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One of those shots where you think did I get that, of course a quicker shutter speed and clean background would have been better but sometimes you get what you get with bird and wildlife photography.
Explore # 1 ! 14-06-'09 !
...There' s Just One Love In This Whole World...
...If You Like This ~ Check This Out...
Growing Up... ~ ~ www.flickr.com/photos/kap_n_kaos/3864701764/
For the past few weeks I have been monitoring a mute swan on her nest of rubble and polythene sheeting amongst other things in a derelict dockland area not to far from the site of the ' Liver Birds ' and close to the River Mersey !
I hadn' t been for 5 days and as it turned out, the cygnets, 8, had hatched a week previous ! Sods law dictated the light being poor and I only had my budget 70-300mm lens ~ so the shots were not to hot ! ( see the previous photo' ) I returned the next day with my tri-pod and better lens only to find the whole family had gone !
On my next visit three days later, to my delight they returned to the same nest site and it was fascinating to watch the behaviour of them feeding ~ the pen and cob would opps-up, bottom in the air, the neck and beak would strech out underwater and then return to normal dropping algae on the suface of the water !
At this point the tiny cygnets would circle around and devour the algae very quickly ~ then immediately swim to the other parent for a repeat performance ! Whilst this was going on, there was a constant ' Peep-Peep-Peep ' sound from the youngsters !
Technical Stuff !
The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) is a species of swan, and hence in turn a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia ! It is also an introduced species in North America, Australia and southern Africa ! The name 'mute' derives from its being less vocal than other swan species, though it is not always silent !
Adults of this large swan range from 125 to 170 cm (49-67 in) long with a 200-240 cm (79-95 in) wingspan. They may stand over 1.2 m (4 ft) tall on land. Males are larger than females and have a larger knob on their bill, which also tends to be a deeper orange colour !
The Mute Swan is one of the heaviest flying birds, with males (known as cobs) averaging about 12 kg (27 lbs) and females (known as pens) more than 8 kg (19 lbs) ! Its size, orange-reddish bill and white plumage make this swan almost unmistakable at close quarters !
Young birds, called cygnets, are not the bright white of mature adults, and their bill is dull greyish-black, not orange, for the first year ! The down may range from pure white to grey to buff, with grey/buff the most common ! All Mute Swans are white at maturity, though the feathers (particularly on the head and neck) are often stained orange-brown by iron and tannins in the water !
This composite shows the male Nuthatch retrieving a seed it had previously hidden under the bark of a tree. White-breasted Nuthatches often store seeds and insects one at a time, under loose bark on their territory. They typically hide the food by covering it with a piece of bark, lichen or moss.
Santa Cruz county, Southern Arizona.
Gonna go back and change the other one to look like this.
It got so heavy when I tried to colour it.
COLOUR! With a U.
I think this is a Warbler, possibly an Audubon Warbler, getting at food on the underside of this rock formation.
Late in the day with the gulls feeding on midges. Unfortunately I didn't get any when they suddenly rise up open beaked into a swarm, next time perhaps.
They're at it again. I"m assuming the 2 scuffling hogs are males and the smaller one is a female.
Apologies for the clock, it should read 21:33
Swallows behaving badly. The stick is in the lake as a perch for Kingfishers.
Not the best shot, but not the usual behaviour!
Brown Rat , Rattus norvegicus
The Brown Rat is a native of central Asia which was introduced to the British Isles around 1720. This incredibly adaptable mammal has subsequently spread throughout the British Isles, and indeed much of the temperate world, carried especially by humans in ships. There is little doubt that due to its capacity to breed and ability to adapt to most environments it has come into conflict with humans. A while this invasive species can be a real problem for both farmers and in a domestic environment , for me personally when in the wild it has a charm and personality , super intelligent and inquisitive and a playful nature.
Common rats are not territorial, but live in loose colonies with a hierarchy determined largely by size and age. There seem to be small family groups within the colony. Rats dig their own burrows, and entrances are usually joined by obvious well-used runs. In hedgerows, the males may have ranges averaging 600m, and females 340m, but in food stores may be as small as 65m. Reproduction is observed all year round in human dwellings.
The Brown Rat has Greyish-brown fur, a prominent pointed muzzle, eyes, large ears and long, almost naked, tail, about the same length as the head-and-body. Much larger than any mice, but comparable with the much darker, shorter-tailed water vole in general size, the Brown Rat is less ‘chubby’ in appearance. Head & body: 15-27cm. Tail length: 10.5-24cm. Weighing 40g at weaning, up to 600g as an adult. Most Brown Rats are usually Between 200-300g.
Reproduction is observed all year round in human dwellings. Females can begin to breed at 3-4 months old, and if food is readily available may breed continuously, but typically have five litters a year. Litter size increases from around 6 in young females weighing 150g, to 11 in females of 500g, but the maximum recorded is 22. The young are born blind and hairless, but their eyes open at 6 days, and they are weaned at about 3 weeks. Young rats can be important food for owls, and many carnivores, including polecats, stoats and foxes, taking substantial numbers of rats.
The brown rat is a true omnivore and will consume almost anything, but cereals form a substantial part of its diet. Surplus animal feed, including the fallout from bird feeders, often attracts them. Foraging behaviour is often population-specific, and varies by environment and food source. Examples have been found of rats eating birds and diving for molluscs where the food source is abundant. They will feed on many things in urban environments including food scraps from houses and restaurants.
