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An estimated 20.000 Sand Hill Cranes spend the winter here in Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area near McNeal, Arizona.
The Little Owl is not a native species, having been introduced to Britain in the 1870s, but it appears to have occupied a vacant niche without having any detrimental impact on other species. Numbers and breeding distribution increased gradually, reaching an estimated breeding population of between 4,000 and 8,500 pairs at the time of Project Barn Owl. The current distribution extends across England, north to the Scottish borders and west into Wales, where it is largely confined to Anglesey and to eastern parts of the country. There have been very few records from Ireland.
Pairs remain on their breeding territories throughout the year, with territorial calling evident during autumn – when young birds are searching for breeding territories – and again during spring. Small cavities are favoured for breeding, these often located within hedgerow trees or the walls of old agricultural buildings. Favoured nesting chambers tend to be located some distance from the cavity entrance and with little daylight reaching them. The male will often perch close to the nest cavity while his mate is incubating her clutch of eggs.
Little Owls often hunt from a perch, taking small mammals and large invertebrates, including earthworms, cockchafers and other beetles. There is evidence to suggest that breeding success is linked to the availability of small mammals, though some pairs evidently do well on other prey; a pair breeding on the island of Skomer, for example, took a large number of Storm Petrels (Courtesy BTO).
Thanks for viewing my photos and for any favourites and comments, it’s much appreciated 👍
Taken in our garden during the summer of 2019.
The peony is a flowering plant in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, Southern Europe and Western North America. Boundaries between species are not clear and estimates of the number of species range from 25 to 40.
Most are herbaceous perennial plants 0.5–1.5 metres (1.6–4.9 ft) tall, but some resemble trees 1.5–3 metres (4.9–9.8 ft) tall. They have compound, deeply lobed leaves and large, often fragrant, flowers, ranging from red to white or yellow, in late spring and early summer.
The peony is named after Paeon (also spelled Paean), a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. Asclepius became jealous of his pupil; Zeus saved Paeon from the wrath of Asclepius by turning him into the peony flower.
The family name "Paeoniaceae" was first used by Friedrich K.L. Rudolphi in 1830, following a suggestion by Friedrich Gottlieb Bartling that same year. The family had been given other names a few years earlier. The composition of the family has varied, but it has always consisted of Paeonia and one or more genera that are now placed in Ranunculales. It has been widely believed that Paeonia is closest to Glaucidium, and this idea has been followed in some recent works. Molecular phylogenetic studies, however, have demonstrated conclusively that Glaucidium belongs in Ranunculaceae, but that Paeonia belongs in the unrelated order Saxifragales.
Peonies can be classified by both plant growth habit and flower type. Plant growth types are Herbaceous (nonwoody), Tree (shrub), and Itoh (or "Intersectional"), which is intermediate between herbaceous and tree forms. In winter herbaceous peonies die back to their underground parts, whereas tree peonies lose their leaves but retain viable woody stems above ground. The Itoh hybrids are intermediate between herbaceous and tree forms. They are named after Toichi Itoh, who first produced a successful intersectional hybrid in 1948.
The following sequence of flower types becomes more complex in its arrangement of petals. The flower types include Single (e.g., Athena, Scarlet O’Hara), Japanese (Nippon Beauty, Madame Butterfly), Anemone, Semi-Double (Paula Fay, Buckeye Belle), Double (Gardenia, Paul M. Wild) and Bomb-Double (Raspberry Sundae, Mons Jules Elie).
For further information please visit en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peony and www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/Profile?pID=671&cID=1402
Estimated to have been built around 340 BCE and has a long history with many uses from ship tax collection, quarantine hospital, radio station, and lighthouse.
Was also featured in the 1999 James Bond "The world is not enough," where the terrorists placed a nuclear submarine underneath the tower.
Today its a restaurant and a great setting for photographers :-)
In July 1990, 13 red kites were flown from Spain to the UK.
Thirty years on, nearly 2,000 breeding pairs of Kites are estimated and are present in nearly every English county, in what has been hailed as one of the most successful reintroduction projects in the world. Gives hope to other threatened species.
This baby, estimated to be two months old, was rescued from the rubble after 128 hours.
It is as if the pain of this great disaster is hidden in the eyes of this baby...
Note -1 : Ethically, apart from this photo, I will not share any photos related to the earthquake that may adversely affect human psychology.
Note -2 : This photo is an excerpt.
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İki aylık olduğu tahmin edilen bu bebek, 128 saat sonra enkazdan kurtarıldı.
Bu büyük felaketin acısı sanki bu bebeğin gözlerinde saklı.
Not -1 : Etik olarak bu fotoğraf dışında deprem ile ilgili insan psikolojisini olumsuz etkileyebilecek herhangi bir fotoğraf paylaşmayacağım.
Not -2 : Bu fotoğraf alıntıdır.
The Little Owl is not a native species, having been introduced to Britain in the 1870s, but it appears to have occupied a vacant niche without having any detrimental impact on other species. Numbers and breeding distribution increased gradually, reaching an estimated breeding population of between 4,000 and 8,500 pairs at the time of Project Barn Owl. The current distribution extends across England, north to the Scottish borders and west into Wales, where it is largely confined to Anglesey and to eastern parts of the country. There have been very few records from Ireland.
