A Barnacle Goose family having supper together, from Ice Swimmer, click for full size!
© Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved.
Affinity
Art, Fun, & Nonsense.
A Barnacle Goose family having supper together, from Ice Swimmer, click for full size!
© Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved.
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.
What yer lookin’ at? Never seen a bird in a tree? ©Giliell, all rights reserved
©Giliell, all rights reserved
©Giliell, all rights reserved
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.
More serial shoots below the fold
Bad Starling shots taken in Bismarck. Click for full size.
© C. Ford.
I do not know why goldfinches tend to show me their back. Almost exclusively. It is almost as if they have a little radar in their head that shows them my position and a compulsion to never look in my direction.
©Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
Chicks from Nightjar, click for full size! The white blonde one has the most serious expression in the first and third photos – “don’t even think about messing with me.”
© Nightjar, all rights reserved.
Terns from Ice Swimmer, click for full size!
© Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved.
Penguins from David, click for full size! David also sent along a link to video, but lost in chemorad space, managed to lose it.
© David Brindley, all rights reserved.
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.
You can read more here, thanks to David for letting me know about this.
This sparrow really has a knack for dramatic poses. One can see the big spirit in that small body.
©Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
Three young redstarts. They do not stay still for long.
©Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
From Ice Swimmer, a Magpie and young Oystercatcher, click for full size! Oh, magpies, so beautiful.
© Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved.
A beautiful Silver Gull from Lofty, click for full size!
© Lofty, all rights reserved.