Read more at www.wildonline.blog
Juvenile Robin
The Robin , a familiar sight in British gardens and parks is a small rounded bird with a distinctive red plumage on its breast. A firm favourite in our garden and a regular visitor to the wildflower meadow hide this little bird sometimes called the Robin Redbreast is embedded deep into British folklore, and has a strong association with winter life here and in particular the traditional British Christmas.
The Robin is a year round resident in the UK, but a small minority of female Robins migrate to southern Europe during winter, a few as far as Spain. Both the male and female feature similar plumage, both with the distinctive red breast. The male bird is extremely territorial and will aggressively defend his territory, attacking any similar sized birds that try to muscle in on their patch.
The adult European robin is 12cm long and weighs between 15 to 22 g with a wingspan of 20–22 cm . The male and female bear similar plumage; an orange breast and face lined by a bluish grey on the sides of the neck and chest. The upperparts are brownish, or olive-tinged in British birds, and the belly whitish, while the legs and feet are brown. The bill and eyes are black.
Juveniles are a spotted brown and white in colouration, with patches of orange gradually appearing. Male robins are noted for their highly aggressive territorial behaviour. They will fiercely attack other males and competitors that stray into their territories and have been observed attacking other small birds without apparent provocation. There are instances of robins attacking their own reflection. Territorial disputes sometimes lead to fatalities, accounting for up to 10% of adult robin deaths in some areas
The Robin is a member of the thrush family , a distant relative of the Blackbird and Nightingale.
In the 1960s, in a vote publicised by The Times, the robin was adopted as the unofficial national bird of the UK. The bird also is associated with several British sporting clubs including the professional football clubs Bristol City, Crewe Alexandra, Swindon Town, Cheltenham Town and Wrexham FC, as well as the English rugby league team Hull Kingston Rovers.
Read more at www.wildonline.blog
Thank you for all the likes , comments and follows. It’s really very much appreciated
Album Title: Exotic Behaviour
Model: 虹羚
Photographer: Edwin Setiawan
Place: 士林官邸
Date: 2009/07/12
Just about Photography: edwinsetiawan.wordpress.com
Edwin Setiawan Photography: www.edwinsetiawan.com
Posted two pictures in one day ... how shocking is that ?..lol...
I do look somewhat angelic here, but I am no angel, not at all...lol...
Happy New Year !
I think I'm coming out of the stupor mode...lol...
P.S. I'm tired of watermarking my images in the same way, so I'm injecting variety here and there... :O)
BTW - I was tagged (strange game going around Flickr) too, but I refused to cooperate... :O)
but I can provide few funny and not so funny facts about myself, just like Paul (ifido) did...lol..
Random facts about me
1. I have red hair and blue eyes.
2. I sleep late, very late, in fact I lead a bohemian lifestyle - it suits me (I'm a creative person...:O))
3. I love, love rain ! ........ and fog and blizzards and storms and lightning and thunder, but I'm terrified of tsunamis.... I'm worried we all going to be washed away one day here in Northern California. We all gonna die !
4. I don't like Vodka, Vodka doesn't love me too.
5. I sleep naked.
6. I can't swim.
7. I can write and really well, but I'm too lazy to finish books I've started writing about 13 years ago. One day I'll publish them all.
8. I love dogs and lions.
9. I don't trust a single politician because I spent long time working with them (for newspaper).
10. I do take a bazillion of different pills so I can fall asleep at night, which in turn leads to binge sleeping.
11. I get the best ideas for writing while I'm driving my car and listen to music.
12. I don't believe into stupid New Year resolutions, I'm not local :O)
13. I love meat, can't leave a single day without eating something or someone meaty. I was a predator in my previous life and probably still am.
14. English is not my native language, although I started learning it when I was 7 years old.
15. I hate rap, Janis Joplin and Yoko Ono, when she (the last one) sings, she sounds like a goat who is about to be slaughtered/sacrificed.
16. I love potatoes, meat, asparagus, prosciutto, carpaccio, beer and whiskey, also Pinot Noir and Porto wine.
17. Potatoes love me too. I'm not sure beer loves me back.
18. My husband still thinks I'm beautiful, although I'm not sure I am that beautiful.
19. Vegetarians frighten me (joking).
20. I've been married for long time (to one guy).
21. I hate dry weather.
22. I love spicy food.
23. I can shoot with a gun, but I don't own one (prob. is a good idea).
24. Bush is a worst American president in my lifetime.
25. Stalin was a monster.
26. Hitler too.
27. I would love to learn to fly an airplane, fight with a sword and ride a horse, but I don't want to learn to jump with a parachute.
28. I am allergic to school teachers.
More to come.... with my next portrait or something like that...
Male Kingfisher ( Alcedo atthis )
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This early morning male posed on this beautiful perch.
Such a special experience to be so close to these stunning birds.
Watching and photographing the behaviours and actions at close quarters was a dream come true for me.
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1/250 sec, f/7.1, ISO 3200, 500mm
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Best seen Large on black - Press L
Went to Warham Camp after the Chalk Hill Blues , managed to get this group shot of them on dog poo before some bad sport sat on it.