Pairs remain on their breeding territories throughout the year, with territorial calling evident during autumn – when young birds are searching for breeding territories – and again during spring. Small cavities are favoured for breeding, these often located within hedgerow trees or the walls of old agricultural buildings. Favoured nesting chambers tend to be located some distance from the cavity entrance and with little daylight reaching them. The male will often perch close to the nest cavity while his mate is incubating her clutch of eggs.
Little Owls often hunt from a perch, taking small mammals and large invertebrates, including earthworms, cockchafers and other beetles. There is evidence to suggest that breeding success is linked to the availability of small mammals, though some pairs evidently do well on other prey; a pair breeding on the island of Skomer, for example, took a large number of Storm Petrels (Courtesy BTO).
Thanks for viewing my photos and for any favourites and comments, it’s much appreciated 👍
The Little Owl is not a native species, having been introduced to Britain in the 1870s, but it appears to have occupied a vacant niche without having any detrimental impact on other species. Numbers and breeding distribution increased gradually, reaching an estimated breeding population of between 4,000 and 8,500 pairs at the time of Project Barn Owl. The current distribution extends across England, north to the Scottish borders and west into Wales, where it is largely confined to Anglesey and to eastern parts of the country. There have been very few records from Ireland.
Pairs remain on their breeding territories throughout the year, with territorial calling evident during autumn – when young birds are searching for breeding territories – and again during spring. Small cavities are favoured for breeding, these often located within hedgerow trees or the walls of old agricultural buildings. Favoured nesting chambers tend to be located some distance from the cavity entrance and with little daylight reaching them. The male will often perch close to the nest cavity while his mate is incubating her clutch of eggs.
Little Owls often hunt from a perch, taking small mammals and large invertebrates, including earthworms, cockchafers and other beetles. There is evidence to suggest that breeding success is linked to the availability of small mammals, though some pairs evidently do well on other prey; a pair breeding on the island of Skomer, for example, took a large number of Storm Petrels (Courtesy BTO).
Thanks for viewing my photos and for any favourites and comments, it’s much appreciated 👍
I’m estimating that these baby Alligators are a few weeks old. Saw them as I was hiking towards an area known for perching Bald Eagles. Not an eagle in sight, but found these babies, as consolation.
Young alligators remain in the area where they are hatched and where their mother protects them. After two to three years, they leave that area in search of food or when driven out by larger alligators.
Alligators measure 6-8” when they hatch, then juveniles grow about a foot in length each year.
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph) with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being 93 and 98 km/h (58 and 61 mph), and as such has several adaptations for speed, including a light build, long thin legs and a long tail. It typically reaches 67–94 cm (26–37 in) at the shoulder, and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3.6 and 4.9 ft). Adults weigh between 20 and 65 kg (44 and 143 lb). Its head is small, rounded, and has a short snout and black tear-like facial streaks. The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff and is mostly covered with evenly spaced, solid black spots. Four subspecies are recognised.
More gregarious than many other cats, the cheetah has three main social groups—females and their cubs, male "coalitions" and solitary males. While females lead a nomadic life searching for prey in large home ranges, males are more sedentary and may instead establish much smaller territories in areas with plentiful prey and access to females.
The cheetah is active mainly during the day and hunting is its major preoccupation, with peaks during dawn and dusk. It feeds on small- to medium-sized prey, mostly weighing under 40 kg (88 lb), and prefers medium-sized ungulates such as impala, springbok and Thomson's gazelles.
The cheetah occurs in a variety of habitats such as savannahs in the Serengeti, arid mountain ranges in the Sahara and hilly desert terrain in Iran. The cheetah is threatened by several factors such as habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching and high susceptibility to diseases. Earlier ranging throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and extending eastward into the Middle East up to the Indian subcontinent, the cheetah is now distributed mainly in small, fragmented populations in central Iran and southern, eastern and northwestern Africa. In 2016, the global cheetah population was estimated at around 7,100 individuals in the wild; it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. In the past, cheetahs used to be tamed and trained for hunting ungulates. They have been widely depicted in art, literature, advertising, and animation.
Recently estimated as dropping by 71 per cent in England between 1977 and 2008 with substantial declines in both rural and urban populations.
Kings Mill Reservoir
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster
(Red-bellied Grackle / Cacique candela)
The red-bellied grackle is endemic to Colombia where it is found in all three Andean ranges at altitudes of 800 to 2,400m (2,600 to 7,900ft) above sea level.
Its natural habitat is tropical forest, but the trees are increasingly being felled for timber and to make way for agriculture, and little virgin forest remains within its range.
H. pyrohypogaster was formerly classified as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but in 2012 the threat level was lowered to "vulnerable". This is on the basis that, although its forest habitat remains under pressure, it has been found at some new locations where it was not known before. The total population is now estimated to be in the range 2,500 to 9,999 individuals.
The construction of this brick church (parish church) is estimated at the middle of the 15th century.
