” village, from which we can conclude that we are talking about the village of Rohilaks, which the Russian scribes remade into a more understandable to them Rovgunovo. The village was empty in Swedish time and was counted as a wasteland of the village of Lahta.

  

On the banks of the Lakhtinsky spill, near the confluence of the Yuntolovka River, from the 17th century there existed the village of Bobylka (Bobylskaya), which merged into the village of Olgino only at the beginning of the 20th century, but was found on maps until the 1930s. It is probably the Search Book that mentions it Spassko-Gorodensky churchyard in 1573 as a village "in Lakhta in Perekui", behind which there was 1 obzh. With the arrival of the Swedes by royal letter on January 15, 1638, the village was transferred to the possession of the Stockholm dignitary, Rickshaw General Bernhard Sten von Stenhausen, a Dutchman by birth. On October 31, 1648, the Swedish government granted Lahti lands to the city of Nyuen (Nyenschanz). On the Swedish map of the 1670s, in the place of the village of Bobylsky, the village of Lahakeülä is marked (küla - the village (Fin.)). The village could subsequently be called Bobyl from the Russian word "bobyl."

The owners of Bobylskaya were both Count Orlov, and Count Y. A. Bruce, and the landowners Yakovlev. In 1844, Count A.I. Stenbok-Fermor entered into the possession of the Lakhtinsky estate (which included the village of Bobyl). This family was the owner of the estate until 1913, when the owners, in order to pay off their debts, had to go for corporatization, and the Lakhta estate was transferred to the ownership of the Lakhta Joint-Stock Company of Count Stenbock-Fermor and Co. By the middle of the 20th century, the village merged with the village of Lakhta.

  

The name Konnaya Lakhta (Konnaya) has been known since the 16th century, although earlier it sounded like Konduya (Konduya Lakhtinskaya) or just Kondu (from the Finnish kontu - courtyard, manor). Subsequently, this name was replaced by the more familiar Russian ear with the word "Horse". In the Search Book of the Spassko-Gorodensky Pogost in 1573, it is mentioned as the village "on Kovdui", where 1 obzh was listed, which indicates that there most likely was one yard. On January 15, 1638, together with neighboring villages, it was transferred to the possession of the Stockholm dignitary, Rickschulz General Bernhard Steen von Stenhausen, of Dutch origin. On October 31, 1648, the Swedish government granted these lands to the city of Nyuen (Nyenschanz). In a deed of gift, Konduya Lakhtinskaya is called a village, which indicates a noticeable increase in its population. Later, on the Swedish map of the 1670s, on the site of the present Horse Lahti, the village of Konda-bai is marked (by - village (sv)).

The owners of Konnaya Lakhta, as well as the villages of Bobylskaya and Lakhta, were in turn Count Orlov, Count Ya. A. Bruce, and the landowners Yakovlev. In 1844, Count A.I. Stenbok-Fermor entered the possession of the Lakhta estate (which included Konnaya Lakhta. This family was the owner of the estate until 1913, when the owners had to go to corporations to pay off their debts, and the Lakhta estate became the property of Lakhta Joint Stock Company of Count Stenbock-Fermor and Co. In 1963, Horse Lahta was included in the Zhdanov (Primorsky) district of Leningrad (St. Petersburg).

  

As the dacha village of Olgino appeared at the end of the 19th century and initially consisted of both Olgin itself and the villages of Vladimirovka (now part of Lisiy Nos) and Aleksandrovka. In the first half of the 18th century, this territory was part of the Verpelev palace estate, which in the second half of the 18th century was granted to Count G. G. Orlov, then it was owned by the family of landowners the Yakovlevs, in the middle of the 19th century the estate was transferred to the counts of Stenbock-Fermor. In 1905 A.V. Stenbok-Fermor, the then owner of Lakhta lands, divided the lands around Lakhta into separate plots with the intention of selling them profitably for dachas. So there were the villages of Olgino (named after the wife of Olga Platonovna), Vladimirovka (in honor of the father of the owner; the coastal part of the modern village of Lisy Nos) and Alexandrov or Aleksandrovskaya (in honor of Alexander Vladimirovich himself). It is likely that on the site of the village was the village of Olushino (Olushino odhe) - a search book of the Spassko-Gorodensky churchyard in 1573 mentions that there were 1 obzh in the village of Olushkov’s, which suggests that at least one residential the yard. On behalf of Olushka (Olpherius). Most likely, the village was deserted in Swedish time and then was already listed as a wasteland belonging to the village of Lahta. Thus, the name of the village could be given in harmony with the name of the mistress and the old name of the village.

The villages were planned among a sparse pine forest (the layout was preserved almost unchanged), so there were more amenities for living and spending time there than in Lakhta. A park was set up here, a summer theater, a sports ("gymnastic") playground, a tennis court, and a yacht club were arranged.

In the 1910s about 150 winter cottages were built in Olgino, many of which are striking monuments of "summer cottage" architecture. In 1963, the village of Olgino was included in the Zhdanovsky (Primorsky) district of Leningrad (St. Petersburg).

  

Near Olgino, in the area of ​​the Dubki park, there was a small village Verpeleva (Verpelevo), which consisted of only a few yards. In the first half of the XVIII century. this territory was part of the palace estate "Verpeleva", which in the second half of the XVIII century. It was granted to Count G. G. Orlov, then passed to the Counts of Stenbock-Fermor. The village has not existed for a long time, but the entire reed-covered peninsula (barely protruding above the water of the Verpier-Luda peninsula (Verper Luda (from the Finnish luoto - “small rocky island”)) still existed, and there was another spelling the name of this island is Var Pala Ludo).

  

Kamenka. The Novgorod scribal book mentions two villages in the Lakhta region with a similar name, referring to the possessions of Selivan Zakharov, son of Okhten, with his son and 5 other co-owners. On the lands of this small patrimony, which, unlike the estate was inherited, peasants lived in 3 villages, including: the village "Kamenka in Lakhta near the sea" in 5 yards with 5 people and arable land in 1,5 obzhi, the village "on Kamenka "in 2 courtyards with 2 people and arable land in 1 obzhu. For the use of land, the peasants paid the owners of the patrimony 16 money and gave 1/3 of the rye harvest. Thus, in the 16th century on the Kamenka River (another name for the Kiviyoki River, which is the literal translation of kivi - "stone", joki - "river") there was one large village of Kamenka near its confluence with the Lakhtinsky spill and the second, smaller, somewhere upstream. On the drawing of Izhora land in 1705, a village under this name is depicted in the area of ​​the modern village of Kamenka. The village of Kamennaya in the middle reaches of Kamenka and on the map of 1792 is designated. Other name options are Kaumenkka, Kiviaja.

In the second half of the 18th century, Kamenka became a vacation spot for Russian Germans. Here in 1865, German colonists founded their "daughter" colony on leased land. Since then, the village has received the name Kamenka Colony (so called until the 1930s). In 1892, a colony near the village of Volkovo "budded" from it. The inhabitants of both colonies belonged to the Novo-Saratov parish and since 1871 had a prayer house in Kamenka, which was visited by 250 people. He maintained a school for 40 students. The house was closed in 1935 and later demolished.

Currently, Kamenka exists as a holiday village, located along the road to Levashovo. Since 1961 - in the city, part of the planning area in the North-West, from the mid-1990s. built up with multi-storey residential buildings and cottages.

  

Volkovo. The settlement is about southeast of the village of Kamenka - on the old road to Kamenka, on the bank of a stream that flows into Kamenka between the village of Kamenka and the Shuvalovsky quarry. In 1892, a German colony emerged on the territory of the village, "budding" from a nearby colony in the village of Kamenka. The origin of Volkovo is not clear, the village is found only on maps of 1912, 1930, 1939, 1943. and probably appeared no earlier than the 19th century.

  

Kolomyagi. Scribe books of the XV — XVI centuries and Swedish plans testify that small settlements already existed on the site of Kolomyag. Most likely, these were first Izhora or Karelian, then Finnish farms, which were empty during the hostilities of the late XVII century.

The name "Kolomyag" connoisseurs decipher in different ways. Some say that it came from the "colo" - in Finnish cave and "pulp" - a hill, a hill. The village is located on the hills, and such an interpretation is quite acceptable. Others look for the root of the name in the Finnish word "koaa" - bark - and believe that trees were processed here after felling. Another version of the origin of the name from the Finnish "kello" is the bell, and it is associated not with the feature of the mountain, but with the "bell on the mountain" - a tower with a signal bell standing on a hill.

The owners of Kolomyazhsky lands were Admiral General A.I. Osterman, Count A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, a family of Volkonsky. In 1789, the Volkonskys sold these lands to retired colonel Sergei Savvich Yakovlev. On his estate S. S. Yakovlev built a manor and lived in it with his wife and seven daughters. The once-Finnish population of Kolomyag was “Russified” by that time - it was made up of descendants of serfs resettled by Osterman and Bestuzhev-Rumin from their villages in Central Russia (natives of the Volga and Galich) and Ukraine. Then the name "Kellomyaki" began to sound in Russian fashion - "Kolomyagi", although later the old name also existed, especially among local Finns. And not without reason the indigenous Kolomozhites associate their origin with the Volga places, and the southern half of the village is now called “Galician”.

