View allAll Photos Tagged encroachment

Bighorn Sheep of the Canadian Rockies

 

There are two subspecies of the bighorn – Californiana (California Bighorn Sheep) and Canadensis (Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep).

 

In Canada, the Bighorn Sheep are found in scattered parts of southern British Columbia and more prolifically in western Alberta, in the Canadian Rockies. Their range continues down into the American Rockies, and they can be found as far south as Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.

The Bighorn’s ideal environment has a dry climate and is rugged with areas plentiful of low grasses and herbs. Herds will often migrate long distances in the winter to areas with minimal snowfall.

There are just over 3,000 Bighorn Sheep in British Columbia, and the population there is considered vulnerable in part due to human encroachment on their habitats. In Alberta, however, where the mammal is the official provincial mammal, the Bighorn Sheep is considered secure, with more than 11,000 inhabiting its national parks and provincial lands, representing over 15% of the Bighorn Sheep population in North America.

 

For more Info: naturecanada.ca/news/blog/the-bighorn-sheep-majestic-and-...

Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (M)

(Double click)

 

The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".

 

This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.

 

Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.

 

Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.

 

Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.

 

The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.

 

Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.

 

Population:

 

UK breeding:

 

46,000 pairs

This picture actually has a bit of irony to it. The building is not photoshopped in...that's actually the tallest building in Virginia Beach and it's in our town center...you just can't see the rest of town center because it's behind the hill. I called it "Encroachment" because the city appears to be encroaching on the countryside, but ironically, the "countryside" in this photo is the closed and capped old city landfill, which is now a park.

Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (m)

  

The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".

 

This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.

 

Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.

 

Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.

 

Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.

 

The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.

 

Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.

 

Population:

 

UK breeding:

 

46,000 pairs

 

Banded Rail ( Rallus phillipensis). A gentle engaging little bird that inhabits estuarine habits sadly now declining due to human encroachment and predation.

Never an easy species to photograph, yet If one sits quietly resisting the urge to fidget or attend to that persistent itch often it will come within shooting distance.

Unable to obtain one or two at most images with the Nikon D800, I purchased a D810 a wonderfully quiet camera..

Sadly the new fancy D850 is a " Clacker" not a cracker...

 

Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (Juvenile)

  

The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".

 

This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.

 

Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.

 

Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.

 

Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.

 

The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.

 

Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.

 

Population:

 

UK breeding:

 

46,000 pairs

Late afternoon, lengthening shadows, Pelicans gather on the river bank, one appears to be the chairpelican. I wonder what thet discuss, the fish shortage, water pollution, human encroachment?

This one is a little out of my comfort zone, i.e. more abstract, but I was intrigued by what was going on. It's an abandoned and very weathered storage bunker adjacent to the harbor. Standing there all by itself, it's also quite an encroachment on the landscape. Left to fend for itself, Mother Nature is encroaching right back with trees and bushes tearing down the surrounding barbed wire fences. Reaching up the sides of the bunker they add wind driven strokes to the patterns of decay.

The jungles of Langkawi

Meet one of Banff's famous grizzlies, Bear 142, a six-year old female at the time of this photo. Now 15, she is well known to park staff and locals. She typically hangs out in the corridor between Lake Louise and Banff town, and is tolerant of people - so far - presumably because the proximity keeps her cubs a little safer from predation by male grizzlies. Still, she lost two of her most recent litter of three, probably to a grizzly boar. Male grizzlies often kill and eat grizzly cubs. It's a brutal world.

 

If you Google "Banff Bear 142" you'll find lots of info about her, including a Facebook post with video from this year: she has 2 tiny cubs, and they are CUTE! She's also a lot bigger than in my photo...

 

Encroachment by photographers and selfie-takers is a big problem in Banff, and Parks Canada is looking at strategies to minimize dangerous encounters. I'm well aware of this and have never gone there with specific intent to photograph bears. The two grizzly shots closing out my Alberta series were random encounters; I am not one of the obnoxious Banff paparazzi.

 

In this case, 142 was on the other side of a fence, oblivious to me. Cars were zipping past, equally oblivious, as 142 foraged on a hillside at the edge of the forest. I used ON1 Resize to upscale the image, and also digitally removed her ear tag.

 

Tomorrow - back to the wild prairie of Saskatchewan!

 

Photographed in Banff National Park, Alberta (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2016 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

iguana de Ricord / Ricord's ground iguana (Cyclura ricordi),

 

La iguana de Ricord (Cyclura ricordi), también conocida como iguana Ricordi, es una especie de lagarto que pertenece a la familia de los iguánidos. Es endémica de la isla de La Española. En la actualidad sólo existen unas pocas poblaciones silvestres que se encuentran en el suroeste de la República Dominicana. La especie es considerada en peligro crítico de extinción por la UICN.