In the following centuries, the church was damaged many times as a result of hostilities and by fires. Large losses were caused by the fire of 1629, during which almost the entire city of Września burnt down. As a result of destruction and looting during the Swedish invasion (1655-1656), the northern wall of the nave and the vaults collapsed. After the reconstruction and removal of damage in 1672, the shape of the inter-nave arcades was changed and the naves were covered with wooden ceilings. During the German occupation in 1939-45, the church was turned into a military warehouse, and its equipment was devastated. After the war, the necessary renovation and restoration works were carried out. Currently, it looks magnificent, showing its original late Gothic character.
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Powstanie tego murowanego kościoła (fary) szacuje się na połowę XV wieku, zaś dobudowaną później wieżę na koniec tego samego wieku.
W następnych stuleciach kościół był niejednokrotnie niszczony w wyniku działań wojennych oraz przez pożary. Duże straty spowodował pożar 1629 roku, podczas którego spłonęło nieomal całe miasto Września. W wyniku zniszczeń i grabieży podczas najazdu szwedzkiego (1655-1656) zawaliła się ściana północna nawy głównej oraz sklepienia. Po odbudowie i usunięciu zniszczeń w 1672 roku, zmieniono kształt arkad międzynawowych a nawy przykryte zostały drewnianymi stropami. W okresie okupacji niemieckiej w latach 1939-45, kościół zamieniono na magazyn wojskowy, a jego wyposażenie zostało zdewastowane. Po wojnie wykonano niezbędne prace remontowe świątyni oraz restauracyjne. Obecnie prezentuje się okazale, pokazując swój pierwotny późnogotycki charakter.
Red Grouse - Lagopus lagopus scotica
Scottish Moors
The red grouse, Lagopus lagopus scotica, is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It is usually classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan but is sometimes considered to be a separate species, Lagopus scotica. It is also known as the moorcock, moorfowl or moorbird. Lagopus is derived from Ancient Greek lagos (λαγος), meaning "hare", + pous (πους), "foot", in reference to the feathered feet and toes typical of this cold-adapted genus, and scoticus is "of Scotland".
The red grouse is widely known as the logo of The Famous Grouse whisky and an animated bird is a character in a series of its adverts. The red grouse is also the emblem of the journal British Birds.
The red grouse is differentiated from the willow ptarmigan and rock ptarmigan by its plumage being reddish brown, and not having a white winter plumage. The tail is black and the legs are white. There are white stripes on the underwing and red combs over the eye. Females are less reddish than the males and have less conspicuous combs. Young birds are duller and lack the red combs.
The red grouse is endemic to the British Isles; it has developed in isolation from other subspecies of the willow ptarmigan which are widespread in northern parts of Eurasia and North America.
It is found across most parts of Scotland, including Orkney, Shetland and most of the Outer Hebrides. They are only absent from urban areas, such as in the Central Belt.
In Wales there are strong populations in places but their range has retracted. They are now largely absent from the far south, their main strongholds being Snowdonia, the Brecon Beacons and the Cambrian Mountains. There are reports of Welsh birds crossing the Bristol Channel to Exmoor.
In England it is mainly found in the north – places such as the Lake District, Northumberland, County Durham, much of Yorkshire, the Pennines and the Peak District, as far south as the Staffordshire Moorlands. There is an isolated introduced population on Dartmoor, and overspill Welsh birds visit the Shropshire Hills such as Long Mynd, where they breed. The Exmoor population would now appear to be extinct, with the last birds sighted as recently as 2005. An introduced population in Suffolk died out by the early 20th century, though a population on Cannock Chase in Staffordshire lasted longer.
The British population is estimated at about 250,000 pairs with around 1–5,000 pairs in Ireland. Numbers have declined in recent years and birds are now absent in areas where they were once common. Reasons for the decline include loss of heather due to overgrazing, creation of new conifer plantations and a decline in the number of upland gamekeepers. Some predators such as the hen harrier feed on grouse and there is ongoing controversy as to what effect these have on grouse numbers.
Red grouse have been introduced to the Hautes Fagnes region of Belgium but the population there died out in the early 1970s.
The red grouse is considered a game bird and is shot in large numbers during the shooting season which traditionally starts on August 12, known as the Glorious Twelfth. There is a keen competition among some London restaurants to serve freshly killed grouse on August 12, with the birds being flown from the moors and cooked within hours.
- Pose - R.Bento ::R.B:: -Charlie's Angel- 5 Bento static stands
- Pants - Key Style - Katya Pant Black @ SWANK Event
- Top - Key Style - Katya Shirt Top Black @ SWANK Event
Sh2-68 is a planetary nebula in the Serpens constellation, estimated to be around 980 light years from earth (planetary nebulae are extremely difficult to perform distance measurements on, let alone accurate ones). It's sometimes refered to as "The flaming skull" nebula. Usually, I think these names are quite far-fetched; with this one I can sort of see it though.
At first sight, this is your typical planetary nebula. Meaning a low to intermediate mass star came to the end of its life and the colourful gas we see is what used to make up the outer shell of said star. However, the "tail" of gas moving away (towards the right of the frame) is somewhat unusual. So what's going on there?