Yakovlev died in 1818. Five years after his death, a division of the territory of the manor was made. The village of Kolomyagi was divided in half between two of his daughters. The border was the Bezymyanny stream. The southeastern part of the village of Kolomyagi beyond Bezymyanny creek and a plot on the banks of the Bolshaya Nevka passed to the daughter Ekaterina Sergeevna Avdulina.

Daughter Yakovleva Elena Sergeevna - the wife of General Alexei Petrovich Nikitin, a hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, who was awarded the highest military orders and twice a gold sword with the inscription "For courage", died early, leaving her daughter Elizabeth. The northwestern part of Kolomyag inherited the young Elizabeth, so this part of Kolomyag was practically inherited by the father of Yakovlev’s granddaughter, Count A.P. Nikitin, who in 1832 became the owner of the entire village. It is his name that is stored in the names of the streets - 1st and 2nd Nikitinsky and Novo-Nikitinsky. The new owner built a stone mansion on the estate’s estate - an excellent example of classicism of the first third of the 19th century, which became his country house and has survived to this day and has been occupied until recently by the Nursing Home. It is believed that this mansion was built according to the project of the famous architect A.I. Melnikov. The severity and modesty of the architectural appearance of the facades and residential chambers of the Nikitin mansion was opposed by the splendor of ceremonial interiors, in particular the two-light dance hall with choirs for musicians. Unfortunately, with repeated alterations and repairs, many details of the decor and stucco emblems of the owners disappeared. Only two photographs of the 1920s and preserved fragments of ornamental molding and paintings on the walls and ceiling show the past richness of the decorative decoration of this architectural monument. The mansion was surrounded by a small park. In it stood a stone pagan woman brought from the southern steppes of Russia (transferred to the Hermitage), and a pond with a plakun waterfall was built. Near the pond there was a "walk of love" from the "paradise" apple trees - it was called so because the bride and groom passed through it after the wedding. Here, in the shadow of these apple trees, young lovers made appointments.

Under the Orlov-Denisov opposite the mansion (now Main Street, 29), the structures of an agricultural farm were erected, partially preserved to this day, and the greenhouse. Behind the farm were the master's fields. On them, as the New Time newspaper reported in August 1880, they tested the reaping and shearing machines brought from America.

In the 19th century, the provincial surveyor Zaitsev submitted for approval the highway called the Kolomyagskoye Shosse. The route was supposed to connect the village, gradually gaining fame as a summer residence of the "middle arm", with St. Petersburg. The construction of the road ended in the 1840s, and then horse-drawn and country-house crafts became the most important articles of peasant income. In addition, peasants either built small dachas in their yards, or rented their huts for the summer. Located away from the roads, surrounded by fields, the village was chosen by multi-family citizens.

The income from the summer cottage industry increased from year to year, which was facilitated by the summer movement of omnibuses that opened on the new highway from the City Council building. They walked four times a day, each accommodated 16 people, the fare cost 15 kopecks. Even when the Finnish Railway with the nearest Udelnaya station came into operation in 1870, the highway remained the main access road through which public carriages pulled by a trio of horses ran from the Stroganov (now Ushakovsky) bridge.

Kind of an average day diving the east reef at Refugio State Beach this AM. Vis only about 6-10' and only the regular nudibranchs to be found.

Many thanks for your visits, faves and comments. Cheers.

 

Magpie Goose

Scientific Name: Anseranas semipalmata

Description: The Magpie Goose has a black neck and head, with a characteristic knob on the crown (larger in males), which increases in size with age. The underparts are white, with contrasting black edges on the underwing. The bill, legs and feet are orange. The Magpie Goose differs from most waterfowl in having strongly clawed toes that are webbed only on their basal halves (i.e. only partly webbed). Females are slightly smaller than males.

Distribution: The Magpie Goose is widespread throughout coastal northern and eastern Australia. It can be seen from Fitzroy River, Western Australia, through northern Australia to Rockhampton, Queensland, and has been extending its range into coastal New South Wales to the Clarence River and further south.

Habitat: The Magpie Goose is seen in floodplains and wet grasslands. Some individuals, mostly younger birds, may be seen at quite long distances inland.

Feeding: Large, noisy flocks of up to a few thousand birds congregate to feed on aquatic vegetation. The Magpie Goose is a specialized feeder with wild rice, Oryza, Paspalum, Panicum and spike-rush, Eleocharis, forming the bulk of its diet.

Breeding: During the breeding season, Magpie Geese build nests in secluded places, usually close to wetlands. The nest is almost single-handedly constructed by the male. It usually consists of a simple unlined cup placed either in a floating platform of trampled reeds or built in tree-tops. Pairs of geese mate for life, but a male may have two females. Two females may occasionally use the same nest to lay the large, oval, off-white coloured eggs. All adults share incubation and care for the young.

Minimum Size: 71cm

Maximum Size: 89cm

Average size: 82cm

Breeding season: February to June

Clutch Size: Up to 16 eggs for 2 females, but 8 more common

(Source: birdsinbackyards.net)

__________________________________________

 

© Chris Burns 2019

 

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.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield

Location: Berlin - 1318km from home.

 

I've seen quite a few Bulgarian exotics through the past years, which is a cool increase. I love spotting foreign exotics, especially from outside your average plates e.g. Poland.

This car is wrapped in red, I gues it's probably wither white or black underneath.

 

CB = Sofia

Miltoniopsis phalaenopsis, variété intermédiaire de très bonne forme. Je n'aime pas d'utiliser le flash et ne le fais presque jamais, mais lá j'ai fait un essai pour voir... Trop de réverbération lumineuse á mon goût, dans ce cas montrant comme cette espèce brille, mais cela permet plus de netteté bien sur.

 

Miltoniopsis phalaenopsis, average variety with good shape. I don't like to use flash and almost never do, but I tried to see... Too much light reverberation for me, in this case showing how glistening can be this species, but that allows more sharpness of course.

 

Miltoniopsis phalaenopsis, variedad intermedia de muy buena forma. No me gusta usar flash y casi no lo hago, pero probé para ver... Demasiado reverberación de la luz para mi, mostrando en el caso de esta especie como brilla, pero permite más nitidez por supuesto.

Sicker than it.

Our last Wednesday race brought us good winds at average 15 knots. We had a few exciting moments, vying for position coming around the marks, and even a close call...or two. This boat had some trouble getting its' Spinnaker up, Maybe it wasn't packed properly, or just got twisted in the lines. The Spinnaker is a very light sail, with a very big pull because of it's shape, gathering in maximum wind. It has to be hoisted very quickly, and accurately. I am always reminded of a well choreographed ballet when the boats turn the mark and all the Spinnakers begin to go up.

 

The pessimist complains about the wind;

the optimist expects it to change;

the realist adjusts the sails.

Wm. Ward.

 

Fully COPYRIGHTED 2011

no use whatsoever without permission from me, in writing.

  

Many thanks for your contributions to my photostream, always welcome and greatly appreciated.

May the wind be always at your back.

 

Photos around Yellowknfie

  

The great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes.

 

The great white pelican is a huge bird—only the Dalmatian pelican is, on average, larger among pelicans. It measures 140 to 180 cm (55 to 71 in) in length with a 28.9 to 47.1 cm (11.4 to 18.5 in) enormous pink and yellow bill, and a dull pale-yellow gular pouch. The wingspan measures 226 to 360 cm (7.41 to 11.81 ft), the latter measurement being the highest among extant flying animals outside of the great albatross. The adult male measures about 175 cm (69 in) in length; it weighs from 9 to 15 kg (20 to 33 lb) and larger races from the Palaearctic are usually around 11 kg (24 lb), with few exceeding 13 kg (29 lb). It has a bill measuring 34.7 to 47.1 cm (13.7 to 18.5 in). The female measures about 148 cm (58 in) in length, and is considerably less bulky, weighing 5.4 to 9 kg (12 to 20 lb), and has a bill that measures 28.9 to 40.0 cm (11.4 to 15.7 in) in length. In Lake Edward, Uganda, the average weight of 52 males was found to 11.45 kg (25.2 lb) and in 22 females it was 7.59 kg (16.7 lb). In South Africa, the average weight of males was 9.6 kg (21 lb) and of females was 6.9 kg (15 lb). Thus the sexual dimorphism is especially pronounced in this species (perhaps the greatest known in any extant pelican), as at times the male can average more than 30% more massive than the female. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 60 to 73 cm (24 to 29 in), the tail 16 to 21 cm (6.3 to 8.3 in), and the tarsus 13 to 14.9 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) long. Standard measurements from different areas indicate that pelicans from the Western Palaearctic are somewhat larger than those from Asia and Africa.

