Bits And Pieces
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A bit distant, but I liked the contrast of the white bird against the darker green background with the flowers as well. Taken in Oxfordshire
It rained a bit last night (a rarity in Southern California) so I headed out to a local park to see if the rain had instigated some wildlife action. I spotted this Acorn Woodpecker Chasing Bugs. Didn’t take him long to make a catch…. Life is Good !!
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Acorn Woodpecker
Reminiscent of a troupe of wide-eyed clowns, Acorn Woodpeckers live in large groups in western oak woodlands. Their social lives are endlessly fascinating: they store thousands of acorns each year by jamming them into specially made holes in trees.
A group member is always on alert to guard the hoard from thieves, while others race through the trees giving parrot-like waka-waka calls. Their breeding behavior is equally complicated, with multiple males and females combining efforts to raise young in a single nest.
Acorn Woodpeckers are medium-sized woodpeckers with straight, spike-like bills and stiff, wedge-shaped tails used for support as the birds cling to tree trunks.
These striking birds are mostly black above with a red cap, creamy white face, and black patch around the bill. In flight, they show three patches of white: one in each wing and one on the rump. Females have less red on the crown than males.
Acorn Woodpeckers are very unusual woodpeckers that live in large groups, hoard acorns, and breed cooperatively.
Group members gather acorns by the hundreds and wedge them into holes they’ve made in a tree trunk or telephone pole. Acorn Woodpeckers also spend considerable time catching insects on the wing.
These woodpeckers live in oak and mixed oak-conifer forests on slopes and mountains in the Southwest and West Coast. They’re tolerant of humans, and you can find them in towns where there are acorns and suitable places to store them.
(Nikon, 500/4 + TC 1.4, 1/500 @ f/5.6, ISO 100)
(Edited to Taste)
Also known as the Torx drive. These are various sizes of torx drives from T15 up to T40. Shot for Macro Mondays "Stars" theme.
Thanks for viewing and happy Macro Monday!
Available on Getty Images' Catalogue
... or is it a bit of Paradise in the Swiss Italy?
In Ticino's Canton, the Italian speaking part of Switzerland.
@ Lugano, Switzerland
Bit of a special evening yesterday! Popped up to one of my favourite local places after work, Healey Dell nature reserve near Rochdale, a little hidden gem of a place right near the town, kinda hidden away.
It's the kinda place that if it was in the Lake District it would be swamped by visitors and you'd have to pay £10 to park, but as it is, there's virtually never anybody around, even locals don't know what they have there :)
This is the 2nd of a series of 5 or 6 big waterfalls that run through the place.
But when I got there my eyes nearly popped out at how beautiful it had become with the golden leaves carpeting the rocks.
One of those special moments that makes you feel good to be alive :)
Hope you like, Visit my Facebook page if you want more pics and info
Happy Friday all :)
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Pentax K-5
Vivitar 80-200mm F4 MACRO FOCUSING ZOOM MC
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© 2020 stefanorugolo | All rights reserved.
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Thank you for your visit, most appreciated!
Take a bit of the D.C. Metro roof, tile it so the top and bottom are the same, spin it a bit and shift the color to blue and this is what you get, my Sunday Slider!
BTW: One of the reasons I went the path I did with this is because my first go around left me with an image that I couldn't get perfectly aligned/symetrical. You know that's kind of a thing with me and with the 20mm, any misalignment is magnified, you can see this in the lowest horizontal curve, so it goes but I like the result!!
Still a bit of white ⛄️ Christmas, although it is from the archive.
Toch een beetje witte ⛄️ Kerst al is het uit het archief
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
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)
Vancouver has hit the rainy season and all that mist up in the mountains makes for dreary days. A bit of colour still hangs on in the leaves of some of the trees. A crow on one of the branches seems to survey the scene. They come to our balcony now and beg for peanuts! Smart birds!
Mulholland on left was a rescue Thoroughbred (mine at the time) - Bits on right - stablemate friends to the end.
Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus). This wood pigeon was trying to keep cool by oscillating his throat. However, he just looked a bit deranged to me!
Today is the greatest
Day I've ever known
Can't live for tomorrow,
Tomorrow's much too long
I'll burn my eyes out
Before I get out
I wanted more
Than life could ever grant me
Bored by the chore
Of saving face
Today is the greatest
Day I've never known
Can't wait for tomorrow
I might not have that long
I'll tear my heart out
Before I get out
Pink ribbon scars
That never forget
I tried so hard
To cleanse these regrets
My angel wings
Were bruised and restrained
My belly stings
Today is
Today is
Today is
The greatest day
I want to turn you on
I want to turn you on
I want to turn you on
I want to turn you
Today is the greatest
Today is the greatest day
Today is the greatest day
That I have ever really known
Knowing a bit more about photography makes it easier to understand how and why some oil paintings, say the impressionist, abstract or even watercolour paintings, came into being.
"A beautiful closeup of delicate orchid blossoms and a kaleidoscope of background colors. Great depth and soft light."
