View allAll Photos Tagged migration
A video inspired by Microchasm, a track from the ambient album, A Storytelling of Rooks by Sky Circle. It tells the story, without words, of a people fleeing ecological catastrophe.
Grosbeak on the lichen branch. Its been a very busy bird morning at the house. The cold front last night brought lots in. Many grosbeaks, the catbirds are back, and a variety of warblers could be heard calling in the tree tops. Hopefully these guys stay around for a little bit and recharge from migration.
At High Park, Toronto, there were masses of monarch butterflies gathering for the trip to Mexico. It was windy and the plants were wildly swaying and the butterflies were constantly opening and closing their wings. This was the best of the many shots I tried to take and didn't have as many butterflies as some of the blurry shots.
**If anyone knows what this bush is.. I'd love to get some for my garden!
Justification of Red List category
This species is listed as Critically Endangered because its population has undergone a very rapid reduction, for reasons that are poorly understood but are likely to be at least partly due to hunting along the migration flyway; this decline is projected to continue and increase in the future. Fieldwork in Kazakhstan (and counts in Turkey and the Middle East) has shown the population to be substantially larger than previously feared, but recent demographic studies have found low adult survival, possibly largely driven by hunting pressure along the migration routes and wintering grounds.
By Jim Lawrence
BirdLife International, RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) and leading optics manufacturer Swarovski Optik have just launched a remarkable new interactive website The Amazing Journey which charts the migration of one of the world’s most threatened birds - Sociable Lapwing. The new website enables you to experience the birds' migration online and witness new discoveries as they happen. It also provides support to a large team of international scientists who are trying to prevent the species from becoming extinct. Following extensive research, nine Sociable Lapwings have been carefully fitted with tiny, state-of-the-art satellite transmitters, which will track their hazardous 5,000+ km journey from their breeding grounds in Kazakhstan to their non breeding areas in tropical Africa and other, as yet undiscovered, destinations. The Amazing Journey follows the adventures of Erzhan, Dinara, Svetlana and six other intrepid satellite-tagged lapwings as they fly south for the winter - dodging hunters with guns and falcons and the myriad other unknown threats that await them. Andreas Pittl – Head of the Nature Division at Swarovski said, “This is a hugely important and fascinating project which Swarovski Optik is proud to champion. Wildlife is threatened with extinction for many reasons so finding ways to help such a beautiful and inspiring creature as the Social Lapwing is an important conservation effort we are keen to support. We want to bring people and nature together so they can continue to enjoy brilliant, close-up views of birds like these for years to come.” Designed by online marketing experts Digital Spring, The Amazing Journey uses satellite data fed through Google map technology to keep pace with the birds. A mixture of clever, regularly updated maps and video and photo blog reports from the field will follow their progress. Relatively little is still known about the routes Sociable Lapwings take, so tracking them will provide vital information, enabling BirdLife scientists to monitor and protect the birds and unlock the mystery of their migration. Now, for the first time, those interested in birds, wildlife and conservation can sit alongside scientists, and learn about these extraordinary birds, their migration habits and their conservation. Dr. Paul Donald, the project’s Principal Conservation Scientist at RSPB said, “We are using the world’s smallest and latest satellite transmitter – weighing just 5 grams – to record this amazing journey. By engaging with people around the world and inviting them to see this fascinating migration happening live online we believe we can inspire them to play their part too.” As the Sociable Lapwings progress along a lengthy route through various countries they need to stop every now and again to ‘refuel’ along the way. As they do so they form big feeding flocks (which is how they get their name). Whenever they touch down, precise details of their location are picked up by satellites orbiting high overhead and sent to RSPB scientists. These locations are then passed on to conservation project partners in each of the countries the birds travel through. With detailed coordinates they can quickly locate the flocks of birds, wherever they’ve touched down and take action if they are threatened in any way. The Amazing Journey website will provide regular reports from these scientists in the field keeping us up to date with all the latest news on the birds’ progress. Jim Lawrence, Preventing Extinction Programme Manager at BirdLife International said, “Protecting migratory species on the brink of extinction like Sociable Lapwings can’t be done without the considerable support of BirdLife Species Champions like Swarovski and RSPB. The Amazing Journey website is a new window on our world where you can see BirdLife International Partners around the globe delivering co-ordinated international conservation solutions.” Main photo credit Maxim Koshkin - Conservation Project Leader ACBK.
This blue grosbeak was with a larger flock of them feeding near Battery Worth at Ft. Pickens/Gulf Islands National Seashore. On closer inspection, it was eating a sand spur! I was not aware of this habit, but upon Googling it, found a couple of references of grosbeaks (and other seed eaters) that are know to eat sand spurs!
The great migration of the gnu herds in Kenya and Tanzania, also called "Great Migration", is an impressive natural phenomenon. More than a million wildebeest, accompanied by hundreds of thousands of Thomson gazelles and zebras, make an annual trip to the Serengeti and the Masai Mara. Predators such as lions, cheetahs and hyenas are found near the herds. Crocodiles are waiting for the rivers, making a rich prey in a "river crossing".
Perfect warm night with rain so Stace and I went down to the Skaneateles Conservation Area to see if any Spotted Salamanders were crossing the roads on their annual migration to their breeding ponds. Sure enough the area was full of them. We helped over 15 salamanders and countless frogs across the road, hopefully ensuring the next generation of these amazing creatures. Happy Friday!
I've been going to Merced National Wildlife Refuge during the month of February the last couple of years to view the Lesser Sandhill Cranes and other birds that stop there on their annual migration. I couldn't believe how many Geese were there this year. At Merced we have a saying, "make sure your mouth is closed while you look up". I think this demonstrates why. lol Taken on a Donald Quintana Photo Tour.
This morning I visited both ends of the Matsqui Trail Park which borders the Fraser River. In both areas I found many Ruby-crowned Kinglets feeding and singing and moving up river.
Four birds arrived back on their breeding site just a day or so ago. This one was hawking up and down the river
This gorgeous Red-breasted Merganser stopped by for a week or so and gave us many opportunities. I always try to capture my subjects in fall colours when possible.
Another bird to draw attention to plight of child refugees. They are migrating in their hundreds of thousands all over the world, through no fault of their own...
(exhibition will be in Bratislava in September).
Shot with Nikon FM2 on Kodak Gold 200 film.
Digitized with Epson V500 Scanner.
Mondorf-Les-Bains, Luxembourg