 

The male has a downward bend in the neck and the female has a shorter, straighter beak. The plumage is predominantly white except on remiges, with a faint pink tinge on the neck and a yellowish base on the foreneck. The primary feathers are black, with white shafts at the bases, occasionally with paler tips and narrow fringes. The secondary feathers are also black, but with a whitish fringe. The upperwing coverts, underwing coverts, and tertials are white. The forehead is swollen and pinkish skin surrounds the bare, dark eyes having brown-red to dark brown irides. It has fleshy-yellow legs and pointed forehead-feathers where meeting the culmen. In breeding season, the male has pinkish skin while the female has orangey skin on its face. The bill is mostly bluish grey, with a red tip, reddish maxilla edges, and a cream-yellow to yolk-yellow gular pouch. The white plumage becomes tinged-pink with a yellow patch on the breast, and the body is tinged yellowish-rosy. It also has a short, shaggy crest on the nape. The white covert feathers contrast with the solid black primary and secondary feathers. The legs are yellow-flesh to pinkish orange. Both male and female are similar, but the female is smaller and has brighter orange facial skin in the breeding season.

 

The juvenile has darker, brownish underparts that are palest at the rump, center of the belly, and uppertail coverts. The underwing coverts are mostly dull-white, but the greater coverts are dark and there is a dark brownish bar over the lesser coverts. The rear tertials upperwing coverts mostly have paler tips with a silvery-grey tinge on the greater secondary coverts and tertials. It has dark flight feathers, and brown-edged wings. The head, neck, and upperparts, including the upperwing coverts, are mostly brown—this is the darkest part of the neck. The facial skin and the bill, including its gular pouch, are greyish to dusky greyish. The forehead, rump, and abdomen are white, and its legs and feet are grey. Its blackish tail occasionally has a silvery-grey tinge. Its underparts and back are initially browner and darker than those of the Dalmatian pelican, and the underwing is strongly patterned, similar to the juvenile brown pelican.

 

The great white pelican is distinguished from all other pelicans by its plumage. Its face is naked and the feathering on its forehead tapers to a fine point, whereas other species are completely feathered. In flight, the white underwing with black remiges of the adult are similar only to those of the American white pelican (P. erythrorhynchos), but the latter has white inner secondary feathers. It differs from the Dalmatian pelican in its pure white – rather than greyish-white – plumage, a bare pink facial patch around the eye, and pinkish legs. The spot-billed pelican (P. philippensis) of Asia is slightly smaller than the great white pelican, with greyish tinged white plumage, and a paler, duller-colored bill.[5] Similarly, the pink-backed pelican (P. rufescens) is smaller, with brownish-grey plumage, a light pink to off-grey bill, and a pinkish wash on the back.

 

The bird is mostly silent but has a variety of low-pitched lowing, grunting, and growling calls. The flight call is a deep, quiet croak., while at breeding colonies, it gives deep moooo calls.

 

The breeding range of the great white pelican extends to Ethiopia, Tanzania, Chad, northern Cameroons, and Nigeria in Africa, and has been observed or reported breeding in Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa. In the 1990s, 6,700 to 11,000 breeding pairs in 23 to 25 breeding sites, were found in the Palearctic region. A 1991 study noted about 3,070 to 4,300 pairs were present in the Soviet Union. Only two breeding colonies are located in the Mediterranean basin, one having 250 to 400 pairs in Turkey and the other having 50 to 100 pairs in northern Greece. The breeding colony at Lake Rukwa, Tanzania is the largest known breeding colony in Africa, followed by the Lake Shala, Ethiopia colony which is probably of crucial importance to the species in Africa.

 

The African population of about 75,000 pairs of the great white pelican is resident. The ones breeding in the Palearctic region are migrants, although it is possible that the majority of the western Palearctic populations stop-over in Israel during their autumn migration. The migration routes are only partially known. Migratory populations are found from Eastern Europe to Kazakhstan during the breeding season. More than 50% of Eurasian great white pelicans breed in the Danube Delta in Romania. They also prefer staying in the Lakes near Burgas, Bulgaria and in Srebarna Lake in Bulgaria. The pelicans arrive in the Danube in late March or early April and depart after breeding from September to late November. Wintering locations for European pelicans are not exactly known but wintering birds may occur in northeastern Africa through Iraq to north India, with a particularly large number of breeders from Asia wintering around Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Northern populations migrate to China, India, Myanmar, with stragglers reaching Java and Bali in Indonesia. These are birds that are found mostly in lowlands, though in East Africa and Nepal may be found living at elevations of up to 1,372 m (4,501 ft).

 

Overall, the great white pelican is one of the most widely distributed species. Although some areas still hold quite large colonies, it ranks behind the brown pelican and possibly the Australian pelican in overall abundance. Europe now holds an estimated 7,345–10,000 breeding pairs, with over 4,000 pairs that are known to nest in Russia. During migration, more than 75,000 have been observed in Israel and, in winter, over 45,000 may stay in Pakistan. In all its colonies combined, 75,000 pairs are estimated to nest in Africa. It is possibly extinct in Serbia and Montenegro, and regionally extinct in Hungary.

 

Great white pelicans usually prefer shallow, (seasonally or tropical) warm fresh water. Well scattered groups of breeding pelicans occur through Eurasia from the eastern Mediterranean to Vietnam. In Eurasia, fresh or brackish waters may be inhabited and the pelicans may be found in lakes, deltas, lagoons and marshes, usually with dense reed beds nearby for nesting purposes. Additionally, sedentary populations are found year-round in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert although these are patchy. In Africa, great white pelicans occur mainly around freshwater and alkaline lakes and may also be found in coastal, estuarine areas. Beyond reed beds, African pelicans have nested on inselbergs and flat inshore islands off of Banc d'Arguin National Park.

 

For more information, please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white_pelican

 

Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which separates the Beach from the mainland city of Miami. The neighborhood of South Beach, comprising the southernmost 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2) of Miami Beach, along with downtown Miami and the Port of Miami, collectively form the commercial center of South Florida. Miami Beach's estimated population is 92,307 according to the most recent United States census estimates. Miami Beach is the 26th largest city in Florida based on official 2017 estimates from the US Census Bureau. It has been one of America's pre-eminent beach resorts since the early 20th century.

 

In 1979, Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Art Deco District is the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in the world and comprises hundreds of hotels, apartments and other structures erected between 1923 and 1943. Mediterranean, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco are all represented in the District. The Historic District is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the East, Lenox Court on the West, 6th Street on the South and Dade Boulevard along the Collins Canal to the North. The movement to preserve the Art Deco District's architectural heritage was led by former interior designer Barbara Baer Capitman, who now has a street in the District named in her honor.

 

Miami Beach is governed by a ceremonial mayor and six commissioners. Although the mayor runs commission meetings, the mayor and all commissioners have equal voting power and are elected by popular election. The mayor serves for terms of two years with a term limit of three terms and commissioners serve for terms of four years and are limited to two terms. Commissioners are voted for citywide and every two years three commission seats are voted upon.

A city manager is responsible for administering governmental operations. An appointed city manager is responsible for administration of the city. The City Clerk and the City Attorney are also appointed officials.

 

In 1870, a father and son, Henry and Charles Lum, purchased the land for 75 cents an acre. The first structure to be built on this uninhabited oceanfront was the Biscayne House of Refuge, constructed in 1876 by the United States Life-Saving Service at approximately 72nd Street. Its purpose was to provide food, water, and a return to civilization for people who were shipwrecked. The next step in the development of the future Miami Beach was the planting of a coconut plantation along the shore in the 1880s by New Jersey entrepreneurs Ezra Osborn and Elnathan Field, but this was a failed venture. One of the investors in the project was agriculturist John S. Collins, who achieved success by buying out other partners and planting different crops, notably avocados, on the land that would later become Miami Beach. Meanwhile, across Biscayne Bay, the City of Miami was established in 1896 with the arrival of the railroad, and developed further as a port when the shipping channel of Government Cut was created in 1905, cutting off Fisher Island from the south end of the Miami Beach peninsula.

 

Collins' family members saw the potential in developing the beach as a resort. This effort got underway in the early years of the 20th century by the Collins/Pancoast family, the Lummus brothers (bankers from Miami), and Indianapolis entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher. Until then, the beach here was only the destination for day-trips by ferry from Miami, across the bay. By 1912, Collins and Pancoast were working together to clear the land, plant crops, supervise the construction of canals to get their avocado crop to market, and set up the Miami Beach Improvement Company. There were bath houses and food stands, but no hotel until Brown's Hotel was built in 1915 (still standing, at 112 Ocean Drive). Much of the interior land mass at that time was a tangled jungle of mangroves. Clearing it, deepening the channels and water bodies, and eliminating native growth almost everywhere in favor of landfill for development, was expensive. Once a 1600-acre, jungle-matted sand bar three miles out in the Atlantic, it grew to 2,800 acres when dredging and filling operations were completed.