The central star within the nebula is moving through space at a fairly high speed. Additionally, the area of space it's in contains a fair bit of gas/dust of its own. As a result, the material being expelled by the star is meeting some resistance as it collides with the already present gas (and is being slowed down if you will), while the star itself continues on its merry way. Over a long period of time, the distance between the star and the expelled gas becomes great enough to be perceived as a "tail".
Image acquisition details:
50x1800" HA
23x1800" OIII
15x1200" Luminance
12x900" Red
12x900" Green
12x900" Blue
(From my 2015 Archives)
I’m still rooting around in my archives trying to cull the 90 percent bad and keep the 10 percent that are okay.
Found this Pelican on a local pier, and thought it was doing a pretty good rendition of the Chicken Dance.
The Chicken Dance is a well-known drinking and dancing song at American Oktoberfest events. It is also a popular dance at weddings, particularly in whose culture includes polka music. Over 140 versions have been recorded worldwide, including some that were released by Walt Disney Records, together making an estimated 40,000,000 records or more pressed.
(Nikon, 300/4.0, 1/1250 @ f/5.6, ISO 250, edited to taste)
There are an estimated 2000 arches in Arches National Park, but this one is quite unique. Unlike many of the others that are in wide open space, and even some of them being free standing, this one was tucked away in one of Utah's many beautiful slot canyons. It is not what you would expect to see in a place like this. However, the unexpected can be incredibly beautiful! Many times life takes unexpected turns and we have no idea what the end outcome will be. We feel as if we have lost control. Thank goodness that the all powerful and supreme Creator of the universe steers the ship and at the end there is a beauty beyond words with no comparison!
It is estimated that 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the result of deforestation. Natural Climate Solutions focuses on strategies for protecting and restoring ecosystems and incentivizing more sustainable land uses in order to avoid emissions and/or enhance biological sequestration of carbon. Latest research suggests such strategies are capable of mitigating a third of human emissions, making them critical to achieving climate stabilization of 2 degrees or less. Read more about The Nature Conservancy’s work on this issue:
global.nature.org/our-global-solutions/lands
www.nature.org/science-in-action/our-scientists/bronson-g...
A large tumulus and dolmen on the Gavrinis island in the Gulf of Morbihan. The island is around 600m long today and was perhaps 1km long in the Neolithic. A 50m diameter tumulus rises to around 7m and covers a dolmen with a gallery around 1.5 metres wide and 14 long. 29 slabs make up the 'Allée couverte' of which 23 are carved. One of the table stones is a part of a larger original carved stone that was moved around the dates of construction to three sites of massive megaliths on each side of the opening of the Bay of Morbhian into the Quiberon's Atlantic. I have yet to find the estimated original weight of the original carved stone but it is over 60 tonnes. The carved stone was split between 'du Rujk', Gavrinis and the 'Table des Merchand'. The Gavrinis element was covered in plastic several decades ago and the site is currently shut to remove the plastic which can promote a rotting of the stone.
NOTE: Any provided GPS is usually only a rough estimate, and not intended to be the exact point where the photo was taken.
Thank you so much for any comments! I really appreciate it!
On the right side the fresh demolition is clearly visible. I estimate the crash at 15-20m in height.
A view of the San Antonio River Walk outside the Marriott River Center hotel. The River Walk is a world-renowned 15-mile urban waterway. Also known as Paseo del Río, the River Walk is a San Antonio treasure and the largest urban ecosystem in the nation. Tucked quietly below street level, it provides a serene and pleasant way to navigate the city by foot or aboard a river barge for a ride and guided tour.
The River Walk winds and loops under bridges as two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants and shops, connecting the major tourist draws including:
▪ The Shops at Rivercenter, an upscale downtown mall;
▪ Arneson River Theater, an outdoor performance theater;
▪ Marriage Island, an islet in the middle of the San Antonio River on the River Walk that is used for weddings;
▪ La Villita, an historic arts village;
▪ HemisFair Park, the site of the 1968 World's Fair;
▪ Tower Life Building, a late Gothic Revival skyscraper on the National Register of Historic Places;
▪ San Antonio Museum of Art;
▪ Pearl, the historic former Pearl Brewing Company; and
▪ San Antonio's five Spanish colonial missions, which have been named a World Heritage Site, including the Alamo.
San Antonio is the seat of Bexar County. With an estimated population of 1,547,253 in 2019, it is the seventh-most populous city in the United States. The metro population is 2,550,960, making it the 24th largest metro area in the nation.
Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster
(Red-bellied Grackle / Cacique candela)
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
The red-bellied grackle is endemic to Colombia where it is found in all three Andean ranges at altitudes of 800 to 2,400m (2,600 to 7,900ft) above sea level.
Its natural habitat is tropical forest, but the trees are increasingly being felled for timber and to make way for agriculture, and little virgin forest remains within its range.
H. pyrohypogaster was formerly classified as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but in 2012 the threat level was lowered to "vulnerable". This is on the basis that, although its forest habitat remains under pressure, it has been found at some new locations where it was not known before. The total population is now estimated to be in the range 2,500 to 9,999 individuals.