A review by Flickr friend/Connoisseur Gertrud Klopp
It was a bit too hot for this old guy to go looking for Elephants or Alligators, so I had to settle for taking Pics of the Hummingbirds that frequent my backyard. I believe this is an Allen’s Hummingbird.
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The Allen's Hummingbird:
In early spring, a narrow strip of scrub and chaparral along the Pacific Coast starts buzzing with the sights and sounds of the coppery and green Allen's Hummingbird. Males flash their brilliant reddish orange throat and put on an elaborate show for the females, swinging in pendulous arcs before climbing high into the sky and diving back down with a sharp squeal made by their tails. These early migrants mostly spend the winter in Mexico, but some stay in southern California year-round.
Allen's Hummingbirds breed in a narrow strip of habitat along coastal Oregon and California. Male and female Allen's Hummingbirds use different habitats during the breeding season. The male sets up a territory overseeing open areas of coastal scrub or chaparral, where he perches conspicuously on exposed branches. The female visits these areas, but after mating she heads into thickets or forests to build a nest and raise the young.
The Allen's Hummingbird is a remarkably early migrant compared with most North American birds. Northbound birds may depart their wintering grounds as early as December, arriving on their breeding grounds as early as January when winter rains produce an abundance of flowers.
Like other birds, Allen's Hummingbirds use their feet to help control their body temperature. When it's cold outside they tuck their feet up against their bellies while flying, but when temperatures soar, they let their feet dangle to cool down.
The oldest recorded Allen's Hummingbird was at least 5 years old when she was captured and rereleased in California during banding operations in 2009. She was banded in the same state in 2004.
(Sony, 200-600 @ 594 mm, 1/640 @ f/6.3, ISO 8000, edited to taste)
A bit of friendly Saturday morning banter in the angling club boat shed. The eternal debate about what are the best fishing flies. Of course the answer is to be out on the water casting your line as you would have more success than drinking coffee in the shed :-D
This male bufflehead had been diving recently, and had the evidence in drops all over. At Commonwealth Lake.
I'm a little bit shy
I’m a little bit right on time
And I know that you don't operate the same
Are you feeling alright?
Cause I really can't tell sometimes
I wanna know what's going on inside your brain
Just come a little bit closer
Cause I don't know if I know you yet
Yeah, there seems to be something new everyday
Why do I really wanna hold you?
Why do I want you so bad?
Yeah, you're beautiful but something's in my way
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Pentax K-5
Super-Takumar 55mm f1.8
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© 2021 stefanorugolo | All rights reserved.
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Thank you for your visit, most appreciated!
With a bit of an influx going on at the moment with Painted Lady butterflies, it reminded me of this encounter from last Summer, when a similar Spring influx led to some rather nice specimens later in the year when the eggs laid by the early arrivals became British hatched butterflies in immaculate condition.
I had to wait nearly 30 minutes for this one to nectar on the Bramble stem away from the main bush. The background was a field some distance away and after watching the butterfly for the 30 odd minutes feeding in the centre of the bush I very nearly decided it wasn't going to use this stem at the edge of the bush. As it was it was only showing on this stem for a few seconds before it headed back to the jungle of the main part of the bush.
One of two very memorable Painted Lady sessions in 2021.
Brownie-bear had a bit of a fright, but he was saved by his great friends Oleg and Peter all the way from Groningen.
Harm and M. Jean are comforting him. He will be okay in no time and up to new mischief I fear..
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Brownie-beer is erg geschrokken, gelukkig werd hij snel gered door zijn vrienden Oleg en Peter uit Groningen.
Harm en M. Jean proberen hem te troosten. Hij zal in een mum van tijd in orde zijn en en nieuw kattekwaad verzinnen.
And every bit of love left in this beat up, banged up, scarred up heart
That's been waitin' on a girl like you
I know it ain't much
But it comes alive with every touch
Every kiss already feels like you own it
Baby it's yours if you want it
Half of this rickety front porch swing
Every word of every song I sing
My jacket when it's cold
Oh baby, don't you know
You've got a place to lay your head
On the other side of my empty bed
And it's just made for fallin'
And it's yours if you want it
It's yours if you want it
Sorry I have been absent a bit with a neck problem. Do you sometimes feel at a stalemate with your photos? I am having a real down time with not liking anything I shoot right now. I feel a bit like this lonely maple leaf I caught in the back light tonight right before sundown. I missed all of the cedar waxwings who landed way too high and flew away and just gave up:) The butterflies also refuse to come down from treetop level.
It took a little bit of waiting for the sunny railfan shot of the Missabe maroon pair once they were assigned to the E Lead Switch (actually 8 days of trying on the St. Louis River Road bridge), but we were able to get the DM&IR 215 and 403 working the north end of Proctor Yard here on September 27, 2021. Good thing we got the Missabe pair on day 8 as they only lasted on this job for 9 days. DMIR 215 and 403 are still together at Proctor but have spent the last few days inside the Diesel House.
Lots of CN painted EMDs continue working around Proctor as seen here around the yard, but two maroons look more at home even shuffling freight cars.