Environmental Activism
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The Mute swan actually gets its name from the fact that its is less vocal than other swan species and is one of the heaviest flying birds. A male swan is known as a Cob while the female is known as a Pen and has a lifespan of around 12 years in the wild and can reach 30 years if in an protected environment. One of three species of wild swans to be found in the UK and is the national bird of Denmark. The Mute Swan is unique in making a vibrant throbbing sound with the wings when in flight. A large group of swans can be called a school, ballet and regatta. No swan has ever broken any ones arm, this is a actually a complete myth.
A rather shy Laughingthrush - more than many of the other species in the region. These are quite colorful and have some intricate patterns on their body. They are found in smaller groups / partiers unlike other Laughing thrushes.
The birds are found only in the Himalayan region in the country and maybe parts of Myanmar and China. The density of these birds seem to be much lesser compared to the other birds - we sighted the others in several places, but not this species. I am not sure why that is.
The hotel had a small pool and many birds would just drop by to take a dip and maybe have fun.
Thank you so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.
A very common bird in the Himalayan belt - they were more common than Crows and Sparrows much to my surprise. They were present in the cities, forest areas, hill sides and even around river edges and garbage dumps. The bird must have adapted to the environments around it.
We sighted it several times and our bird guides found it amusing that we were excited about it and photographed it. The bird has an easy to remember whistling call, but we didn't hear it much during the trip. Maybe its not the breeding season.
Many thanks in advance for your views, faves and feedback.
You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they must protect them.
Wangari Maathai
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! ❤️❤️❤️
A small (15-17 cms) blue colored bird that stands out in its environment and easy to spot, but hard to shoot. The birds are found in semi / evergreen forests and wooded areas and within them often sighted flying near streams catching the flies in the area.
The bird is a resident of the Indian subcontinent and found much of the country. The male in this picture sports this rich blue plumage while the female is pale blue in color and lacks the black nape on the head.
Thank you so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.
The castle was built between 1350 and 1375. In 1534 Renswoude was recognised as a knight royal residence. In 1623 castle Borchwal already expire as Johan van Reede become the owner . This Calvinistic priest finds a church more important than the rebuilding, of his own castle. In the house, on its property where Protestant meetinings kept, the house become much too small. He gets authorisation to build its own church near the castle. This fine cupola church was taken in 1641 in use. Then late Johan van Reede demolishes in 1654 the old castle and build the new, current castle.
The castle park developed itself as from that time slowly in a baroque park, with a straight alley pattern. In 1682 Johan are succeeded by his third zoon, Frederik Adriaan. He was married with Maria Duyst van Voorhout. During the absence of her man she let dig now the Grand still existing canal, compared with the castle alley. Because of this big work, much unemployed persons could helped with the work. But it had been especially intended as a surprise for her man, They are Versailles lgarden overs in that time, so they build there own French garden. On 28 November 1985 there was a big fire on the castle. The fire made a damage of millions of guldens. All the next day, they started with setting up wharf and rebuild the damage. This was reached by the energy of the current owner, baron Taets van Amerongen. In the meantime the castle has been restored entirely. For groups the castle be visit.
Nothing symbolizes prairies and grasslands like buffalo (or bison). I hoped we could enjoy a view of these magnificent creatures, the largest mammals in North America, but we had visited areas of the park away from the buffalo herd. Finally, as we were about to exit the national park, we encountered two bulls near the road. This one preferred to roll in the dirt, eat grass, and graze. After viewing him for some time through my telephoto lens he eventually grazed into the position of a silhouette against bright morning sunbeams shining parallel to the valley behind.
From the Grasslands National Park website: "Plains bison were re-introduced to Grasslands National Park in December 2005, after 120 years of absence. Prior to European settlement, the prairies were home to tens of millions of free-roaming bison. Bison were both an ecological and cultural keystone species, shaping the grassland landscape through grazing and sustaining the Indigenous peoples that lived on the land. By the 1880's, the large herds that once roamed the Great Plains were driven to the brink of extinction by overhunting. The long process of re-introducing bison to the Canadian wild can be traced back to a few individuals that were captured and raised domestically across North America. In 2005, after consultation with stakeholders, neighbours and specialists, Grasslands National Park welcomed plains bison back to their home."
Western Brook Pond is a Canadian fjord or lake located in Gros Morne National Park on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland. It is in the Long Range Mountains, the most northern section of the Appalachian Mountains.
It is surrounded by steep rock walls 600 m high, having been carved from the surrounding plateau by glaciers. After the glaciers melted, the land rebounded and the fjord was cut off from the sea. Salty water was eventually flushed from the fjord leaving it fresh. It is fed by Stag Brook at the extreme eastern end of the lake and by numerous waterfalls cascading from the plateau above. One of these, Pissing Mare Falls at 350 m, is one of the highest in eastern North America.