Masai Mara National Reserve
Kenya
East Africa
Happy early Caturday!!! But late, because I discovered yesterday was International Cheetah Day Dec. 4, 2025.
The world’s fastest land animal is racing against extinction. Help us win the race! The global population of cheetah now numbers less than 7000 adult individuals. Currently on the IUCN red list as vulnerable.
Dr. Laurie Marker designated December 4th as International Cheetah Day. The annual celebration was set in remembrance of a cheetah cub named Khayam, that she raised at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. She then moved to Namibia and continued her work there.
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat of the subfamily Felinae that occurs in North, Southern and East Africa, and a few localities in Iran.
It inhabits a variety of mostly arid habitats like dry forests, scrub forests, and savannahs.
The species suffered a substantial decline in its historic range in the 20th century due to habitat loss, poaching for the illegal pet trade, and conflict with humans. By 2016, the global cheetah population has been estimated at approximately 7,100 individuals in the wild.
Several African countries have taken steps to improve cheetah conservation measures. - Wikipedia
The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at 80 to 128 km/h (50 to 80 mph) with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being 93 and 98 km/h (58 and 61 mph), and as such has several adaptations for speed, including a light build, long thin legs and a long tail. It typically reaches 67–94 cm (26–37 in) at the shoulder, and the head-and-body length is between 1.1 and 1.5 m (3 ft 7 in and 4 ft 11 in). Adults weigh between 21 and 72 kg (46 and 159 lb). Its head is small, rounded, and has a short snout and black tear-like facial streaks. The coat is typically tawny to creamy white or pale buff and is mostly covered with evenly spaced, solid black spots. Four subspecies are recognised.
Central Kalahari Game Reserve
Okavango Delta
Botswana
With an estimated population of 250,000 warthogs calling various regions of sub-Saharan Africa home, these animals are not considered a threatened species. Still, they are often killed due to their habit of eating human-grown crops and their ability to carry a form of devastating African swine flu. Their numbers remain strong largely due to the animals' amazing intelligence and adaptability.
Warthogs are often on their feet as soon as they open their eyes. This is due, in part, to the fact that warthogs have a tendency to take over and move into other animals' burrows, some of whom might not be ready to give up the space. Warthogs that awake to a sense of being threatened find it best to charge from their hideouts at top speed in an effort to surprise any predators that might be lying in wait.
Warthogs are built with relatively long legs that allow them to reach speeds of more than 30 miles per hour. A number of powerful warthog predators, including lions, hyenas, and eagles, make escape somewhat challenging. When cornered, warthogs are willing to put up a fight, making use of sharp lower canine teeth that resemble tall, piercing tusks as weapons.
Warthog snouts are sensitive instruments that allow their owners to smell for food that lies beneath the surface of the earth. A warthog will commonly kneel and shuffle along the ground, nosing the dirt in its search for a meal. Once a warthog has found something of interest, it will use the strength of its snout to dig out whatever food it finds appealing.
Sows and their piglets live in groups of up to 40 warthogs, communicating by way of squeals, growls and snorts. In turn, males are known for the own rhythmic constellation of grunts that make up their mating calls. – Wikipedia
Rusty Blackbird is one of North America’s most rapidly declining species. The population has plunged an estimated 85-99 percent over the past forty years and scientists are completely puzzled as to what is the cause.
Mud Lake, Ottawa.
Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster
(Red-bellied Grackle / Cacique candela)
This individual is a subadult. He/she looks almost as an adult, except for the eyes. He/she has dark eyes that soon will become white as in adults.
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
The red-bellied grackle is endemic to Colombia where it is found in all three Andean ranges at altitudes of 800 to 2,400m (2,600 to 7,900ft) above sea level.
Its natural habitat is tropical forest, but the trees are increasingly being felled for timber and to make way for agriculture, and little virgin forest remains within its range.
H. pyrohypogaster was formerly classified as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but in 2012 the threat level was lowered to "vulnerable". This is on the basis that, although its forest habitat remains under pressure, it has been found at some new locations where it was not known before. The total population is now estimated to be in the range 2,500 to 9,999 individuals.
Shot in Coos Bay Oregon Coast
Estimated weight 900 to 1,200 pounds.
He is a real big boy.
Got the shot and slowly walked backwards. I love the sensation, it makes me feel alive :)
Egypt's oldest pyramid, closed 14 years ago, reopens today (March 6, 2020).
It is estimated that the pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser was built around 2700 BC, and its restoration began in 2006, but has only recently ended.
The Djoser Pyramid, built in the Saqqara region, twenty kilometers south of Cairo, can now be visited by the public. The reopening took place on Thursday (March 5, 2020), a day when tourists were able to enter and see some of the chambers of this impressive building, more than 4 thousand years old, and considered the oldest of the pyramids that still are built in the country.
"Today we reopen the oldest pyramid still standing in Egypt, which is also the first building entirely built in stone in the world," declared, Khaled el-Enany, Minister of Antiquities and Tourism of the Egyptian government, at the ceremony that made official the opening, next to the famous stepped monument.