 

El epíteto específico ricordi, es la forma latinizada del apellido del biólogo francés Alexandre Ricord, quien fue el primero en describir la especie en 1826

Al igual que las demás especies del género Cyclura, la iguana de Ricord es principalmente herbívora y se alimenta de hojas, flores, bayas, y frutos de diferentes especies de plantas

Hasta 2008 se pensaba que la iguana de Ricord se encontraba únicamente en el suroeste de la República Dominicana, y que se limitaba a la zona árida del valle de Neiba y la parte más xerófila de las tierras bajas costeras de la península de Barahona

##########################

 

The Hispaniolan ground iguana, Ricord's ground iguana, Ricord's rock iguana, or Ricord's iguana (Cyclura ricordi) is a critically endangered species of rock iguana. It is found on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and is the only known species of rock iguana to coexist with the rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta). Its natural habitat is dry savanna within three subpopulations in the southwestern Dominican Republic. It is threatened by habitat loss due to agricultural encroachment

ts specific name is a Latinized form of French Biologist, Alexandre Ricord's last name; Ricord first wrote of the species in 1826

Ricord's iguana, like most Cyclura ssp is primarily herbivorous, consuming leaves, flowers, berries, and fruits from different plant species

Ricord's iguana was thought until 2008 to be found only in the southwestern Dominican Republic, where it is restricted to the arid Valle de Neiba and the most xeric portion of the Peninsula de Barahona coastal lowlands

 

################

Lugar de Observacion / Taken: Isla cabritos (Cabritos island), Lago Enriquillo (Enriquillo Lake), Republica Dominicana.

################

 

Scientific classification

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Reptilia

Order:Squamata

Family:Iguanidae

Genus:Cyclura

Species:C. ricordi

Binomial name

Cyclura ricordi

 

The plains zebra (Equus quagga), also known as the common zebra or Burchell's zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra, and wild perissodactyl (odd-toed ungulate).

It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Botswana and eastern South Africa. The plains zebra remains common in game reserves, but is threatened by human activities such as hunting for its meat and hide, as well as competition with livestock and encroachment by farming on much of its habitat.

 

This lovely herd of Zebra's was photographed during a photography safari on a late evening game drive in a downpour around Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya.

Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (M)

 

The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".

 

This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.

 

Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.

 

Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.

 

Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.

 

The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.

 

Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.

 

Population:

 

UK breeding:

 

46,000 pairs

Lone tree resists suburban encroachment

A bird that delight ones heart, sneaking around amongst the vegetation it calls home.

Seemingly wanting to trust us humans but unable to.

Sadly becoming less and less in number at the encroachment of Man and his host of "followers" do their thing.

You know creation was a wonderful thing entrusted to us I believe but Im ashamed to say I have not been a very good caretaker.

A pair of mule deer express their concern regarding possible encroachment from bipeds leaving the confines of a rolling red Toyota blind in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan.

 

Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (m)

  

The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".

 

This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.

 

Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.

 

Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.

 

Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.

 

The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.

 

Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.

 

Population:

 

UK breeding:

 

46,000 pairs

 

Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (Male)

  

The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".

 

This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.

 

Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.

 

Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.

 

Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.

 

The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.

 

Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.

 

Population:

 

UK breeding:

 

46,000 pairs

...out the kitchen window. vine encroachment?

Warmer temperatures at the end of March, as well as some heavy rain, led to a quick transition from 'stick season' to proper spring foliage in metro Vancouver. With the refreshing return of leaves and greenery, also comes the challenges with rapid encroachment of lineside vegetation into many photo angles.

 

Westbound intermodal transfer A70-14 breaks through the signals guarding the control point at Albion, on CPKC's Cascade Sub. KCSM 4515 drags 4,500 feet of doublestacks from the Deltaport container terminal at Roberts Bank, back to Coquitlam Yard.

This is looking out of the village on the road to Lastingham or Appleton le Moors.

 

Spaunton is a hamlet and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England Population less than 100 (2011)

 

The name Spaunton derives from Old Norse and means a farmstead or settlement which had shingle roofs. Spaunton is still the setting for a Court Leet. The court meets annually in October an decides on matters of encroachment onto the common land in the village and hands down fines to offenders

This small winery and another property, an apple orchard, not too far away is being encroached upon by suburbia with the houses now pretty well against the agricultural land. I wonder how long the vines and apples will last? Much more money to be made selling land than food!

Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus (Juv)

Double click

  

The common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In Britain, where no other kestrel species occurs, it is generally just called "the kestrel".

 

This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America.

 

Kestrels can hover in still air, even indoors in barns. Because they face towards any slight wind when hovering, the common kestrel is called a "windhover" in some areas.

 

Unusual for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, although as is usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.