 

With loans from the Lummus brothers, Collins had begun work on a 2½-mile-long wooden bridge, the world's longest wooden bridge at the time, to connect the island to the mainland. When funds ran dry and construction work stalled, Indianapolis millionaire and recent Miami transplant Fisher intervened, providing the financing needed to complete the bridge the following year in return for a land swap deal. That transaction kicked off the island's first real estate boom. Fisher helped by organizing an annual speed boat regatta, and by promoting Miami Beach as an Atlantic City-style playground and winter retreat for the wealthy. By 1915, Lummus, Collins, Pancoast, and Fisher were all living in mansions on the island, three hotels and two bath houses had been erected, an aquarium built, and an 18-hole golf course landscaped.

 

The Town of Miami Beach was chartered on March 26, 1915; it grew to become a City in 1917. Even after the town was incorporated in 1915 under the name of Miami Beach, many visitors thought of the beach strip as Alton Beach, indicating just how well Fisher had advertised his interests there. The Lummus property was called Ocean Beach, with only the Collins interests previously referred to as Miami Beach.

Carl Fisher was the main promoter of Miami Beach's development in the 1920s as the site for wealthy industrialists from the north and Midwest to and build their winter homes here. Many other Northerners were targeted to vacation on the island. To accommodate the wealthy tourists, several grand hotels were built, among them: The Flamingo Hotel, The Fleetwood Hotel, The Floridian, The Nautilus, and the Roney Plaza Hotel. In the 1920s, Fisher and others created much of Miami Beach as landfill by dredging Biscayne Bay; this man-made territory includes Star, Palm, and Hibiscus Islands, the Sunset Islands, much of Normandy Isle, and all of the Venetian Islands except Belle Isle. The Miami Beach peninsula became an island in April 1925 when Haulover Cut was opened, connecting the ocean to the bay, north of present-day Bal Harbour. The great 1926 Miami hurricane put an end to this prosperous era of the Florida Boom, but in the 1930s Miami Beach still attracted tourists, and investors constructed the mostly small-scale, stucco hotels and rooming houses, for seasonal rental, that comprise much of the present "Art Deco" historic district.

 

Carl Fisher brought Steve Hannagan to Miami Beach in 1925 as his chief publicist. Hannagan set-up the Miami Beach News Bureau and notified news editors that they could "Print anything you want about Miami Beach; just make sure you get our name right." The News Bureau sent thousands of pictures of bathing beauties and press releases to columnists like Walter Winchell and Ed Sullivan. One of Hannagan's favorite venues was a billboard in Times Square, New York City, where he ran two taglines: "'It's always June in Miami Beach' and 'Miami Beach, Where Summer Spends the Winter.'"

 

Post–World War II economic expansion brought a wave of immigrants to South Florida from the Northern United States, which significantly increased the population in Miami Beach within a few decades. After Fidel Castro's rise to power in 1959, a wave of Cuban refugees entered South Florida and dramatically changed the demographic make-up of the area. In 2017, one study named zip code 33109 (Fisher Island, a 216-acre island located just south of Miami Beach), as having the 4th most expensive home sales and the highest average annual income ($2.5 million) in 2015.

 

South Beach (also known as SoBe, or simply the Beach), the area from Biscayne Street (also known as South Pointe Drive) one block south of 1st Street to about 23rd Street, is one of the more popular areas of Miami Beach. Although topless sunbathing by women has not been officially legalized, female toplessness is tolerated on South Beach and in a few hotel pools on Miami Beach. Before the TV show Miami Vice helped make the area popular, SoBe was under urban blight, with vacant buildings and a high crime rate. Today, it is considered one of the richest commercial areas on the beach, yet poverty and crime still remain in some places near the area.

 

Miami Beach, particularly Ocean Drive of what is now the Art Deco District, was also featured prominently in the 1983 feature film Scarface and the 1996 comedy The Birdcage.

The New World Symphony Orchestra is based in Miami Beach, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.

Lincoln Road, running east-west parallel between 16th and 17th Streets, is a nationally known spot for outdoor dining and shopping and features galleries of well known designers, artists and photographers such as Romero Britto, Peter Lik, and Jonathan Adler. In 2015, the Miami Beach residents passed a law forbidding bicycling, rollerblading, skateboarding and other motorized vehicles on Lincoln Road during busy pedestrian hours between 9:00am and 2:00am.

 

Credit for the data above is given to the following website:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Beach,_Florida

   

Combined view of fifty photos tagged with "candle", from fifty different Flickr users.

West 26th street. The empty space where a building once stood. Average New York City lot, 25ft x 100ft.

Re-uploaded again with its very interesting history by Karl E. Hayes

 

Otter 233 was delivered to the United States Army on 12 February 1958 with serial 57-6114 (tail number 76114). It was one of sixteen Army Otters flown from Downsview to Addison, Texas for work on them by Collins Radio Corporation, to equip them for service overseas. Its initial unit allocation is unknown but it did serve in Europe, and was noted undergoing overhaul at the SABCA plant at Gosseleis near Brussels (who performed maintenance on US Army aircraft) during September 1960. By January 1962 it had joined the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG), Italy based at Rome’s Ciampino Airport. It flew alongside a USAF C-47 which was also serving with the MAAG Flight.

 

Kenneth Ketzler flew the Otter. Apart from trips to Brienne-le-Chateau, France for maintenance, all his flying was within Italy, often visiting Italian military bases where US supplied helicopters were being introduced and MAAG personnel were working with Italian Army aviation units on these helicopters. There were also VIP flights and personnel transportation, which took the Otter all over Italy, from the mountains in the north down to the Mediterranean. As he recalls: “Ice seemed to cause me more concern than anything else. I especially remember several times flying IFR between Florence and Bologna at the lowest altitude of 12,000 feet and seeing ice forming on the wings. Flying over large bodies of water on one engine is not exactly my cup of tea. Seemed like the engine always ran rough whenever there was a trip to the islands of Sicily or Sardinia”.

 

76114 continued in service with MAAG Italy until February 1966, when it headed south to a new posting with the United States Mapping Mission to Ethiopia, based at the “old airport” at Addis Ababa. For this tasking the Otter was re-painted from the standard olive drab it had flown in while in Italy to the white/red colour scheme used by Army aircraft on survey work. It joined some Beavers with the Mapping Mission (76143 and 82026), a Douglas C-47 (17203) and UH-1B Huey helicopters, all of which were engaged in a topographic survey of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Army had received some Otters under a Military Air Program and they were also based at the same airfield, making it quite an important Otter base.

 

The Otter was noted there in June 1969, just prior to its long flight north to Coleman Barracks, Mannheim, Germany from where it was transported to the Sharpe Army Depot, Stockton, California where it arrived in August 1969. After overhaul at the Depot it was assigned in March 1970 to the Aviation Section at Fort Ord, California used as a maintenance support aircraft. It remained in service at Fort Ord until June 1975 when its Army career came to an end. The Otter was transferred to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) on 30 June 1975, registered that day as N5325G, and flown from Fort Ord north to Boeing Field, Seattle where Foreign & Domestic Enterprises prepared the Otter for service with the CAP. This was the company of Lloyd Rekow, who specialised in Otters. That master Otter rebuilder Harold Hansen was also involved. The Otter was surveyed on arrival at Boeing Field and found to be in excellent condition. Little work was required and on 16 July 1975 it received its Certificate of Airworthiness, with total airframe time of 3,776 hours. It was painted into an unusual colour scheme of blue top with white and red undersides and was noted as such at Boeing Field during August 1975.

 

Its service with the CAP lasted little more than a year and by Bill of Sale 19 November 1976 it was sold to Eagle Aviation Inc., aircraft dealers of Jones-Riverside Airport, Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was sold on for $89,500 by Bill of Sale dated 2 January 1977 to Travelair Taxi Inc., doing business as Island Airlines of Port Clinton, Ohio. When it arrived at its new base at Port Clinton it was painted in a garish red, white and blue bi-centennial colour scheme, but was soon re-painted in the somewhat more attractive house colours of Island Airlines, which was white with a silver cowling, blue around the cockpit with a red flash behind the windows. It joined the other members of the Island Airlines fleet, Beaver N62352 and Ford Tri-Motor N7584. The Ford was used for sight-seeing flights but the Beaver and the Otter flew scheduled services from Port Clinton, located at the western end of Lake Erie, to islands in the Lake – Kelley’s Island, Put-in-Bay, Middle Bass and north Bass.

 

This unique operation styled itself “The Shortest Airline in the World”, with some justification. Departing from Carl Keller Field at Port Clinton, the Otter took all of seven minutes to complete its scheduled flight to Put-in-Bay, and a similar time for the return sector. As Edward J. Rusch, the company’s Chief Pilot, said: “The Otter works the rough sod and stone fields of the islands very efficiently”. By March 1981 the Otter had a total time of 4,833 hours on the airframe. On the scheduled services to the islands, the Otter (or Beaver, depending on the load) carried the resident population year round; tourist during the summer as well as migrant Mexican labourers for fruit picking; and fishermen during the winter for ice fishing. The Otter also carried mail and freight and performed medevac flights, averaging several each weekend during the summer as tourists injured themselves. The island’s policeman acted as a paramedic and accompanied the flight. During the winter months when the lake froze over and the ferry no longer operated, these Beaver and Otter flights were the only means of access to the islands.