The restoration project for this monument began in 2006, but was interrupted in 2011, during the Arab spring - "for security reasons", according to Ayman Gamal Edin, responsible for the project at the Ministry of Antiquities. The works were only restarted in 2013, and reached a total cost of 104 million Egyptian pounds (around than 6 million dollars).
In 2014, the Egyptian press reported that the reform was damaging the structure of the pyramid and some NGOs even carried out protests, saying that the original appearance of the construction was changing, which also delayed the work.
The Pyramid of Djoser is about 60 meters high, six floors, and is one of the most important in the huge necropolis of the region where the city of Memphis was, when it was the first capital of Egypt. It is estimated that its construction started in the year 2700 BC, and that the architect responsible would have been the architect Imhotep.
CityCenter (also known as CityCenter Las Vegas) is a 16,797,000-square-foot (1,560,500 m2) mixed-use, urban complex on 76 acres (31 ha) located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The project was started by MGM Resorts International; Dubai World became a joint partner during the project's construction phase. It is the largest privately funded construction project in the history of the United States.[3] The project is connected by a people mover system to adjacent MGM properties Monte Carlo Las Vegas and Bellagio Las Vegas.[4] As of 2015, the "CityCenter" branding has been largely retired, with the focus instead on the Aria brand of the development's centerpiece property in names such as the "Aria Express" (formerly "CityCenter Tram") and "Aria Art Collection" (formerly "CityCenter Art Collection").
The project straddles Harmon Avenue and is bordered by (listed clockwise, starting on the east side): Las Vegas Boulevard, the Park MGM, I-15, the Bellagio, and The Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino. The site was formerly occupied by the Boardwalk Hotel and Casino, the Bellagio employee parking lot, and several standalone commercial structures.
The conceptual master plan for Project City Center, announced on November 9, 2004, was designed by Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn Architects, laying out the project with approximately 2,400 condominium and condo-hotel units and approximately 4,800 hotel rooms, distributed within several high-rise towers around The Crystals, an ultra high-end retail mall. It is designed to have all commodities for daily life, featuring a 4,000-room hotel and casino (Aria), two 400-room boutique hotels (The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, with 227 residential condo units, and The Harmon Hotel and Spa), a purely residential offering (Veer Towers), a condo-hotel (Vdara Condo-hotel) and a 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2) retail and entertainment district which was intended to house the first grocery store directly on the Strip (though as of July 2011, there is no grocery on the property). The multi-use project makes extensive use of green technologies, such as using reclaimed water and an on-site power plant. The Mandarin Oriental, Aria, and Vdara all received LEED certification in November 2009.
With a total cost of approximately $9.2 billion,[5] CityCenter is the largest privately financed development in the United States. The original cost estimate was $4 billion, but it was pushed up by rising construction costs and design changes. CityCenter opened with approximately 12,000 employees across the different projects. Vdara, Aria, Mandarin Oriental, and The Crystals opened in December 2009. The Veer Towers opened in July 2010.
CityCenter features five water and ice features. These were designed by WET Design, the company responsible for the Bellagio fountain and the Mirage volcano. Three of these features are located at Aria Resort & Casino, entitled Lumia (a musical fountain), Focus (a water wall on the exterior), and Latisse (a water wall inside the casino). The remaining two are located in The Crystals: Halo (freestanding columns of water vortices) and Glacia (ice pillars).
Worldwide, it is estimated that there are about 650,000 Sandhill Cranes; 450,000-500,000 being Lessers. "The Merced NWR hosts the largest wintering concentration of Lesser Sandhill Cranes in the Pacific Flyway with as many as 20,000 cranes using the Refuge." Source: Merced NWR online brochure. "It takes a patient and sharp eye to discern the difference between Greater and Lesser Sandhill Cranes. They have a similar body shape, plumage and color. Lesser Sandhill Cranes stand four feet high, with a four-inch, dagger-like bill. The greater is five feet tall, with a five-inch bill. These sub-species both migrate northward. The lesser breeds in northern Canada and Alaska, and the greater breeds in northeastern California, the Northwest and Great Lakes states. Greater sandhill cranes are threatened due to the loss of wetlands." Source: cranefestival.com
Take in Extremadura in May 2019
The European Bee-eater feeds primarily on bees, wasps, hornets and similar species. It catches them on the wing, performing sallies from exposed perches. Before swallowing the prey, the bee-eater strikes it against a hard surface in order to remove the sting. One single bird may eat up to 250 bees per day.
The well-studied European bee-eater is trapped and shot on migration in countries bordering the Mediterranean, an estimated 4,000–6,000 annually being killed in Cyprus alone,
Civita di Bagnoregio is a suburb of the comune of Bagnoregio, 1 kilometre (0.6 mi) east from it. It is about 120 kilometres (75 mi) north of Rome. The only access is a footbridge from the nearby town. Due to its unstable foundation that often erodes, Civita is famously known as "the dying city". The town is noted for its striking position on top of a plateau of friable volcanic tuff overlooking the Tiber river valley. It is in constant danger of destruction as the edges of the plateau collapse due to erosion, leaving the buildings to crumble as their underlying support falls away. As of 2004, there were plans to reinforce the plateau with steel rods to prevent further geological damage.