 

Their plumage is mainly light chestnut brown with blackish spots on the upperside and buff with narrow blackish streaks on the underside; the remiges are also blackish. Unlike most raptors, they display sexual colour dimorphism with the male having fewer black spots and streaks, as well as a blue-grey cap and tail. The tail is brown with black bars in females, and has a black tip with a narrow white rim in both sexes. All common kestrels have a prominent black malar stripe like their closest relatives.

 

The cere, feet, and a narrow ring around the eye are bright yellow; the toenails, bill and iris are dark. Juveniles look like adult females, but the underside streaks are wider; the yellow of their bare parts is paler. Hatchlings are covered in white down feathers, changing to a buff-grey second down coat before they grow their first true plumage.

 

Data from Britain shows nesting pairs bringing up about 2–3 chicks on average, though this includes a considerable rate of total brood failures; actually, few pairs that do manage to fledge offspring raise less than 3 or 4. Compared to their siblings, first-hatched chicks have greater survival and recruitment probability, thought to be due to the first-hatched chicks obtaining a higher body condition when in the nest. Population cycles of prey, particularly voles, have a considerable influence on breeding success. Most common kestrels die before they reach 2 years of age; mortality up until the first birthday may be as high as 70%. At least females generally breed at one year of age; possibly, some males take a year longer to maturity as they do in related species. The biological lifespan to death from senescence can be 16 years or more, however; one was recorded to have lived almost 24 years.

 

Population:

 

UK breeding:

 

46,000 pairs

Like much of England, the site of the New Forest was once deciduous woodland, recolonised by birch and eventually beech and oak after the withdrawal of the ice sheets starting around 12,000 years ago. Some areas were cleared for cultivation from the Bronze Age onwards; the poor quality of the soil in the New Forest meant that the cleared areas turned into heathland "waste", which may have been used even then as grazing land for horses.

 

There was still a significant amount of woodland in this part of Britain, but this was gradually reduced, particularly towards the end of the Middle Iron Age around 250–100 BC, and most importantly the 12th and 13th centuries, and of this essentially all that remains today is the New Forest.

 

There are around 250 round barrows within its boundaries, and scattered boiling mounds, and it also includes about 150 scheduled ancient monuments. One such barrow in particular may represent the only known inhumation burial of the Early Iron Age and the only known Hallstatt culture burial in Britain; however, the acidity of the soil means that bone very rarely survives.

 

Following Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain, according to Florence of Worcester (d. 1118), the area became the site of the Jutish kingdom of Ytene; this name was the genitive plural of Yt meaning "Jute", i.e. "of the Jutes". The Jutes were one of the early Anglo-Saxon tribal groups who colonised this area of southern Hampshire. The word ytene (or ettin) is also found locally as a synonym for giant, and features heavily in local folklore.

 

Following the Norman Conquest, the New Forest was proclaimed a royal forest, in about 1079, by William the Conqueror. It was used for royal hunts, mainly of deer. It was created at the expense of more than 20 small hamlets and isolated farmsteads; hence it was then 'new' as a single compact area.

 

The New Forest was first recorded as Nova Foresta in Domesday Book in 1086, where a section devoted to it is interpolated between lands of the king's thegns and the town of Southampton; it is the only forest that the book describes in detail. Twelfth-century chroniclers alleged that William had created the forest by evicting the inhabitants of 36 parishes, reducing a flourishing district to a wasteland; however, this account is thought dubious by most historians, as the poor soil in much of the area is believed to have been incapable of supporting large-scale agriculture, and significant areas appear to have always been uninhabited.

 

Two of William's sons died in the forest: Prince Richard sometime between 1069 and 1075, and King William II (William Rufus) in 1100. Local folklore asserted that this was punishment for the crimes committed by William when he created his New Forest; 17th-century writer Richard Blome provides exquisite detail:

 

In this County [Hantshire] is New-Forest, formerly called Ytene, being about 30 miles in compass; in which said tract William the Conqueror (for the making of the said Forest a harbour for Wild-beasts for his Game) caused 36 Parish Churches, with all the Houses thereto belonging, to be pulled down, and the poor Inhabitants left succourless of house or home. But this wicked act did not long go unpunished, for his Sons felt the smart thereof; Richard being blasted with a pestilent Air; Rufus shot through with an Arrow; and Henry his Grand-child, by Robert his eldest son, as he pursued his Game, was hanged among the boughs, and so dyed. This Forest at present affordeth great variety of Game, where his Majesty oft-times withdraws himself for his divertisement.

 

The reputed spot of Rufus's death is marked with a stone known as the Rufus Stone. John White, Bishop of Winchester, said of the forest:

 

From God and Saint King Rufus did Churches take, From Citizens town-court, and mercate place, From Farmer lands: New Forrest for to make, In Beaulew tract, where whiles the King in chase Pursues the hart, just vengeance comes apace, And King pursues. Tirrell him seing not, Unwares him flew with dint of arrow shot.