 

After nearly 16 years of flying with the Otter, this unique operation came to an end. Island Airlines was taken over by Griffing Flying Service Inc of Port Clinton, to whom the Otter was transferred by Bill of Sale dated 23 September 1992, and to whom the Otter was registered the following month, still as N5325G. The scheduled services were terminated and the Otter put up for sale. The buyer, through brokers C&S Enterprises, was Delay River Outfitters Inc, trading as Air Schefferville to whom the Otter was registered C-FQND on 23 August 1993 and it set off for its new base of Schefferville in the remote bush country of northern Quebec.

 

In 1994 the Otter was sold to Aircraft Investments LLC., of Oshkosh, Wisconsin and leased by them to Waweig Lake outfitters Ltd of Thunder Bay, Ontario to whom it was registered on 18 April 1994. It went to Recon Air at Geraldton, Ontario who converted it to a Vazar turbine Otter with a PT6A-135 engine, and it was repainted orange overall with a white cheatline and tail band. It then entered service with Waweig Lake Outfitters.

 

For the next number of years the Otter would fly out of Waweig Lake during the summer months, carrying tourists, fishermen and hunters wishing to experience the delights of the Ontario bush country. This business was carried on by Waweig Lake Outfitters in association with Wilderness North Air of Milwaukee. By Bill of Sale 14 April 1997 Aircraft Investments LLC, owners of the Otter, transferred title to 3006298 Nova Scotia Company, but the lease to Waweig Lake Outfitters continued. The Otter continued to fly for Waweig Lake Outfitters and Wilderness North Air alongside turbine Otters C-GMLB (359) and C-FYCX (44). On 6 June 2001 Otter QND was registered to 1401380 Ontario Ltd., (Waweig Air) and continued its services in the Ontario bush country.

 

Early in 2002 the Otter undertook a unique “Flight of Friendship” tour of 35 US cities, sponsored by Wilderness North Air. As the company’s website explained: “We wanted to show our friends in the US that they are welcome here in Canada during a period of uncertainty due to the attacks on the World trade Center. This is why we felt compelled to fly one of our Canadian icons, a turbine Otter, on this Canadian Hospitality Tour. At each of the 35 stops, presentations will be made by the Wilderness North Chief Pilot Randy Melnick of items donated by Canadian fire departments to their US counterparts, as a sign of solidarity and friendship. North West Ontario is renowned for its pristine wilderness environment and excellent recreational sports activities, said Alan Cheeseman, President of Wilderness North, who operate one of Canada’s finest fly-in fishing and adventure sports facilities. Wilderness North flies its guests into 16 different lakes and outpost camps from its base in Armstrong, Ontario just north of Thunder Bay”.

 

Otter QND, on wheels, departed Thunder Bay on 8 January 2002 and returned at the end of March. Its routing on the tour was Thunder Bay-St.Charles, Illinois-Madison, Wisconsin-Chicago/Springfield-Indianapolis-Columbus-Cincinnati-Louisville-St.Louis-Springfield, Missouri-Memphis, Tennessee-Little Rock-Oklahoma City-Dallas (Love Field)-Houston-New Orleans-Tallahassee-Tampa-Orlando-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach-Daytona Beach-Jacksonville-Savannah-Atlanta-Columbia-Charlotte-Richmond-Washington-Baltimore (Ocean City)-Philadelphia-New York (Teterboro)-Boston-Albany-Buffalo-Cleveland-Dayton-Detroit-Grand Rapids-Lansing-Kalamazoo-Cedar Rapids-Des Moines-Rochester-La Crosse-Minneapolis-Duluth-Thunder Bay. On completion of this extensive tour, QND resumed flying in the Ontario bush country, along with Otters C-GMLB and C-FYCX, for Waweig Air and Wilderness North Air, flying from Armstrong Lake and the nearby seaplane base at Waweig Lake. It is mentioned in a CADORS report for 8 September 2007. QND arrived at the Churchill, Manitoba water base but the pilot did not call down and clear after landing. The airport operator did a ground check to make sure the aircraft was down and safe. As the report shows, QND did not confine its operations to Ontario, also visiting such distant places as Churchill, Manitoba.

 

In September 2010 Otter QND was advertised for sale, as having 12,130 hours total time and with an asking price of US $1,300,000. It was again advertised for sale in February 2013, price reduced to $1,250,000. The advert stated: “This aircraft is currently being run through the shop” and there were photographs of QND in a hangar having work done to it. It flew again for Waweig Air/Wilderness North Air for summer 2013 but was sold at the end of the summer season, in September 2013, to Vancouver Island Air.

 

In early October 2013 the Otter set off for its long delivery flight westwards, in the course of which an incident was recorded on CADORS on 4 October at La Ronge, Saskatchewan. On that day, Transwest Air DHC-6 Twin Otter C-FVOG on a local VFR flight out of La Ronge, reported seeing a DHC-3 Otter turning into him on finals for the La Ronge water base. The FSS had no information on the conflicting traffic. After landing the crew of the Twin Otter were able to identify the other aircraft as Otter QND and passed the information to the FSS. A few hours later the pilot of QND contacted the FSS and advised he had had radio failure inbound to La Ronge. QND was on straight floats and after La Ronge continued “lake hopping” across the country, eventually arriving at Campbell River on Vancouver Island, its new base. Registration of the Otter to 1401380 Ontario Ltd .,(Waweig Air) was cancelled on 31 October 2013 and C-FQND was registered to Vancouver Island Air Ltd., on 9 December 2013.

 

The Otter retained its orange overall colour scheme with white cheatline and tail stripe but acquired Vancouver Island Air fuselage titles. It replaced Beech 18 C-FGNR, which was sold, and joined Otter C-GVIX (97), these two turbine Otters from then on constituting the Vancouver Island Air fleet. Both Otters were still in service during summer 2017, flying the company’s charters and schedules out of Campbell River.

But I will take a below average sunset when it looks like this

Candid Street Photography From Edinburgh, Scotland

This view may resemble a snowy scene observed from an airplane flying over Earth’s mountain ranges, but it is in fact a spectacular scene captured by the CaSSIS camera onboard ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, or TGO, as it flew over the ice-coated Korolev crater on 21 August 2019.

 

Korolev is an 80 km-wide crater in the northern polar regions of Mars that contains a massive ice sheet in its centre, the third largest exposed ice sheet on Mars, after its polar caps. The beauty of this ice sheet was captured in its entirety in a stunning mosaic of images taken by the HRSC camera on ESA’s Mars Express over the course of its 15-year – and counting – odyssey at the Red Planet.

 

TGO also captured a beautiful slice of Korolev crater in April 2018, which was one of the first images the spacecraft sent back to Earth after arriving in its science orbit around Mars.

 

In the image presented here, the CaSSIS camera reveals the detail of the crater’s south-eastern wall, which was illuminated at sunrise during the start of summer in the northern hemisphere. The walls of the craters at this latitude get fewer hours of sunlight on average throughout the year, so they have permanent deposits of water ice. In addition, at this time of year, carbon dioxide ice is still present on the surface left over from the seasonal cap that covers the polar regions during winter, contributing to the appearance of snow-covered mountain peaks.

 

Compare with this image taken in the same region a few months later, after much of the carbon dioxide ice has receded.

 

The image is centred at 164.90ºE/72.02ºN and was taken on 21 August 2019. The scale is indicated on the image.

 

Credits: ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Blogged

The great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes.

 

The great white pelican is a huge bird—only the Dalmatian pelican is, on average, larger among pelicans. It measures 140 to 180 cm (55 to 71 in) in length with a 28.9 to 47.1 cm (11.4 to 18.5 in) enormous pink and yellow bill, and a dull pale-yellow gular pouch. The wingspan measures 226 to 360 cm (7.41 to 11.81 ft), the latter measurement being the highest among extant flying animals outside of the great albatross. The adult male measures about 175 cm (69 in) in length; it weighs from 9 to 15 kg (20 to 33 lb) and larger races from the Palaearctic are usually around 11 kg (24 lb), with few exceeding 13 kg (29 lb). It has a bill measuring 34.7 to 47.1 cm (13.7 to 18.5 in). The female measures about 148 cm (58 in) in length, and is considerably less bulky, weighing 5.4 to 9 kg (12 to 20 lb), and has a bill that measures 28.9 to 40.0 cm (11.4 to 15.7 in) in length. In Lake Edward, Uganda, the average weight of 52 males was found to 11.45 kg (25.2 lb) and in 22 females it was 7.59 kg (16.7 lb). In South Africa, the average weight of males was 9.6 kg (21 lb) and of females was 6.9 kg (15 lb). Thus the sexual dimorphism is especially pronounced in this species (perhaps the greatest known in any extant pelican), as at times the male can average more than 30% more massive than the female. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 60 to 73 cm (24 to 29 in), the tail 16 to 21 cm (6.3 to 8.3 in), and the tarsus 13 to 14.9 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) long. Standard measurements from different areas indicate that pelicans from the Western Palaearctic are somewhat larger than those from Asia and Africa.

