The Daily Bird #776

Tree chickens!

The “private area” of the mini farm was directly opposite our caravan, and while it was protected with a reed fence, there was a tree that was higher than the fence and the tree had a ramp for the chickens. In the evening some of them enjoyed to walk up the ramp and then hop from branch to branch. I so love that chess board pattern one.

A black and white chicken among the leaves of a tree.

What yer lookin’ at? Never seen a bird in a tree? ©Giliell, all rights reserved

A brown chicken in a tree

©Giliell, all rights reserved

A black and white chicken on a meadow

©Giliell, all rights reserved

 

The Daily Bird #775

To stay in line with my current series, this daily bird is one of the many bird shoots from the camp site. The stable of the mini farm is home to a colony of barn swallows, which constantly frustrated me in my attempts to take pictures.

They would mostly circle the vicinity of the farm during the day, but in the evening, when the pool was closed, they would come for a drink, despite the water being slightly salty. Sorry for the poor quality. The light was low, the birds were fast and the big lense starts at a 5.6 shutter, so the ISO was pretty high.

Swallow over a swimming pool, trying to get a drink

More serial shoots below the fold

[Read more…]

Reconstructing the fearsome Haast’s eagle.

A comparison of the huge claws of Haast's eagle with those of its close relative the Hieraaetus morphnoides, the "little" eagle. Image / Bunce M, Szulkin M, Lerner HRL, Barnes I, Shapiro B, et al.

A comparison of the huge claws of Haast’s eagle with those of its close relative the Hieraaetus morphnoides, the “little” eagle. Image / Bunce M, Szulkin M, Lerner HRL, Barnes I, Shapiro B, et al.

With a wingspan reaching as wide as 3m and huge claws that could crush bone, the Haast’s eagle was one of the most fearsome creatures ever to stalk New Zealand’s prehistoric wilderness.

The largest eagle known to have existed anywhere, its demise quickly followed that of its much-larger prey, the moa, which was hunted to extinction by early Maori settlers around 1400 CE.

Now a top international scientist and Kiwi collaborators hope to shed more light on the lost giant, in an innovative study that could help conserve those endangered predatory birds that remain today.

An artist's depiction of a Haast's eagle attacking two moa. Image / John Megahan.

An artist’s depiction of a Haast’s eagle attacking two moa. Image / John Megahan.

You can read more here, thanks to David for letting me know about this.