The lake is accessible by a moderate-easy 3 km hiking trail over coastal bogs and low limestone ridges. Two tour boats cruise the lake from June to mid-October. The lake waters are pristine, having had very little impact from human activities. The tour boat operators had to undergo special certification to ensure that their operations would have minimal impact on the environment.
In the early part of the 20th century, a part of the surrounding cliff broke off and fell into the lake, causing a 30 m tsunami. (Wikipedia)
Western Brook Pond, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. July 2011.
Chestnut-capped Blackbird Couple
Garibaldi couple in Crystal Square
Casal de Garibaldi na Praça dos Cristais
Bird in the Beautiful Landscape
In this image I try to show the environment in which the bird was photographed, placing a photo of the local landscape as a background.
Chrysomus ruficapillus
Illustration/Art
High Quality (HQ) - 3D
Double Exposure
Mix Effect
Texture; Color; Light; Frame
Software: Windows Paint 3D; PicsArt Photo Studio
Edits made to my original photos.
Edições feitas em minhas fotos originais
Local da foto:
Praça dos Cristais
Brasília, Brasil
“As delicate as flower, as tender as rose petals, choosing to be tender and kind in a harsh environment is not weakness, it's courage.”
― Luffina Lourduraj
Thanks for your visit and comments, much appreciated!🙋♀️
Along Cape Race Road on the way to the lighthouse it turned foggy, and out of the mist a silhouette of a moose that was watching us appeared. This ghost-like silhouette was difficult to see, at first, but as I stared at it, it appeared to be real. Then it moved its head, slightly, as it watched me, so I grabbed my camera….
father & daughter just enjoying the game in such a wonderful environment with fully covered mist. I hope they will remember this for some time.
thanks for every one for views, faves & comments.
Samburu National Reserve
Kenya
Elephant Bedroom Camp
Meet Mang’ati, a wild male elephant in Samburu National Reserve. He was named this by the guides in Elephant Bedroom Camp. His name means Enemy.
Elephant numbers have dropped by 62% over the last decade, and they could be mostly extinct by the end of the next decade. An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers seeking ivory, meat and body parts, leaving only 400,000 remaining. An insatiable lust for ivory products makes the illegal ivory trade extremely profitable and has led to the slaughter of tens of thousands of African elephants.
If the elephants are to survive, the demand for ivory must be drastically reduced. As of 2011, the world is losing more elephants than the population can reproduce, threatening the future of African elephants across the continent. Bull elephants with big tusks are the main targets and their numbers have been diminished to less than half of the females. Female African elephants have tusks and are also killed, leaving an increasing number of orphaned baby elephants. As of 2017, there are more African elephants being killed for ivory than are being born.
Elephants are a keystone species. It means they create and maintain the ecosystems in which they live and make it possible for a myriad of plant and animal species to live in those environments as well. The loss of elephants gravely affects many species that depend on elephant-maintained ecosystems. - Wikipedia
Eastern Screech Owl
The Eastern Screech Owl or Eastern screech-owl (Megascops asio) is a small owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada. This species is native to most wooded environments of its distribution and, more so than any other owl in its range, has adapted well to manmade development, although it frequently avoids detection due to its strictly nocturnal habits.
For more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_screech_owl
(White Capped variant!)
This small bird is a winter migrant to India from parts of the Central Asia and middle East. It prefers dry areas and desert regions for its habitat and we found it all over the desert - infact it was the most common bird in that area - more than the myna's or bulbuls and sighted in the dry bushes and often coming to the ground.
Wikipedia refers to three distinct morphs of the bird and we sighted all 3 of them, though 2 seemed fairly common - the 3rd one - the white cap - was a bit uncommon but did sight a few times. The one we get down in the Southern India has white on the belly all the way till the neck. We never found it in our home state despite searching several seasons, but am so am glad that we sighted all the 3 variants.
Thank you very much in advance for your views, faves and feedback.
Ordinarily I'd clone out those power lines in a heartbeat, but studying this composition, I realised they were essential to a story. If trees could think, both in life and in death, would each 'tree' seen here be envious of each other? One, grown strong and mighty, cut to have use carrying electricity, but denied it's old age; the other, wild and free, yet cruelly misshaped by weather and environment, with no future. other than an ignominious death? (I can hear someone out there saying, "Shut up, Fergal...it's just an ugly tree and a power pole. Get a life.") Seen at Aghinish, Co. Mayo, Ireland.
One of the target birds in my most recent trip to Ladakh and we got plenty of them. The Horned Lark, locally known as "chipa-gut" or "up-tshakir," is a resident bird of Ladakh's high-altitude alpine and cold desert environments. This small, ground-dwelling bird were seen in plenty in a number of places. It was nesting and we got a few with the small, black "horn-like" feather tufts on their heads.