 

The male has a downward bend in the neck and the female has a shorter, straighter beak. The plumage is predominantly white except on remiges, with a faint pink tinge on the neck and a yellowish base on the foreneck. The primary feathers are black, with white shafts at the bases, occasionally with paler tips and narrow fringes. The secondary feathers are also black, but with a whitish fringe. The upperwing coverts, underwing coverts, and tertials are white. The forehead is swollen and pinkish skin surrounds the bare, dark eyes having brown-red to dark brown irides. It has fleshy-yellow legs and pointed forehead-feathers where meeting the culmen. In breeding season, the male has pinkish skin while the female has orangey skin on its face. The bill is mostly bluish grey, with a red tip, reddish maxilla edges, and a cream-yellow to yolk-yellow gular pouch. The white plumage becomes tinged-pink with a yellow patch on the breast, and the body is tinged yellowish-rosy. It also has a short, shaggy crest on the nape. The white covert feathers contrast with the solid black primary and secondary feathers. The legs are yellow-flesh to pinkish orange. Both male and female are similar, but the female is smaller and has brighter orange facial skin in the breeding season.

 

The juvenile has darker, brownish underparts that are palest at the rump, center of the belly, and uppertail coverts. The underwing coverts are mostly dull-white, but the greater coverts are dark and there is a dark brownish bar over the lesser coverts. The rear tertials upperwing coverts mostly have paler tips with a silvery-grey tinge on the greater secondary coverts and tertials. It has dark flight feathers, and brown-edged wings. The head, neck, and upperparts, including the upperwing coverts, are mostly brown—this is the darkest part of the neck. The facial skin and the bill, including its gular pouch, are greyish to dusky greyish. The forehead, rump, and abdomen are white, and its legs and feet are grey. Its blackish tail occasionally has a silvery-grey tinge. Its underparts and back are initially browner and darker than those of the Dalmatian pelican, and the underwing is strongly patterned, similar to the juvenile brown pelican.

 

The great white pelican is distinguished from all other pelicans by its plumage. Its face is naked and the feathering on its forehead tapers to a fine point, whereas other species are completely feathered. In flight, the white underwing with black remiges of the adult are similar only to those of the American white pelican (P. erythrorhynchos), but the latter has white inner secondary feathers. It differs from the Dalmatian pelican in its pure white – rather than greyish-white – plumage, a bare pink facial patch around the eye, and pinkish legs. The spot-billed pelican (P. philippensis) of Asia is slightly smaller than the great white pelican, with greyish tinged white plumage, and a paler, duller-colored bill.[5] Similarly, the pink-backed pelican (P. rufescens) is smaller, with brownish-grey plumage, a light pink to off-grey bill, and a pinkish wash on the back.

 

The bird is mostly silent but has a variety of low-pitched lowing, grunting, and growling calls. The flight call is a deep, quiet croak., while at breeding colonies, it gives deep moooo calls.

 

The breeding range of the great white pelican extends to Ethiopia, Tanzania, Chad, northern Cameroons, and Nigeria in Africa, and has been observed or reported breeding in Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa. In the 1990s, 6,700 to 11,000 breeding pairs in 23 to 25 breeding sites, were found in the Palearctic region. A 1991 study noted about 3,070 to 4,300 pairs were present in the Soviet Union. Only two breeding colonies are located in the Mediterranean basin, one having 250 to 400 pairs in Turkey and the other having 50 to 100 pairs in northern Greece. The breeding colony at Lake Rukwa, Tanzania is the largest known breeding colony in Africa, followed by the Lake Shala, Ethiopia colony which is probably of crucial importance to the species in Africa.

 

The African population of about 75,000 pairs of the great white pelican is resident. The ones breeding in the Palearctic region are migrants, although it is possible that the majority of the western Palearctic populations stop-over in Israel during their autumn migration. The migration routes are only partially known. Migratory populations are found from Eastern Europe to Kazakhstan during the breeding season. More than 50% of Eurasian great white pelicans breed in the Danube Delta in Romania. They also prefer staying in the Lakes near Burgas, Bulgaria and in Srebarna Lake in Bulgaria. The pelicans arrive in the Danube in late March or early April and depart after breeding from September to late November. Wintering locations for European pelicans are not exactly known but wintering birds may occur in northeastern Africa through Iraq to north India, with a particularly large number of breeders from Asia wintering around Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Northern populations migrate to China, India, Myanmar, with stragglers reaching Java and Bali in Indonesia. These are birds that are found mostly in lowlands, though in East Africa and Nepal may be found living at elevations of up to 1,372 m (4,501 ft).

 

Overall, the great white pelican is one of the most widely distributed species. Although some areas still hold quite large colonies, it ranks behind the brown pelican and possibly the Australian pelican in overall abundance. Europe now holds an estimated 7,345–10,000 breeding pairs, with over 4,000 pairs that are known to nest in Russia. During migration, more than 75,000 have been observed in Israel and, in winter, over 45,000 may stay in Pakistan. In all its colonies combined, 75,000 pairs are estimated to nest in Africa. It is possibly extinct in Serbia and Montenegro, and regionally extinct in Hungary.

 

Great white pelicans usually prefer shallow, (seasonally or tropical) warm fresh water. Well scattered groups of breeding pelicans occur through Eurasia from the eastern Mediterranean to Vietnam. In Eurasia, fresh or brackish waters may be inhabited and the pelicans may be found in lakes, deltas, lagoons and marshes, usually with dense reed beds nearby for nesting purposes. Additionally, sedentary populations are found year-round in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert although these are patchy. In Africa, great white pelicans occur mainly around freshwater and alkaline lakes and may also be found in coastal, estuarine areas. Beyond reed beds, African pelicans have nested on inselbergs and flat inshore islands off of Banc d'Arguin National Park.

 

For more information, please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white_pelican

 

Here is a photo of 864 tipping off a load of greens at Eastern Creek, also one of the first times I actually got to see the organics section of the facility. From this side of the truck it’s extremely obvious that it has a paddle packer, massive difference compared to a pendulum packer hopper. I used to hear the hopper floor wasn’t steep enough on these models, causing material to build up above the paddle, but I’ve honestly never had such issues. Load potential seemed pretty average on these, about 400-440 is what I got in the typical area... although I tested another unit one day and cracked 530 :P I did use this truck on recycle twice, but unfortunately I didn’t completely pack out, yet it seems this 25m body has potential to hold a good 550 bins of comingled.

I love shots like this. Nothing over the top and its almost like you can smell the country dirt when you look at the image. Just a natural girl, in a natural setting.. naturally beautiful!

 

Colorado Model Katie C.

The great white pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) also known as the eastern white pelican, rosy pelican or white pelican is a bird in the pelican family. It breeds from southeastern Europe through Asia and Africa, in swamps and shallow lakes.

 

The great white pelican is a huge bird—only the Dalmatian pelican is, on average, larger among pelicans. It measures 140 to 180 cm (55 to 71 in) in length with a 28.9 to 47.1 cm (11.4 to 18.5 in) enormous pink and yellow bill, and a dull pale-yellow gular pouch. The wingspan measures 226 to 360 cm (7.41 to 11.81 ft), the latter measurement being the highest among extant flying animals outside of the great albatross. The adult male measures about 175 cm (69 in) in length; it weighs from 9 to 15 kg (20 to 33 lb) and larger races from the Palaearctic are usually around 11 kg (24 lb), with few exceeding 13 kg (29 lb). It has a bill measuring 34.7 to 47.1 cm (13.7 to 18.5 in). The female measures about 148 cm (58 in) in length, and is considerably less bulky, weighing 5.4 to 9 kg (12 to 20 lb), and has a bill that measures 28.9 to 40.0 cm (11.4 to 15.7 in) in length. In Lake Edward, Uganda, the average weight of 52 males was found to 11.45 kg (25.2 lb) and in 22 females it was 7.59 kg (16.7 lb). In South Africa, the average weight of males was 9.6 kg (21 lb) and of females was 6.9 kg (15 lb). Thus the sexual dimorphism is especially pronounced in this species (perhaps the greatest known in any extant pelican), as at times the male can average more than 30% more massive than the female. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 60 to 73 cm (24 to 29 in), the tail 16 to 21 cm (6.3 to 8.3 in), and the tarsus 13 to 14.9 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) long. Standard measurements from different areas indicate that pelicans from the Western Palaearctic are somewhat larger than those from Asia and Africa.