 

The common rights were confirmed by statute in 1698. The New Forest became a source of timber for the Royal Navy, and plantations were created in the 18th century for this purpose. In the Great Storm of 1703, about 4000 oak trees were lost.

 

The naval plantations encroached on the rights of the Commoners, but the Forest gained new protection under the New Forest Act 1877, which confirmed the historic rights of the Commoners and entrenched that the total of enclosures was henceforth not to exceed 65 km2 (25 sq mi) at any time. It also reconstituted the Court of Verderers as representatives of the Commoners (rather than the Crown).

 

As of 2005, roughly 90% of the New Forest is still owned by the Crown. The Crown lands have been managed by the Forestry Commission since 1923 and most of the Crown lands now fall inside the new National Park.

 

Felling of broadleaved trees, and their replacement by conifers, began during the First World War to meet the wartime demand for wood. Further encroachments were made during the Second World War. This process is today being reversed in places, with some plantations being returned to heathland or broadleaved woodland. Rhododendron remains a problem.

 

During the Second World War, an area of the forest, Ashley Range, was used as a bombing range. During 1941-1945, the Beaulieu, Hampshire Estate of Lord Montagu in the New Forest was the site of group B finishing schools for agents[18] operated by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) between 1941 and 1945. (One of the trainers was Kim Philby who was later found to be part of a spy ring passing information to the Soviets.) In 2005, a special exhibition was mounted at the Estate, with a video showing photographs from that era as well as voice recordings of former SOE trainers and agents.

 

Further New Forest Acts followed in 1949, 1964 and 1970. The New Forest became a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1971, and was granted special status as the New Forest Heritage Area in 1985, with additional planning controls added in 1992. The New Forest was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 1999, and it became a National Park in 2005.

 

For further information please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Forest and www.thenewforest.co.uk/

 

The hooded dotterel or hooded plover (Thinornis cucullatus) is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae.

 

It is endemic to southern Australia and Tasmania where it inhabits ocean beaches and subcoastal lagoons. There are two recognised subspecies, both of which are classified as endangered. (Source: Wikipedia)

 

Hooded Plovers are a shore bird that is endangered due to the fact that they lay their eggs on the ground and are vulnerable to domestic cats and dogs, feral fox and loss of habitat due to residential encroachment and sand dune erosion.

this place name being made up from the Old Norse word fisk, meaning fish, and the gaelic word, cairidh, meaning a weir or wall.

In the foreground my efforts to reclaim meadow from the encroachment of bracken.

iguana de Ricord / Ricord's ground iguana (Cyclura ricordi),

 

La iguana de Ricord (Cyclura ricordi), también conocida como iguana Ricordi, es una especie de lagarto que pertenece a la familia de los iguánidos. Es endémica de la isla de La Española. En la actualidad sólo existen unas pocas poblaciones silvestres que se encuentran en el suroeste de la República Dominicana. La especie es considerada en peligro crítico de extinción por la UICN.

 

El epíteto específico ricordi, es la forma latinizada del apellido del biólogo francés Alexandre Ricord, quien fue el primero en describir la especie en 1826

Al igual que las demás especies del género Cyclura, la iguana de Ricord es principalmente herbívora y se alimenta de hojas, flores, bayas, y frutos de diferentes especies de plantas

Hasta 2008 se pensaba que la iguana de Ricord se encontraba únicamente en el suroeste de la República Dominicana, y que se limitaba a la zona árida del valle de Neiba y la parte más xerófila de las tierras bajas costeras de la península de Barahona

##########################

 

The Hispaniolan ground iguana, Ricord's ground iguana, Ricord's rock iguana, or Ricord's iguana (Cyclura ricordi) is a critically endangered species of rock iguana. It is found on the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and is the only known species of rock iguana to coexist with the rhinoceros iguana (Cyclura cornuta). Its natural habitat is dry savanna within three subpopulations in the southwestern Dominican Republic. It is threatened by habitat loss due to agricultural encroachment

ts specific name is a Latinized form of French Biologist, Alexandre Ricord's last name; Ricord first wrote of the species in 1826

Ricord's iguana, like most Cyclura ssp is primarily herbivorous, consuming leaves, flowers, berries, and fruits from different plant species

Ricord's iguana was thought until 2008 to be found only in the southwestern Dominican Republic, where it is restricted to the arid Valle de Neiba and the most xeric portion of the Peninsula de Barahona coastal lowlands

 

################

Lugar de Observacion / Taken: Isla cabritos (Cabritos island), Lago Enriquillo (Enriquillo Lake), Republica Dominicana.

