View allAll Photos Tagged behavior
I hate the semi-annual process of clock change. Don't like how it messes with my circadian rhythms or the mental grogginess it causes (even more than my usual state). But I especially dislike leaving daylight saving time. At this point in the year, sunset is already occurring much too early for my liking. To have the sun setting one hour earlier just cements the feeling of anxiety about re-entering the dark part of the year. It's not the cold of winter that gets to me; it's the massive decrease in the quantity and quality of sunlight. The root of it is a primordial fear of darkness. Nightfall is the perfect breeding ground for the unknown. Easy enough to put that aside on lazy summer nights with their slow rolling, lemonade-sipping sunsets. But November sees darkness crashing down, not just early, but as swiftly as sudden death. And the abruptness of the autumn clock change only worsens a bad situation.
Late afternoon now is very deceptive. Everything at first seems normal until the shadows lengthen and the sun begins to crowd the horizon. Yet still there's enough brightness in the sky to make me believe darkness is still a long way off. Oddly I get this recurrent sense of false hope every day for at least a couple of weeks after the clock change. And every day hope is dashed as darkness envelopes the landscape, each day sooner than the last. Body and mind reluctantly adjust, however it's an uncomfortable process.
One of my many odd rituals is to remain outdoors during sunset on the last night of daylight saving time. I love the idea of experiencing firsthand the final twilight of the bright phase of the year. There's an aspect of facing one's fears in this I suppose. But like many rituals, the original intent is lost or at least muddled over the years of repetition. Anyway it's as breathtaking now as it ever was, and even more so when skies are clear. This year I gathered up a Jack-O-Lantern which I carved especially for this moment and headed off into a clearing in the woods about a half hour before sunset. I lit the candle and just sat down to absorb the atmosphere. The approach of darkness can be felt as much as observed. It felt like weight pressing down on me as the temperature began to dip and color began to fade from the landscape. The color goes first, then shadows replace texture. And soon there's nothing left but soft glow on the horizon in the direction the sun recently occupied. Less than an hour to watch it all slip away.
Had an amazing Raptors watching tour of Pakowki Lake and Milk River areas with friend and naturalist Jerry Herzig
the highlight was of course the Ferruginous Hawks.
Jerry has a wealth of knowledge on wildlife habitat and behavior.
Thouroughly enjoyed his company and hospitality.
We've been having 6 days of rain out of the last 7 ... and to that I ... "say what???". Not that I'm complaining ... far from it. I have been quite excited to see the rain ... well except for my hair ... I've almost forgotten what "humidity hair" looked like... it isn't pretty. LOL
Anyways, wanted to share another image from the burrowing owls of Florida. Quite different than those in CO, which are quite skittish and therefore not as entertaining. The Florida owls are so habituated towards onlookers and totally act with curiosity and a naturalness that makes my heart sing.
Florida burrowing owls are year long residents, so the opportunities are endless. However, the young owlets are of course "seasonal" if you will. Nothing beats spending time with them when they're entertaining for the lens. :-) Our Colorado burrowing owls migrate through and are probably already gone. Fall is here ... in fact, on the Mesa this morning it looked more like winter. What a shock! In a good way, of course.
Happy Tuesday to all.
© 2017 Debbie Tubridy / TNWA Photography
This species and the Ground Squirrels provide for my amusement when the birding gets slow at our pond. These rodents know every nook and cranny of the jumbled rock border surrounding the pond, and can navigate through this maze with amazing dexterity and speed. It's their "jungle gym" and safe house! I have to constantly watch and pan them through my viewfinder to quickly capture a still moment like this... they're usually in frantic motion. This guy, however, is pausing to warm up in the morning sunrise and nibble on some purloined bird seed... nights up here are cool. She's become a regular visitor... I call her "Notch Ear." These rodents and several bird species keep the areas under the seed feeders clear of dropped seed.
IMG_6366; Colorado Chipmunk
I could not help it . . .
I was constantly stopping when I spotted an interesting photo opportunity.
My passenger was annoyed.
This photo was taken by an Asahi Pentax 6 X 7 medium format film camera and Super-Multi-Coated Takumar/6X7 1:4.5/75mm lens with a Zenza Bronica 82mm L-1A filter using Fuji 160NS [220] film, the negative scanned by an Epson Perfection V600 and digitally rendered with Photoshop.