Civita di Bagnoregio was founded by Etruscans more than 2,500 years ago. The layout of the whole town is of Etruscan origin, while the entire architectural cladding is of medieval and Renaissance origin. The Etruscans made Civita a flourishing city, thanks to its strategic position favourable for trade. The only access is a footbridge from the nearby town, with a €1.50 toll introduced in 2013 and increased in August 2017 to €3 on weekdays and €5 on Sundays and public holidays Civita had 40,000 visitors in 2010, and was estimated to attract 850,000 visitors in 2017. Due to the toll, communal taxes were abolished in Civita and nearby Bagnoregio, making Bagnoregio the only town without communal taxes.
Spotted this kite on a bare tree on the top most branch. A typical perch for this kite from where it surveys the area around for prey like small reptiles, rodents on the ground.
On this day, it spotted one and instead of hovering above its prey, it dive bombed pretty quickly and flew back to a nearby perch immediately. There was no rodent in its claws and we realized it failed to catch one. I suppose that is common and I estimate that it fails 50% of the time.
Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.
with an adult Spectacled Caiman in the background
Llanos Orientales in eastern Colombia
The lowest estimates I found of the number of these remaining in the wild vary between 250 and 500. We saw 2 of these.
From Wikipedia:
"The Orinoco Crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) is a critically endangered crocodile. Its population is very small, and they can only be found in the Orinoco river basin in Venezuela and Colombia. Extensively hunted for their skins in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is one of the most endangered species of crocodiles. It is a very large species of crocodilian; males have been reported up to 6.8 m (22 ft 4 in) in the past, weighing over 900 kg (2,000 lb)] but such sizes do not exist today, 5.2 m (17 ft 1 in) being a more widely accepted maximum size. A large male today may attain 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) in length and can weigh up to 450 kg (1,000 lb), while females are substantially smaller with the largest likely to weigh around 225 kg (496 lb). Sexual dimorphism is not as profound as in other crocodilian species.
The coloration is light even in adults.
The ecology of the Orinoco crocodile is poorly documented in the wild, mostly due to its small population. It is thought to have a more piscivorous diet with an opportunistic nature, resulting in generalist predatory behaviour. It is an apex predator and preys on a variety of birds, mammals and reptiles, including caimans on occasion. Its prey base is mostly large predatory fish, challenging the general view by locals complaining about crocodiles hunting local fish to very low numbers. Reproduction takes place in the dry season when the water level is low. It is a hole nester and digs holes in the sand for its clutch of eggs. The females guard the nests and young for several years."
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Some give it two years; others say, half a year. The latest estimate is three months, at most ...
Elton John : Candle in the Wind
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdrRLTgavus
Heifetz plays Melodie by Gluck
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tenI_FyFeZ0
Rachmaninoff plays Melodie by Gluck
www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2O0mVzmftY
Heifetz plays Wieniawski Scherzo Tarantelle
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv5XZbgNWEo
Heifetz, Tchaikovsky's Melodi
www.youtube.com/watch?v=22YUP0zQ3sA
*
Many music lovers find Horowitz and Martha Argerich spellbinding, yea, they are exciting but somehow I don't return to them often. Instead I would revisit Samuil Feinberg's Well-tempered Clavier from time to time. Needless to say, Mieczyslaw Horzowski and Maria Yudina's Bach are very inspiring too, particularly so for those who miss the chance of going to the Church:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=94XFV8X77U0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAZJcpbDAxY
The French pianists of the older generation like Marguerite Long, Robert Casadesus, and Yves Nat or even Cortot are interesting too. Lesser known but equally amazing is
Lazare-Levy : Mozart Sonata in A Minor, K310
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK0GEXiWBN8
Later on, we have :
Marcelle Meyer: Complete Inventions & Sinfonias, Partitas, Toccatas, Italian Concerto ..
www.youtube.com/watch?v=spHBTyagfZ4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=maAQ-FI5gGk&list=RDCMUC2zlRzq...
