back fences and back walls
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Red backed Shrike - Lanius collurio
The red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family Laniidae. The breeding range stretches from Western Europe east to central Russia but it only rarely occurs in the British Isles. It is migratory and winters in the western areas of tropical Africa.
Once a common migratory visitor to Great Britain, numbers declined sharply during the 20th century. The bird's last stronghold was in Breckland but by 1988 just a single pair remained, successfully raising young at Santon Downham. The following year for the first time no nests were recorded in the UK. But since then sporadic breeding has taken place, mostly in Scotland and Wales. In September 2010 the RSPB announced that a pair had raised chicks at a secret location on Dartmoor where the bird last bred in 1970. In 2011, two pairs nested in the same locality, fledging seven young. In 2012 there was another breeding attempt, this time unsuccessful, probably due to a prolonged spell of wet weather. In 2013 breeding was again confirmed in Devon, with two young fledged at a new site.
This return to south western England has been an unexpected development and has raised speculation that a warming climate could assist the bird in re-colonising some of its former haunts, if only in small numbers.
Population:
UK breeding:
1-3 pairs
UK passage:
250 birds
A look back after a new snow dump and removal for most of the day, sick of snow, so a visit to the lake in autumn with a final light. Hope you enjoy and happy Sunday!
Something a bit different. Not an old barn, but one of the nicest yards I've ever seen!
Chilliwack, B.C.
7162
Although I wasn't in Mexico with the intention of making a lot of bird photographs, I saw some nice species that I didn't know before.
And although I missed my Sony A4 camera, the A65 with a 200 mm lens and 2x converter helped me from time to time to make a decent picture of the birds around.
On one of my last days I saw this rufous-backed thrush, clearly belonging to the robin family, with a wonderful feather pattern.
The Isola San Giorgio Maggiore has always intrigued me. It is definitely one of the iconic sights to see in Venice. The island has been occupied since 829 and the church, with its bell tower, was built in 1566. This was taken one morning as the sun began to rise over the beautiful historic city!!
I continue to be busy trying to lend support to a Presidential candidate here in the USA and getting ready for a new trip to India. Southern India will be my destination this time. I miss my daily contact with every one, but probably won't be back on schedule until sometime in March! I continue to appreciate your support and encouragement!!!
See the front door photo in the first comment
Thanks for all the nice comments, it is much appreciated
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.copyright all rights reserved.
Regards, Bram van Broekhoven (BraCom)
"The waves of the sea help me get back to me." - Jill Davis
Photo Location, Le Monde Perdu - Summer 2022:
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Le%20Monde%20Perdu/130/184/31
This sweet mama was a regular visitor to my back porch last summer. Raccoons are very intelligent thinkers. She often brought her babies with her which was an extra special treat for me.
The path here, loops back briefly to Piethorne Reservoir and then over the hill ahead! (Newhey, Rochdale, Lanc's.. UK)
This photo was captured in Paradise valley which is located in the hills behind Apollo Bay in Victoria, Australia.
As this wild Kookaburra was small with its feathers all over the place, in a nice sort of a way, I gathered it was young but maybe it was older and just having a bad hair day.
It would turn up late in the afternoon at about the same time on each of the three days we spent at Paradise Valley.
It was very comfortable in our presence and we gave it raw meat and my youngest daughter was able to pat its back . .it was lovely.
Another Kookaburra got up close and personal with my grandson, which encounter resulted in a gorgeous photo. www.flickr.com/photos/184121594@N02/48686130556/in/datepo...
The Laughing Kookaburra is a bird in the Kingfisher sub-family Halcyonine and a native of eastern Australia and is almost exclusively carnivorous, preying on a variety of small animals, lizards and snakes.
It retains the same partner for life and a breeding pair can be accompanied by up to five fully grown non-breeding offspring from previous years who assist with territory defense and help raise the parent’s new young.
Sigma 70 -300mm f4 -5.6 APO DG Macro
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea
Icterus chrysater
(Yellow-backed Oriole / Turpial Montañero)
The Yellow-backed Oriole is well-named, as it is one of the very few species of orioles with a yellow back. Indeed, this oriole shows only two colors, yellow and black: the wings are entirely black, the feathers lacking the white or yellow feather margins that are shown by most other species of oriole.
The Yellow-backed Oriole has an oddly discontinuous distribution: it occurs from southern Mexico south to northeastern Nicaragua, and again from Panama south to northern Colombia and Venezuela, but is absent from Costa Rica and from most of Nicaragua. This oriole has a very broad elevational range, ranging up to 2500 m in Central America and almost to 2700 m in Colombia.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p...
Icterus chrysater
(Yellow-backed Oriole / Turpial Montañero)
The Yellow-backed Oriole is well-named, as it is one of the very few species of orioles with a yellow back. Indeed, this oriole shows only two colors, yellow and black: the wings are entirely black, the feathers lacking the white or yellow feather margins that are shown by most other species of oriole.
The Yellow-backed Oriole has an oddly discontinuous distribution: it occurs from southern Mexico south to northeastern Nicaragua, and again from Panama south to northern Colombia and Venezuela, but is absent from Costa Rica and from most of Nicaragua. This oriole has a very broad elevational range, ranging up to 2500 m in Central America and almost to 2700 m in Colombia.
neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/portal/species/overview?p_p...
Taken in La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea
Elephant Seal Pup
San Simeon
California
Although most of the elephant seal pups are out in the water learning to swim, there were some moms and pups on the beaches at the Piiedras Blancas Rookery.
Thanks, as always, for stopping by and for your kind comments, awards and faves -- I appreciate them all. Take care and stay safe!
© Melissa Post 2022
Can’t we go back to the old days
When everyone could go and play.
Telling the time by the sunlight
Heading home when the moon came out at night.
Greeting everyone warmly
Passin’ round hugs to express love so easily
Can those times come back again.
Let us stay in the sun again . . .
Well, not back as such, I never left! Do you take play shots waiting for the light? Well, this is mine. Can you imagine how excited I was? And then the clouds rolled in snuffing out any hint of dawn colour. As the sun rose behind the wall of cloud, the inversion dissipated leaving not scrap of mist 😆
Crap, noisy high ISO shot (to keep the definition in the cloud). How I wish I'd taken an LE and blended! Ah well, you live and learn. Still an absolutely brilliant day charging around the fells.
*** Edit: Swapped noisy for smeary. The noisy version is here (not like you care but for my own records 😁):