The male in many songbird species will often feed the female in courtship prior to breeding. Male cardinals will feed the female while she is incubating. Our beautiful world, pass it on.
strong sexual dimorphism- and some odd behaviors. the males outnumber the females. they greeted each other or displayed in non combative (but also disrespectful) ways...
From Wiki: Curassows are one of the three major groups of cracid birds. They comprise the largest-bodied species of the cracid family. Three of the four genera are restricted to tropical South America; a single species of Crax ranges north to Mexico. They form a distinct clade which is usually classified as the subfamily Cracinae.
In line with the other 3 main lineages of cracids (chachalacas, true guans, and the horned guan), mt and nDNA sequence data indicates that the curassows diverged from their closest living relatives (probably the guans) at some time during the Oligocene, or c.35–20 mya (Pereira et al. 2002). This data must be considered preliminary until corroborated by material (e.g. fossil) evidence however.
What appears certain from analysis of the molecular data, calibrated against geological events that would have induced speciation is that there are 2 major lineages of curassows: one containing only Crax, and another made up of Mitu and Pauxi. The position of the peculiar nocturnal curassow is not well resolved; it might be closer to the latter, but in any case, it diverged around the same time as the split between the two major lineages. All curassow genera appear to have diverged, in fact, during the Tortonian (early Late Miocene): the initial split took place some 10–9 mya, and Pauxi diverged from Mitu some 8–7.4 mya (but see genus article).(Pereira & Baker 2004)
Unlike the other cracids, biogeography and phylogeny indicate that the extant lineages of curassows probably originated in the lowlands of the western/northwestern Amazonas basin, most likely in the general area where the borders of Brazil, Peru and Colombia meet. In the two larger genera, vicariant speciation seems to have played a major role.(Pereira et al. 2002, Pereira & Baker 2004)
Shot on a photo tour led by Juan Carlos Vindas of Neotropic Photo Tours www.neotropicphototours.com. I will not post in any particular order and out of respect to ur excellent tour leader, will not add GPS data.
I did something last week which I thought was humerus and funky. The people it was meant for did not see it that way. I have been feeling kind of crappy ever since. When I saw this today I thought of them and what they share. My apologies for my callous behavior.
Some young bulls are checking out a cow that is beginning to release the smell of estrus. They are curious and fired up, but won't breed this season. When the cows become receptive, the mature bulls will chase away these youngsters. Our beautiful world, pass it on.
This black guillemot (Cepphus grylle) was engaged in a three-way fluting conversation. It is sitting in front of its cave and looking upwards to another fluter sitting on the ledge about 2m above this cave.
Diese Gryllteiste (Cepphus grylle) war Teil einer 3-seitigen Flötkonversation. Sie sitzt vor ihrer Höhle und schaut hinauf, zu einem anderen Flötling ca 2m über ihrer Höhle.
George Orwell: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.”
Let’s manipulate information and control behavior. Let’s alter thoughts and behavior. Let’s manipulate brain function. Let’s use nanotechnology, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and big data to alter the cognition of humanity. We will not only attack what they think, but also the way they think—the very way their brains processes information. We will influence their decision-making, we will change their behavior.
It’s a war on the brain and the way it functions. Indeed, the human mind is the new battlefield. Psychological operations…psychological warfare…cognitive warfare…yet the war isn’t really for your mind, but for your soul—for your eternity.
The boot: satan’s plan for humanity. It will step on your mind, it will crush your soul. It will hold you down, it will oppress you. If you take the Mark, it will stamp on your face for ever.
A technocratic dystopia, a digital gulag is coming for you. Take the microchip, become a human hybrid—owned by patent, easily controlled. Transhumanism: the dawning of a new era. A dystopian nightmare of Biblical proportions!
Jeremiah 25:31 “His cry of judgment will reach the ends of the earth, for the LORD will bring his case against all the nations. He will judge all the people of the earth, slaughtering the wicked with the sword. I, the LORD, have spoken!”
Lady, i will touch you with my mind.