Scarlatti
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Iiyzo9vdYA
And,
Yvonne Lefébure (among her pupils were Dinu Lipatti, Samson François) Mozart Concerto, No 20 with Furtwangler
www.youtube.com/watch?v=idX9c58bdZE
Reine Gianoli
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hga9MGCpJXk
Then,
Nikita Magaloff in recital 4/4/1991 Tokyo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CLrpIfatSg
Chopin Etudes Op.10 & 25
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQOK1MuTP8o
And then Samson Francois
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIw2mfcYpBM
Last but not the least, Brigitte Engerer who went the opposite direction of Magaloff who was first trained in Russia (by Siloti, Francis Lizst pupil, Rachmaninoff's cousin/mentor and assistant to Tchaikovsky ) ended up studying in France. Brigitte Engerer was first trained in France having won the first prize in Concours International Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud. She furthered her studies in Russia under Stanislav Heuhaus for 9 years:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU8_upVBnT4
There was also the Polish pianist with a little bit of French Veneer, Halina Czerny-Stefańska : Chopin complete Polonaises, Heroïque, Militaire, Brillante, Fantaisie
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wHiamaEen4&t=1639s
More French was Lithuania/Russia born Vlado Perlemuter who landed in France since he was three, who lost one eye and who actually spent quite sometime in an asylum:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zCli50F3xQ
86 Tokyo Recital
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-svcMlCIxJ0
Well, never say never, the finishing touch of the winner of 2015 Chopin Internation Piano competition, a Korean, was also done in Paris, even though the influence of the Russian School seems to be stronger than the French in his Chopin:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZYYoDDmg8M
*
I further stumbled into Edwin Fischer's WTC recorded in 1933-36 which I haven't gone through as yet. But Edwin Fischer, unlike his pupil Alfred Brendel, is almost always interesting despite his slips :
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JysTlgUXuXk
Later on, we have Samuil Feinberg whom most serious pianists view as the best recorded WTC ever. After Feinberg, we have Tatiana Nikolayeva whose WTC ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNpwAZf6thY&t=72s ) is so fascinating. And then we have Evelyne Crochet, a more modern French reading of WTC and before her Walter Gieseking also recorded WTC. In between, I find Horszowski's WTC celestial. Wilhelm Kempff's WTC is appealing albeit in a totally different way from Yudin. But I'm unable to find the whole book of WTC from the latter two in record. Instead we have one from Canada and another lady pianist from US who was musically educated in Russia. Personally, I don't spend much time on the latter two. Oh, yes, Richter and Gulda recorded WTC as well. But it seems Bach music is so interwoven with spirituality, and by nature it snubs any showmanship at all...
Strange-tailed Tyrant (non-breeding female) #birdsgallery #vero
This (non-breeding female) Strange-tailed Tyrant seemed to be posing in a cute way when I photographed her. Perhaps she was posing for one of the male Strange-tailed Tyrants nearby. The "strange tail" can be seen in the two rackets that are attached to the tail. This species is listed as "vulnerable" on the Global IUCN Red List, with only about 3000-6000 individuals alive in last year's estimate. The eBird description says that the species "prefers flooded grasslands with tall, undisturbed grasses, and is thus threatened by cattle grazing." This photo was featured on VERO’s birds_world and snap_allnaature pages on August 15, 2026. P.S. Sorry this post was so late, we had a lightning strike that knocked out our internet at home...
Scientific name: Alectrurus risora.
Date: December 20, 2022
Location: Tacuaralito, Corrientes, Argentina
#bird #tyrant #tyrannidae #passeriformes
Rusty Blackbird - a lifer - seen in near dark east of Calgary late last year. This is North America’s most rapidly declining species with an estimated 80-99% decline in the population in the last 40 years.
The tiger is estimated to have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late Pleistocene, for about 12,000 to 16,500 years. Today, it is threatened by poaching, loss and fragmentation of habitat, and was estimated at comprising fewer than 2,500 wild individuals by 2011. None of the Tiger Conservation Landscapes within its range is considered large enough to support an effective population of more than 250 adult individuals.
The Bengal tiger's historical range covered the Indus River valley until the early 19th century, almost all of India, Pakistan, southern Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and southwestern China. Today, it inhabits India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and southwestern China.India's tiger population was estimated at 2,603–3,346 individuals by 2018. Around 300–500 individuals are estimated in Bangladesh, 355 in Nepal by 2022,and 90 individuals in Bhutan by 2015
La Ceja, Colombia; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster
(Red-bellied Grackle / Cacique candela)
The red-bellied grackle is endemic to Colombia where it is found in all three Andean ranges at altitudes of 800 to 2,400m (2,600 to 7,900ft) above sea level.
Its natural habitat is tropical forest, but the trees are increasingly being felled for timber and to make way for agriculture, and little virgin forest remains within its range.
H. pyrohypogaster was formerly classified as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature but in 2012 the threat level was lowered to "vulnerable". This is on the basis that, although its forest habitat remains under pressure, it has been found at some new locations where it was not known before. The total population is now estimated to be in the range 2,500 to 9,999 individuals.
Early this season (last Oct), the grasslands were quite active in the evening with many Harriers gently gliding and hunting in the area. We had some wonderful photo opportunities with these birds.
The White Pallid Harrier in this shot was perched in the grassland when an immature (Brownish plumage) attacked it. The White Pallid Harrier took flight and both tussled briefly in the air before flying away. I am not sure if this was a territorial attack or a friendly fight. There were around 25-30 harriers in the grasslands and few showed this kind of confrontation.
These are migratory birds from Central Asia that winter in India. They hunt the small birds like Larks, Pipits and reptiles like Lizards, Chameleons, frogs in the grasslands. The birds are sighted easily in the grasslands these days - around 15-20 of them and the numbers are slowly increasing. Due to the winter, the light fades pretty quickly. These Harriers converge to their roosting spots much earlier than usual and that is when we can get a reasonable estimate of their numbers.
Thanks in advance for your views and feedback. Much appreciated.