################

 

Scientific classification

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Reptilia

Order:Squamata

Family:Iguanidae

Genus:Cyclura

Species:C. ricordi

Binomial name

Cyclura ricordi

  

FILE: Ricordi_8404_denoise-

An image originally uploaded to Flickr in early 2011 (a few days after I joined) now rescanned / processed to yield a better result, including correcting the overly warm colour cast. Well, I figured it deserved a bit of TLC for its 50th Anniversary! The original version has been deleted.

 

The shot, taken in the summer of 1974, captures the eastern end of Healey Mills Marshalling Yard from the Storrs Hill Road overbridge. The yard was still a vibrant and busy operation with reasonably well-maintained tracks and a small locomotive depot (55C / HM). No surprise then that this was a well-visited spot by both local enthusiasts and those from further afield.

 

Having only just arrived I was pretty lucky to bag this rarity, a green livered class 40 unit 40039, heading east with an unfitted rake of empty 16T mineral wagons. Rare because there were very few class 40s still knocking around in the original British Railways green (most were now in rail-blue), but also because 40039 was one of the first members of the class to be withdrawn some 18 months later in January 1976. It lasted just over 16 years in service and never received the rail-blue paint job.

 

Strangely enough the Yard was opened as recently as 1963 but, with the closure of the Yorkshire collieries and a move to trainload rather than wagonload traffic, sorting work would come to an end in 1985. The slow death of other activity around the yard, including locomotive maintenance, finally saw some of the tracks removed and others abandoned to the encroachment of nature. In the last few years it has been a somewhat surreal experience to see the still-glowing ground signals shining amongst the trees and shrubbery guarding rusted and unusable tracks that hadn't seen any activity for years.

 

On a positive note however, in recent months the area has been gradually 'de-forested' and tracks once again exposed in readiness for lifting and partial replacement. Apparently the Yard might see some life again, this time as a train-holding facility for the Transpennine Route Upgrade project.

 

Kodak Ektachrome 64

22nd July 1974

Last year, I tracked the progress of several raptor nests. Of the two Ferruginous Hawk nests I located - both in use now for many years - one was successful and one was not. Ferruginous Hawks are listed in Canada as "Threatened", ie. not quite endangered. Yet. (The IUCN lists this as a species "of least concern", which probably means the US population is doing well. Canada has about 15% of the breeding pop., and evidently there is significant concern.) They are sensitive to habitat disturbance, fluctuations in the small mammal population (no problem around here!), and human encroachment. It is incumbent upon photographers to know these things before attempting field work with wild animals and birds.

 

So how did I get this shot, and more critically, was it okay to do so? These are questions that should be asked.

 

The cottonwood tree is off a back road that crosses a side road and leads to a ranch. Pretty remote. Not drivable in rainy weather. There were no hawks in sight, so I stopped the car and got out for a closer look at last year's large nest, still intact, to see if there were any signs of renovations. The nest is high in the tree. Within seconds, I noticed a hawk wheeling in the sky above me. It made a low pass, and then to my astonishment, landed on a low branch in front of me. If I had anticipated this, I could have captured the touch down. I raised my camera, hand held, and banged off about 20 quick frames before it launched again, and looking up, I saw the mate, circling high in the sky. At that point I returned to my car and drove away. It was as simple as that.

 

The next time I checked on the nest, maybe two weeks later, I stayed in the car, and only paused long enough to determine that one hawk was on the nest. There was no sign of the mate. Sadly, I never did see the pair again, and the nest was abandoned. I can only assume that some misfortune befell one of them, causing the other to abandon the nest. It is possible, however, that some disturbance drove them off. I am hoping that the nest will be refurbished and used again, as it has been the starting point for many a baby hawk during the past ten years of observation by yours truly.

 

The other Ferruginous nest produced at least two young that fledged and were looking great when I saw them later that summer. One out of two isn't bad, but I'd be happier if that rate doubles this summer. They are magnificent.

 

Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2020 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

At the time this was "meh" and ruined by silver drop top encroachment, but it's since piqued my interest enough to share.

 

The elevation is one of the many details that I'm enjoying looking at from this angle, the other is everything else. The near-perfect 90 degree, showcasing a perfect design by EMD, broadside of the coupler and hanging hoses, right-side-up 8's, even. The engineer is relaxed, perhaps slightly sick of the K5LA effect at this point in the journey.

 

Just another day along Highway 10.

Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover at a height of around 10–20 metres (33–66 ft) over open country and swoop down on prey, usually small mammals, lizards or large insects.

  

Other falcons are more adapted to active hunting on the wing. In addition, kestrels are notable for usually having much brown in their plumage.

 

Kestrels require a slight headwind in order to hover, hence a local name of Windhover for Common Kestrel.