Horned Larks forage on open ground for insects and seeds, rarely perching. During breeding, males become territorial, engaging in songs and aerial displays. Their nests are shallow ground depressions, camouflaged by nearby rocks or vegetation. As omnivores, their diet includes various insects and seeds.
Many thanks in advance for your views, faves and feedback - very much appreciated.
A small (15-17 cms) blue colored bird that stands out in its environment and easy to spot. The birds are found in semi / evergreen forests and wooded areas and within them often sighted flying near streams catching the flies in the area. Its habitat is usually green or brown and this is so easy to spot, but very difficult to get close as it is a very shy bird.
The bird is a resident of the Indian subcontinent and found much of the country. The male in this picture sports this rich blue plumage while the female is pale blue with brown colored wings. We sighted a couple of families nesting in our most recent trip. I am not sure, but I think the incubation may have been delayed due to unseasonal rains and heavy gusts of winds. We sighted this bird 14 days ago in the same position. Several Paradise Flycatcher nests which we sighted 2 weeks ago, cannot be found and we sighted one that has fallen to the ground.
The Bamboo plants in the forest act as magnets for many birds - they support several varieties of insects and hence many flycatchers and small birds are often found around that plant / tree. We sighted most of the nests next to them.
Thank you so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves.
Also known as Brandt's mountain finch, this is a small passerine bird found across a wide range in central and southern Asia, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India (notably the Himalayas), Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. This species is locally resident in mountainous regions and inhabits temperate grasslands and montane forests, typically at high elevations.
About 17-19 cm in length, the black-headed mountain finch is adapted to its rugged environment. It feeds mainly on seeds and insects, often seen in flocks, sometimes forming impressively large groups as they forage and fly together.
We sighted these in good numbers in the higher altitudes of the Ladakdh state. The birds are sighted eating the small vegetation that grows often in small groups of 2-5. I don't remember their calls and don't believe it was distinctive to remember.
Thank you very much in advance for your feedback, faves and views. Much appreciated.
Duff handheld Christmas shots attempting to capture the spirit of tackiness.
Rain & grain, handheld at F2 1/60th sec 6400iso.
LR3723
Little Blue Heron
The Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) is a small heron. It breeds in the Gulf States of the US, through Central America and the Caribbean south to Peru and Uruguay. It is a resident breeder in most of its range, but some northern breeders migrate to the Southeastern US or beyond in winter. There is post-breeding dispersal to well north of the nesting range, as far as the Canada–US border.
For more info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_blue_heron
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Little_Blue_Heron/overview
A Small passerine bird found across small ranges in the country and across much of South East Asia. The bird is around 15 cms long, and found in decidous forests where it hunts in the middle canopy. This is an elusive bird and since its prefers hunting in canopy, is a tough shot in my view.
The bird is a quick agile flyer and I had seen it a few times before from long distance just enough to get a record shot. But this time, under dense canopy and hiding behind bushes, we got a chance to observe it in action. The Flycatcher Shrike tends to join other species (mixed flock groups) in hunting insects. It darts off, catches, consumes and darts off in quick succession. The area we found it had a variety of bird species - around 7-8 interesting ones, and this is the only bird we got a shot of. We did sight around 4-5 of them, though they hunted alone.
Many thanks in advance for your views, feedback and faves.
While traveling out west earlier this year, I had the opportunity to look for, and hopefully photograph 2 new owl species for me. Being the self-declared "owl maniac" that I am, I had to jump at the opportunity.
I met up with a good friend and fellow photographer and we set off on our adventure. Sure enough ... we found one ... and I might as well have seen a ghost. OK, I wasn't scared, but I just stood there for what was probably only a second or two, but it felt much longer and I believe I gasped. LOL. I was so excited to see it for I had never seen one before.
Much like great horned owls, though much smaller, it sat up in the tree and just stared in the distance ... taking note of anything and everything that was in its immediate environment. It was a bit in the shade, but I really didn't care, for to me it almost added to its beauty and mystique. Of course that beautiful blue sky behind it was a bonus for me.
To find out what the 2nd owl species that I finally got to photograph, you'll have to read the latest blog post. To do so, click the link below:
www.tnwaphotography.wordpress.com
Besides the bears, which are obviously "numero uno" to those of you who know me or have followed my photography, the owls (of all varieties) have to be my #2 favorite thing to photograph. They are after all, so elusive, so mysterious, so stealth-like, so wise, and of course, so beautiful!
Thanks for stopping by to view and especially for sharing your thoughts and comments.
© 2015 Debbie Tubridy / TNWA Photography
This prairie in the Everglades National Park show startling foliage that contrasts with the barren environment giving it an other worldly feel.
I love Lizards and Chameleons, but there are not many variety here in my state. And then they are hard to shoot in good angles unless they get on perches like this.
This is a common Lizard found in the green bush usually requiring a bit of open space. They are quite visible in summer due to the lack of raptors (which are in holiday mostly in Europe). Come winters, they would be again hard to sight.
Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.