Tetrax tetrax – Otidiformes – Otididae – It is the only species of this Tetrax genera and is very endangered on french territory. Also in decline in Spain although still in larger numbers, it lives in dry opened areas. The male does somewhat of a “flamenco dance” on a specific spot about 30 cm wide […]
Rare crane egg given 24-hour guard
The first common crane egg laid in western Britain for more than 400 years has been given a round-the-clock guard. The first common crane egg laid in western Britain for more than 400 years has been given a round-the-clock guard, conservationists said. The nesting pair that produced the egg are part of the Great Crane […]
Government approved cull of endangered birds on Duke of Westminster’s Estate
Tens of thousands of endangered birds have been shot, trapped and poisoned on one of England’s largest shooting estates with the approval of the government agency responsible for protecting the species, a Guardian investigation has found. The government has licensed an annual cull of lesser black-backed gulls on the Abbeystead estate on the Bowland Fells […]
A Female Anna’s Hummingbird Exploring Peruvian Lilies
We have six large hummingbird feeders surrounding our house in Northern California but we also have several flower beds and native plants that the hummingbirds enjoy. As I sat on my back porch last weekend, contemplating mowing the native grasses surrounding the house and having some breakfast and my morning coffee, the hummers were all […]
New to nature No 103: Tinkerbella nana
The family Mymaridae includes more than 1,400 species of diminutive insects called fairyflies. They are not flies at all, but tiny wasps that deposit their eggs inside the eggs of other insects. Most of these parasitoids are found in tropical latitudes and the southern hemisphere, where they attack unborn offspring of true bugs, beetles, flies, […]
Spotted Sandpiper
There have been a couple Spotted Sandpipers at Central Winds Park this Spring. Until this year, I’ve only seen this species in Brevard and Orange Counties. It’s been nice to see them in my home county on a regular basis. The one above was taken at Central Winds; one below was taken near Cocoa Beach […]
Could the Tasmanian tiger be hiding out in New Guinea?
Many people still believe the Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus) survives in the wilds of Tasmania, even though the species was declared extinct over eighty years ago. Sightings and reports of the elusive carnivorous marsupial, which was the top predator on the island, pop-up almost as frequently as those of Bigfoot in North America, but to […]