Plumage often—but unusually for falcons—differs between male and female, and (as is usual with monogamous raptors) the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads.

An auto repair shop makes homage to the history of camels in the Quartzite, AZ area. In the 1850's the US Army experimented with the use of camels for transportation of good in the desert. While the camels performed well, the mule drivers were unhappy with the encroachment of these animals on their domain. When the Civil War broke out, the camel experiment was discontinued but their legend lives on.

 

Happy Waterfall Wednesday!

 

International trade is prohibited by the Wildlife Protection Act in Pakistan. Snow Leopard Foundation (SLF) in Pakistan conducts research on the current status of Himalayan brown bears in the Pamir Range in Gilgit-Baltistan, a promising habitat for the bears and a wildlife corridor connecting bear populations in Pakistan to central Asia. The project also intends to investigate the conflicts humans have with the bears, while promoting tolerance for bears in the region through environmental education. SLF received funding from the Prince Bernhard Nature Fund and Alertis. Unlike its American cousin, which is found in good numbers, the Himalayan brown bear is critically endangered. They are poached for their fur and claws for ornamental purposes and internal organs for use in medicines. They are killed by shepherds to protect their livestock and their home is destroyed by human encroachment. In Himachal, their home is the Kugti and Tundah wildlife sanctuaries and the tribal Chamba region. Their estimated population is just 20 in Kugti and 15 in Tundah. The tree bearing the state flower of Himachal — buransh — is the favourite hangout of this bear. Due to the high value of the buransh tree, it is being commercially cut causing further destruction to the brown bear’s home. The Himalayan brown bear is a critically endangered species in some of its range with a population of only 150-200 in Pakistan. The populations in Pakistan are slow reproducing, small, and declining because of habitat loss, fragmentation, poaching, and bear baiting.

There he was twenty feet above me sitting quietly while I took this picture. And then he flew away.

 

The name kestrel, (from French crécerelle, derivative from crécelle i.e. Ratchet) is given to several different members of the falcon genus, Falco. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover at a height of around 10–20 metres (33–66 ft) over open country and swoop down on prey, usually small mammals, lizards or large insects. Other falcons are more adapted to active hunting on the wing. In addition, kestrels are notable for usually having much brown in their plumage.

 

Kestrels can hover in stationary air, even indoors in barns. While hovering they face towards any slight headwind, leading to the Common Kestrel being called a "Windhover" in some areas.

 

Unusually for falcons, plumage often differs between male and female, though as usual with monogamous raptors the female is slightly larger than the male. This allows a pair to fill different feeding niches over their home range. Kestrels are bold and have adapted well to human encroachment, nesting in buildings and hunting by major roads. Kestrels do not build their own nests, but use nests built by other species.

 

Arch Creek East Environmental Preserve, N. Miami FL

www.susanfordcollins.com

Like much of England, the site of the New Forest was once deciduous woodland, recolonised by birch and eventually beech and oak after the withdrawal of the ice sheets starting around 12,000 years ago. Some areas were cleared for cultivation from the Bronze Age onwards; the poor quality of the soil in the New Forest meant that the cleared areas turned into heathland "waste", which may have been used even then as grazing land for horses.

 

There was still a significant amount of woodland in this part of Britain, but this was gradually reduced, particularly towards the end of the Middle Iron Age around 250–100 BC, and most importantly the 12th and 13th centuries, and of this essentially all that remains today is the New Forest.

 

There are around 250 round barrows within its boundaries, and scattered boiling mounds, and it also includes about 150 scheduled ancient monuments. One such barrow in particular may represent the only known inhumation burial of the Early Iron Age and the only known Hallstatt culture burial in Britain; however, the acidity of the soil means that bone very rarely survives.

 

Following Anglo-Saxon settlement in Britain, according to Florence of Worcester (d. 1118), the area became the site of the Jutish kingdom of Ytene; this name was the genitive plural of Yt meaning "Jute", i.e. "of the Jutes". The Jutes were one of the early Anglo-Saxon tribal groups who colonised this area of southern Hampshire. The word ytene (or ettin) is also found locally as a synonym for giant, and features heavily in local folklore.

 

Following the Norman Conquest, the New Forest was proclaimed a royal forest, in about 1079, by William the Conqueror. It was used for royal hunts, mainly of deer. It was created at the expense of more than 20 small hamlets and isolated farmsteads; hence it was then 'new' as a single compact area.

 

The New Forest was first recorded as Nova Foresta in Domesday Book in 1086, where a section devoted to it is interpolated between lands of the king's thegns and the town of Southampton; it is the only forest that the book describes in detail. Twelfth-century chroniclers alleged that William had created the forest by evicting the inhabitants of 36 parishes, reducing a flourishing district to a wasteland; however, this account is thought dubious by most historians, as the poor soil in much of the area is believed to have been incapable of supporting large-scale agriculture, and significant areas appear to have always been uninhabited.