 

The male has a downward bend in the neck and the female has a shorter, straighter beak. The plumage is predominantly white except on remiges, with a faint pink tinge on the neck and a yellowish base on the foreneck. The primary feathers are black, with white shafts at the bases, occasionally with paler tips and narrow fringes. The secondary feathers are also black, but with a whitish fringe. The upperwing coverts, underwing coverts, and tertials are white. The forehead is swollen and pinkish skin surrounds the bare, dark eyes having brown-red to dark brown irides. It has fleshy-yellow legs and pointed forehead-feathers where meeting the culmen. In breeding season, the male has pinkish skin while the female has orangey skin on its face. The bill is mostly bluish grey, with a red tip, reddish maxilla edges, and a cream-yellow to yolk-yellow gular pouch. The white plumage becomes tinged-pink with a yellow patch on the breast, and the body is tinged yellowish-rosy. It also has a short, shaggy crest on the nape. The white covert feathers contrast with the solid black primary and secondary feathers. The legs are yellow-flesh to pinkish orange. Both male and female are similar, but the female is smaller and has brighter orange facial skin in the breeding season.

 

The juvenile has darker, brownish underparts that are palest at the rump, center of the belly, and uppertail coverts. The underwing coverts are mostly dull-white, but the greater coverts are dark and there is a dark brownish bar over the lesser coverts. The rear tertials upperwing coverts mostly have paler tips with a silvery-grey tinge on the greater secondary coverts and tertials. It has dark flight feathers, and brown-edged wings. The head, neck, and upperparts, including the upperwing coverts, are mostly brown—this is the darkest part of the neck. The facial skin and the bill, including its gular pouch, are greyish to dusky greyish. The forehead, rump, and abdomen are white, and its legs and feet are grey. Its blackish tail occasionally has a silvery-grey tinge. Its underparts and back are initially browner and darker than those of the Dalmatian pelican, and the underwing is strongly patterned, similar to the juvenile brown pelican.

 

The great white pelican is distinguished from all other pelicans by its plumage. Its face is naked and the feathering on its forehead tapers to a fine point, whereas other species are completely feathered. In flight, the white underwing with black remiges of the adult are similar only to those of the American white pelican (P. erythrorhynchos), but the latter has white inner secondary feathers. It differs from the Dalmatian pelican in its pure white – rather than greyish-white – plumage, a bare pink facial patch around the eye, and pinkish legs. The spot-billed pelican (P. philippensis) of Asia is slightly smaller than the great white pelican, with greyish tinged white plumage, and a paler, duller-colored bill.[5] Similarly, the pink-backed pelican (P. rufescens) is smaller, with brownish-grey plumage, a light pink to off-grey bill, and a pinkish wash on the back.

 

The bird is mostly silent but has a variety of low-pitched lowing, grunting, and growling calls. The flight call is a deep, quiet croak., while at breeding colonies, it gives deep moooo calls.

 

The breeding range of the great white pelican extends to Ethiopia, Tanzania, Chad, northern Cameroons, and Nigeria in Africa, and has been observed or reported breeding in Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa. In the 1990s, 6,700 to 11,000 breeding pairs in 23 to 25 breeding sites, were found in the Palearctic region. A 1991 study noted about 3,070 to 4,300 pairs were present in the Soviet Union. Only two breeding colonies are located in the Mediterranean basin, one having 250 to 400 pairs in Turkey and the other having 50 to 100 pairs in northern Greece. The breeding colony at Lake Rukwa, Tanzania is the largest known breeding colony in Africa, followed by the Lake Shala, Ethiopia colony which is probably of crucial importance to the species in Africa.

 

The African population of about 75,000 pairs of the great white pelican is resident. The ones breeding in the Palearctic region are migrants, although it is possible that the majority of the western Palearctic populations stop-over in Israel during their autumn migration. The migration routes are only partially known. Migratory populations are found from Eastern Europe to Kazakhstan during the breeding season. More than 50% of Eurasian great white pelicans breed in the Danube Delta in Romania. They also prefer staying in the Lakes near Burgas, Bulgaria and in Srebarna Lake in Bulgaria. The pelicans arrive in the Danube in late March or early April and depart after breeding from September to late November. Wintering locations for European pelicans are not exactly known but wintering birds may occur in northeastern Africa through Iraq to north India, with a particularly large number of breeders from Asia wintering around Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Northern populations migrate to China, India, Myanmar, with stragglers reaching Java and Bali in Indonesia. These are birds that are found mostly in lowlands, though in East Africa and Nepal may be found living at elevations of up to 1,372 m (4,501 ft).

 

Overall, the great white pelican is one of the most widely distributed species. Although some areas still hold quite large colonies, it ranks behind the brown pelican and possibly the Australian pelican in overall abundance. Europe now holds an estimated 7,345–10,000 breeding pairs, with over 4,000 pairs that are known to nest in Russia. During migration, more than 75,000 have been observed in Israel and, in winter, over 45,000 may stay in Pakistan. In all its colonies combined, 75,000 pairs are estimated to nest in Africa. It is possibly extinct in Serbia and Montenegro, and regionally extinct in Hungary.

 

Great white pelicans usually prefer shallow, (seasonally or tropical) warm fresh water. Well scattered groups of breeding pelicans occur through Eurasia from the eastern Mediterranean to Vietnam. In Eurasia, fresh or brackish waters may be inhabited and the pelicans may be found in lakes, deltas, lagoons and marshes, usually with dense reed beds nearby for nesting purposes. Additionally, sedentary populations are found year-round in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert although these are patchy. In Africa, great white pelicans occur mainly around freshwater and alkaline lakes and may also be found in coastal, estuarine areas. Beyond reed beds, African pelicans have nested on inselbergs and flat inshore islands off of Banc d'Arguin National Park.

 

For more information, please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white_pelican

 

I have titled this a little tounge in cheek. When me an my mate went to Castle Hill he said the sunset was only average. At the time he was fairly right but for a short time the sky had given a few very nice patterns and colours. A little processing and this has been brought out nicely on this one.

Me, sporting covid hair, wearing mask by Joe Average.

 

WIKI - "Joe Average (born October 10, 1957) is a Canadian artist who resides in Vancouver, British Columbia. Diagnosed HIV+ at age 27, Average made the decision to commit the rest of his life to art."

 

Joe is a beloved national icon, philanthropist and humanitarian. joeaverageart.com/

www.chesilbeach.org/

  

www.chesilbeach.org/Chesil/

  

Chesil Beach is 18 miles (28 kilometres) long and, on average, 160 metres wide and rises to 12 metres in height. It is a pebble and shingle tombolo connecting Portland to Abbotsbury and then continuing north-westwards to West Bay near Bridport. It is the largest tombolo in the UK.

The pebbles are graded in size from fist-sized near Portland to pea-sized at Bridport. The pebbles are mainly a mix of flint and chert, with some quartzite pebbles from Buddleigh Salterton.

The origin of the beach continues to be argued over with some proposing it is actually two beaches. The stretch from West Bay to Abbotsbury appears to have different characteristics to the stretch from Abbotsbury to Portland.

Chesil Beach shelters Weymouth from the prevailing wind and waves and prevents the area being eroded by wave action. Evidence suggests that the beach is no longer being replenished by natural means.

The beach forms part of the Dorset and East Devon World Heritage Site, known as the Jurassic Coast.

   

Chesil Bank

It is above all an elemental place, made of sea, shingle and sky, its dominant sound always that of waves on moving stone: from the great surf and pounding “grounds of seas” of sou’westers, to the delicate laps and back-gurgling of the rare dead calm….

John Fowles

   

www.chesilbeach.org/Chesil/description.html

  

Chesil Beach is a linear shingle storm beach stretching from Portland in the south to West Bay in the north-west. At its widest it is up to 200 metres in width. The height of the beach is typically 11 metres above mean sea level.

The seaward face of the beach is steeply shelving and this continues below the sea level until it gradually levels off at around 18 metres below sea level some 300 metres offshore in the southern part of the beach. Further north the offshore depth is around 11 metres.

There is a clear southern limit to the beach where it meets the limestone of Portland, but the northern limit is less distinct and depends on the definition used. Various limits have been proposed from Abbotsbury to West Bay. Geologically there is some merit in these arguments, but for practical purposes the limit is taken as the pier at West Bay. The pier is an effective barrier to longshore drift into or away from Chesil Beach.

The beach stabilised close to its present position some 5000 years ago. Since then it has been advancing slowly towards the mainland. Current estimates suggest that at the southern end this rate of advance is around 15 cms per year, with a slower rate further north. This advance occurs under storm conditions and is caused either by over-topping waves or by cann action where the water comes through the beach pushing quantities of pebbles out into the Fleet. This advancement is slowly causing increasing isolation of the various segments of the beach between Abbotsbury and West Bay.

Under storm conditions large quantities of pebbles can be removed from the beach onto the seabed. For severe storms the quantities can exceed 3 Million tonnes. Subsequent wave action then replaces these pebbles on the front of the beach.

There appears to be two types of storm conditions that affect Chesil Beach. The majority of storms are deep depressions approaching from the south-west where the combination of strong winds and low barometric pressure can produce storm surges in the English Channel combined with high local waves. A rarer type, but potentially more dramatic in impact, occurs when large storms out in the Atlantic generate huge, long-period swell waves that travel up the Channel and impact the Beach. Such waves can have a period of up to 20 seconds, compared with the 5-10 second period of local storm waves. Two such events are known to have occurred in 1904 and 1979.