Touch you and touch and touch
until you give
me suddenly a smile,shyly obscene
E.E. Cummings
Visit this location at GobSmacked - A Roleplay Scene Playground in Second Life
Bighorn rams demonstrating the effects of high altitude testosterone with the beginning of their rutting activities. All rights reserved.
"In his own way, he's lived life with all the intensity he could muster."
~Haruki Murakami (Norwegian Wood)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird perched in the garden de-burring the end of his beak. It is very common to see a Hummingbird perched at the pithy end of a dead branch poking his beak into the soft wood to remove burrs from his beak. You can easily spot a favorite perch by the look of the end of the branch. It will look frayed from the constant poking. They also wipe their beak from side to side on the branch to remove burrs from the sides of their beak. This will leave marks on the side of the branch.
A Touch of Frost Eugenia models Social Behavior fashion from the 2020 Legendary Style Lab collection.
Not a great image but a fun catch of the Canyon Wren on the right not liking it at all that the White-crowned Sparrow on the left was hopping over with…an offering? nesting material? who knows!…which it dropped once the Wren moved down into the rock crevasse.
© All Rights Reserved. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my prior permission.
I observed the strangest behavior I've ever had the privilege of witnessing. I spotted a Great Blue Heron motionless waiting for fish. I noticed something on its back and realized a Red-wing Blackbird was sitting on him. The Blackbird then began frenzied pecking at the heron's back. Nonplussed the heron never moved. The Blackbird then began flying up and landing on the Heron repeatedly. I estimate about a dozen times. The Heron eventually caught a fish which it ate. Then it started to stalk about with the Blackbird on its back. The strangest and most amazing interaction I have ever seen.
Maasi Mara, Kenya, Africa
These two young baboons could hold their own on any playground. I am always excited to see the rough and tumble play of baboon youngsters.
I wasn't going to post this but I thought it was a compelling behavioral image. A male raccoon is in the process of eliminating a female's babies.
"Male raccoons (boars) commit infanticide by killing kits (baby raccoons) to eliminate another male's offspring, which brings the female (sow) back into heat, allowing them to mate sooner. This behavior is a survival mechanism to ensure their own genes are passed on. It often occurs in attics or chimneys when a male forces his way into a nest. Behavioral Motivation: The killing of kits by adult males is a competitive strategy. By killing the existing litter, the male removes the offspring of a rival, inducing a new mating cycle in the female."
I witnessed this at a den site early one morning in a tree cavity in a local park in Victoria, BC.
have you ever checked out soni avileva's work? deviant behavior is a funky shop where you can try on demos live on the spot without unboxing. what a unique experience! i haven't seen this anywhere else. i happened to find his work on flickr by accident and was totally curious.
when you arrive, you're greeted by some really lovely helpful ladies and the layout of the shop is by body type. the textures are really good and everything seems to be sold in fatpacks at a very reasonable price. i wanted to buy everything but ended up walking away with this body suit and two other dresses. one you can see here.
be sure to check out upstairs, where the deviant ladies hang out. however, don't accidentally get too close... some of them bite ;)
p.s. if you have time to flick through soni's flickr his parties looks epic XD i want to go to the next one lol!
There were two Spotted Towhee males in my backyard foraging. One kept hopping on the other and flailing its wings almost in a sexual/dominant manner. I wish I'd had my camera ready at that time. Then this male flew closer to me and just sat there motionless as the other one continued to forage. This Towhee stayed motionless for almost 5 minutes until the other male flew away. Then this one eventually followed.
Out looking for raptors one day recently and came across this one. Well, usually we find red-tailed hawks around this part of town, but you can also find kestrel, prairie falcon, sharp-shinned hawks, bald eagles, golden eagles, ferruginous hawks, northern harriers, and this one ... the Cooper's Hawk.
Though it was up for debate between sharp-shinned and Cooper's, as you can see, I think those tail feathers give it away. It was the most cooperative Cooper's I've ever experienced too. Let me get all sorts of angles, which helped in the ID.
For those of you who know me fro FL (you know who you are - LOL), you know I'm a bit challenged on my birds, but being out here I've begun to learn quite a bit. LOL.
Thanks for stopping by to view this morning. We got some snow during the night, though just a bit, so everything looks so pretty. I better enjoy it while it lasts ... usually it's gone by early afternoon.
© 2018 Debbie Tubridy / TNWA Photography