 

Two of William's sons died in the forest: Prince Richard sometime between 1069 and 1075, and King William II (William Rufus) in 1100. Local folklore asserted that this was punishment for the crimes committed by William when he created his New Forest; 17th-century writer Richard Blome provides exquisite detail:

 

In this County [Hantshire] is New-Forest, formerly called Ytene, being about 30 miles in compass; in which said tract William the Conqueror (for the making of the said Forest a harbour for Wild-beasts for his Game) caused 36 Parish Churches, with all the Houses thereto belonging, to be pulled down, and the poor Inhabitants left succourless of house or home. But this wicked act did not long go unpunished, for his Sons felt the smart thereof; Richard being blasted with a pestilent Air; Rufus shot through with an Arrow; and Henry his Grand-child, by Robert his eldest son, as he pursued his Game, was hanged among the boughs, and so dyed. This Forest at present affordeth great variety of Game, where his Majesty oft-times withdraws himself for his divertisement.

 

The reputed spot of Rufus's death is marked with a stone known as the Rufus Stone. John White, Bishop of Winchester, said of the forest:

 

From God and Saint King Rufus did Churches take, From Citizens town-court, and mercate place, From Farmer lands: New Forrest for to make, In Beaulew tract, where whiles the King in chase Pursues the hart, just vengeance comes apace, And King pursues. Tirrell him seing not, Unwares him flew with dint of arrow shot.

 

The common rights were confirmed by statute in 1698. The New Forest became a source of timber for the Royal Navy, and plantations were created in the 18th century for this purpose. In the Great Storm of 1703, about 4000 oak trees were lost.

 

The naval plantations encroached on the rights of the Commoners, but the Forest gained new protection under the New Forest Act 1877, which confirmed the historic rights of the Commoners and entrenched that the total of enclosures was henceforth not to exceed 65 km2 (25 sq mi) at any time. It also reconstituted the Court of Verderers as representatives of the Commoners (rather than the Crown).

 

As of 2005, roughly 90% of the New Forest is still owned by the Crown. The Crown lands have been managed by the Forestry Commission since 1923 and most of the Crown lands now fall inside the new National Park.

 

Felling of broadleaved trees, and their replacement by conifers, began during the First World War to meet the wartime demand for wood. Further encroachments were made during the Second World War. This process is today being reversed in places, with some plantations being returned to heathland or broadleaved woodland. Rhododendron remains a problem.

 

During the Second World War, an area of the forest, Ashley Range, was used as a bombing range. During 1941-1945, the Beaulieu, Hampshire Estate of Lord Montagu in the New Forest was the site of group B finishing schools for agents[18] operated by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) between 1941 and 1945. (One of the trainers was Kim Philby who was later found to be part of a spy ring passing information to the Soviets.) In 2005, a special exhibition was mounted at the Estate, with a video showing photographs from that era as well as voice recordings of former SOE trainers and agents.

 

Further New Forest Acts followed in 1949, 1964 and 1970. The New Forest became a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1971, and was granted special status as the New Forest Heritage Area in 1985, with additional planning controls added in 1992. The New Forest was proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 1999, and it became a National Park in 2005.

 

For further information please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Forest and www.thenewforest.co.uk/

 

Domicile, Terrebonne, Québec, Canada

 

Merci énormément pour vos commentaires, ils sont toujours très appréciés.

 

Le court séjour que nous avons demeuré en banlieue de la ville dans un condo m'a quand même donné plusieurs merveilleuses opportunités que je dois avouer n'aurais probablement jamais eues en milieu plus rural. Cette superbe rencontre en est justement une, des magnifiques bécassines de Wilson en migration vers le sud en septembre qui se sont arrêtées dans le marais de feux devant mon condo. Elles sont sur un vieux morceau de styromousse blanc qui est le résultat de la destruction de leurs habitats par notre empiètement sur ces milieux vitaux pour leur survie et la nôtre. C'est tout ce que j'ai pu trouver à afficher pour cette Journée Mondiale de la Nature.

  

Home, Terrebonne, Quebec, Canada

 

Thank you so much for your comments, they are always greatly appreciated.

 

Our short stay in at the condo in the suburbs of the city was short but still gave me several wonderful opportunities that I must admit I probably would never have had in a more rural setting. This superb encounter is just one of them. The magnificent Wilson's Snipe migrating south in September that stopped in the Ruisseau de feu preserve in front of my condo. They are standing on an old piece of white Styrofoam that is the result of the destruction of their habitats by our encroachment on their vital environments for their survival and ours. This is all I could find to post for this World Wildlife Day.