  

www.chesilbeach.org/Chesil/formation.html

  

The formation of Chesil Beach has been much discussed over the years and is still the subject of continuing debate. Continuing research yields further insights into the origin of the material that forms the beach and how it was transported to its current location. This page presents a summary of one current view suggested by Malcolm Bray of Portsmouth University, a member of the Fleet Study Group. A more detailed document can be downloded here.

Chesil Beach initially formed from predominantly sandy deposits in Lyme Bay as water levels rose rapidly at the end of the last ice age 20,000-14,000 years ago. These deposits were eroded and the sand and gravel driven onshore as a barrier beach. As the barrier beach was driven further east by rising sea levels it overrode existing sediments and the Fleet was formed starting about 7000 years ago. The formation of the Fleet was virtually complete by 5000 years ago.

Sea levels stabilised 4000-5000 years ago and at that time Chesil Beach stood close to its present position. It was predominantly sandy with layers of shell and coarser material indicating over-washing by the sea.

At this time relict cliffs in East Devon, left stranded by falling sea levels during the ice age, were re-activated and the combination of re-working of extensive debris aprons and erosion of existing cliffs yielded large quantities of gravel. Estimates suggest that as much as 60 million cubic metres of gravel could have been supplied. This material was transported to Chesil Beach by longshore drift via a series of pocket beaches.

Coastal recession and human intervention have now depleted the beaches to the west of West Bay, resulting in increased prominence of the headlands. This has cut off the supply of material to Chesil Beach

Chesil Beach must now be regarded as a closed shingle system with no replenishment from outside sources. It is therefore sensitive to environmental changes such as rising sea levels. Ian West has suggested that Chesil Beach at Portland is moving eastward at around 15cm per year, with a much slower rate further north towards Abbotsbury.

  

www.chesilbeach.org/Chesil/pebbles.html

 

Chesil Beach is made up almost entirely of pebbles of various rock types. The only exception is in the north-west section of the beach from West Bexington to West Bay where there is some fine gravel and coarse sand overlaying the lower levels of the beach near the tide line. The pebbles are graded in size from fist-sized near Portland to pea-sized at West Bay.

The types of pebble that can be found are:

  

Flint

Flint originates from the chalk beds. They include the slightly brownish pebbles, most of the medium grey pebbles and also the less well- rounded pebbles. They are extremely hard, harder than most steels.

Chert

The chert pebbles are also extremely hard and originate from the upper greensand beds. They are often fairly clear and translucent with a pink or bluish tinge.

Quartzite

Quartzite pebbles originate from around Buddleigh Salterton and are discoidal pebbles coloured red, purple "liver-coloured", or white.

Granite

Granite is occasionally found on Chesil Beach. It can be identified by the coarse grain size, the pink or white feldspar, the quartz of glassy grey appearance, and the black mafic minerals, normally mica and/or hornblende. These pebbles probably originated from further west on the south-west peninsula or may have come from the ballast of ships wrecked on the beach..

Porphyry

These pebbles most probably come from the Permian breccia in Dawlish, Devon. They are similar to granite in appearance, but the crystal structure is rather different. They are comparatively rare on Chesil Beach.

Tourmalised rock

Pebbles of hard black, finely granular material are common. Somewhat irregular pebble of vein quartz, stained yellowish, and tourmalinised slate, all sheared and partially brecciated. The pebbles are usually irregular in shape as the tourmaline is quite brittle.

Breccia

A breccia is a rock of angular fragments. Only breccias that have been cemented strongly in hard silica can survive on Chesil Beach.

Portland stone

At Chiswell there are some limestone pebbles originating from the local Portland and Purbeck stone formations.

Kimmeridge oil shale

There is evidence that there was once an outcrop of oil shale on the back of Chesil Beach near Victoria Square on Portland. Pieces of shale can still be found on the beach and probably come from an outcrop under the sea off Chiswell.

Fossils

These are mostly found around Burton Bradstock and originate from the local cliffs.

Magnetite

This is believed to originate from the cargos of ships wrecked on Chesil Beach. The major concentration is near Abbotsbury and is believed to come from the SS Dorothea.

Peat

Pieces of peat can be found on Chesil Beach, particularly after storms. It comes from outcrops below the low tide level. It is mostly found at Chiswell and in an area around the tank defences at Abbotsbury

Pumice stone

Pieces of pumice stone are sometimes found washed up on the beach. Pumice is lava foam from volcanoes and contains sufficient air pockets to float. The stones on Chesil almost certainly came from volcanoes in the Caribbean Sea or central America. The colour varies from dark grey to almost white. They can be recognised by the large number of air pockets and that they are very light.

Others

Also found on Chesil Beach are Jasper, Agate, and Madrepores, but these are all very rare.

 

Further information

For a more detailed discussion of the pebbles that make up Chesil Beach visit Ian West's excellent website at Southampton University.

  

www.chesilbeach.org/Chesil/speclst.html

  

Chesil Beach is a major shingle beach and provides a maritime shingle environment. The seaward side of the beach is highly mobile under storm conditions and cannot support any plant communities. The eastern side of the beach is much more stable enabling plant communities to get established. In some areas the beach is sufficiently stable for a turf to form, particularly at Ferrybridge.

Apart from plants, the beach supports a rich variety of lichens and a few mosses. There are very few shrubs and no trees growing on the beach.

There is sufficient food from the plants and other sources to support a few mammals and the beach is used by a number of bird species for nesting.

The lists below show species that actually live, hunt, and/or nest on the beach. Transient species such as migrant birds are not included. Click on the groups below to see the species lists.

www.chesilbeach.org/chesil/specbirds.html

 

Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Ringed Plover, Linnet, Oystercatcher, Reed Bunting, Pied Wagtail, Common Tern, Little Tern,

  

www.chesilbeach.org/Chesil/specmamms.html

 

Fox, Hare, Roe Deer, Hare, Hedgehog, Long-tailed Field Mouse, Short-tailed Vole, Grey Squirrel,

  

www.chesilbeach.org/chesil/specplants.html

  

Common nameSpeciesW

Sea couchAgropyron pungens

 

Silvery hair grassAira caryophylla

 

Early hair grassAira praecox

 

Scarlet pimpernelAnagallis arvensis

 

Kidney vetchAnthyllis vulneraria

 

ThriftAmeria maritima

 

Thyme-leaved sandwortArenaria serpyllifolia

 

Tall oat-grassArrhenatherum elatius

 

Sea beetBeta vulgaris

 

Darnel's grassCatapodium marinum

 

Common centauryCentaurium erythraea

 

Red valerianCentranthus ruber

 

Common mouse-earCerastium fontanum

 

Sea mouse-earCerastium diffusum

 

Creeping thistleCirsium arvense

 

Danish scurvygrassCochlearia danica

 

Sea kaleCrambe maritima

 

SamphireCrithmum maritimum

 

CocksfootDactylus glomerata

 

Sea spurgeEuphorbia paralias

 

Portland spurgeEuphorbia portlandica

 

Red fescueFestuca ruba

 

Lady's bedstrawGalium verum

 

Herb robertgeranium robertianum

 

Yellow horned poppyGlaucium flavum

 

Sea-purslaneHalimione portulacoides

 

Common velvet grassHolcus lanatus

 

Tree mallowLavatera arborea

 

Sea peaLathyrus japonicus

 

Bird's foot trefoilLotus corniculatus

 

Common mallowMalva sylvestris

 

RestharrowOnonis repens

 

Lesser broomrapeOrobanche minor var minor

 

Buck's-horn plantainPlantago coronopus

 

Ribwort plantainPlantago lanceolata

 

BlackthornPrunus spinosa

 

BlackberryRubus fruticosa agg.

 

Curled dockRumex crispus

 

Procumbent pearlwortSagina procumbens

 

Biting stonecropSedum acre

 

Sea campionSilene maritima

 

Woody nightshadeSolanum dulcamera

 

Black nightshadeSolanum nigrum

 

Perennial sow-thistleSonchus arvensis

 

Shrubby sea blightSuaeda fruticosa

 

Annual sea blightSuaeda maritima

 

DandelionTaraxacum officinale

 

Breckland thymeThymus serpyllum

 

Haresfoot cloverTrifolium arvense

 

Lesser trefoilTrifolium dubium

 

Rough cloverTrifolium scabrum

 

Sea mayweedTripleurospermum maritimum

  

The information presented here has been derived from the following sources:

Colombe,S.V., Diaz,A. Plant communities of Chesil Beach. Lyme Bay Environmental Study Vol12. Kerr-McGee Oil(UK) plc, 1995.

Fitzpatrick,J.M. Terrestial plant communities of the Chesil Beach and the shores of the Fleet. In: The Fleet and Chesil Beach Ladle, M. (Ed). Fleet Study Group, 1981.

Eden,S.M. Flowering plants of the shores of the Fleet. In: The Fleet Lagoon and Chesil Beach. Carr,A.P., Seaward,D.R., and Sterling,P.H. (Eds).2000.

and personal observation by Fleet volunteers.