At Pallikaranai, Chennai

 

Just wanted to post a birdscape for a change. Wondering if I should have shown a wider view but was worried the birds would be just too small then. Imagine two similar frames each to the left and right in case you were wondering about the size of this group. And that's just one. There were three big confluences like this and numerous smaller groups when I went here that day.

 

This super resilient (now just 1/10th of its original size due to encroachments and still attracting birds in scores) and rich (the city has grown right around it..but more species flock here every season than the sanctuaries outside the city) wetland was where I started watching birds and I guess you can understand if I return kind of underwhelmed after visiting other birding hotspots:)

A prescribed fire at Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia on April 6, 2021. Prescribed fires (also known as controlled or prescribed burns) are ignited under controlled conditions for various purposes. In this case, this was to stop encroachment of shrubs and small trees into the meadows.

 

Shadows on a wall.

 

Canon G12

  

's-Hertogenbosch

'

s-Hertogenbosch, literally "The Duke's Forest" in English, and historically in French: Bois-le-Duc) is a city and municipality in the southern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant.

 

In speech, the Dutch seldom use the formal 's-Hertogenbosch but rather the colloquial Den Bosch. Den Bosch means "The Forest".

 

History

The city's official name is a contraction of the Dutch des Hertogen bosch—"the Duke's forest". The duke in question was Henry I, Duke of Brabant, whose family had owned a large estate at nearby Orthen for at least four centuries. He founded a new town located on some forested dunes in the middle of a marsh. At age 26, he granted 's-Hertogenbosch city rights and the corresponding trade privileges in 1185. This is, however, the traditional date given by later chroniclers; the first mention in contemporaneous sources is 1196. The original charter has been lost. His reason for founding the city was to protect his own interests against encroachment from Gelre and Holland; from its first days, he conceived of the city as a fortress. It was destroyed in 1203 in a joint expedition of Gelre and Holland, but was soon rebuilt. Some remnants of the original city walls may still be seen. In the late 15th century, a much larger wall was erected to protect the greatly expanded settled area. Artificial waterways were dug to serve as a city moat, through which the rivers Dommel and Aa were diverted.

 

Until 1520, the city flourished, becoming the second largest population centre in the territory of the present Netherlands, after Utrecht. The birthplace and home of one of the greatest painters of the northern Renaissance, Hieronymus Bosch, the city was also a center of music, and composers, such as Jheronimus Clibano, received their training at its churches. Others held positions there: Matthaeus Pipelare was musical director at the Confraternity of Our Lady; and renowned Habsburg copyist and composer Pierre Alamire did much of his work at 's-Hertogenbosch.

 

Eighty Years' War

The wars of the Reformation changed the course of the city's history. It became an independent bishopric. During the Eighty Years' War, the city took the side of the Habsburg (Catholic) authorities and thwarted a Calvinist coup. It was besieged several times by Prince Maurice of Orange, stadtholder of most of the Dutch Republic, who wanted to bring 's-Hertogenbosch under the rule of the rebel United Provinces. The city was successfully defended by Claude de Berlaymont, also known as Haultpenne.

 

...

 

Louis XIV to Bonaparte

After the Peace of Westphalia, the fortifications were again expanded. In 1672, the Dutch rampjaar, the city held against the army of Louis XIV of France. In 1794, French revolutionary troops under command of Charles Pichegru took the city with hardly a fight: in the Batavian Republic, both Catholics and Brabanders at last gained equal rights.

  

From 1806, the city became part of the Kingdom of Holland and, from 1810, it was incorporated into the French Empire. It was captured by the Prussians in 1814. The next year, when the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was established, it became the capital of North Brabant. Many newer and more modern fortresses were created in the vicinity of the city. Until 1878 it was forbidden to build outside the ramparts. This led to overcrowding and the highest infant mortality in the kingdom. The very conservative city government prevented industrial investment—they didn't want the number of workers to grow—and the establishment of educational institutions—students were regarded as disorderly. As a result, the relative importance of the city diminished.

 

...

 

Museums are the Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch, Noordbrabants Museum and the Jheronimus Bosch Art Center. The painter Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516) remains probably the best known citizen of 's-Hertogenbosch.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%27s-Hertogenbosch

Two of the wild Spanish Mustangs of the Corolla herd, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They have survived for hundreds of years even with the (unfortunate) human population encroachment. This image, as the others in my series, were taken generally from the back of an open, chartered vehicle, moving slowly along the beach and dunes of the Outer Banks. Laws are in place to protect the horses and people are not 'supposed' to attempt to approach the horses...though many self-centered, selfie-seeking individuals do violate this rule. We were photographing, hand-held, usually with long lenses, in a generally slow moving truck on a very windy day. {Have I made enough excuses for the blur and framing of some of my images? LOL)

1 2 3 5 7 ••• 79 80