Another Sparrow day in the lush green area around Ottawa International Airport. The weather was cooler this morning and the birds not so active. But we had great views of Firled, Grasshopper, Clay-colored and Vesper Sparrow. In addition Brown Thrasher, Chestnut-sided and Palm Warbler, Lincoln Sparrow and just as we were leaving the parking lot […]
Platypus or Platypuses please .. Not Platypi
I never forgot several years back the spontaneous remark of one of my web readers from Texas saying that “I talked about the platypus like if this animal was still alive” and if this was correct she had lived with this erroneous conception for over 20 years. Where others as I would show them this […]
Transit of Venus
Venus Todays big event was the Transit of Venus across the face of the sun. Doesn’t happen all that often, the next occurrence apparently not for 105 years. And last night the forecast was dodgy to say the least as a big storm was due to sweep across New Zealand. But I woke to a […]
American Copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
The American Copper (Lycaena phlaeas) is a tiny butterfly that most may hardly notice flitting by. What a little beauty it is! A very common butterfly here in Massachusetts, yet this is the first one I have been lucky enough to capture. With a wing span of only 7/8 – 1 1/8 . . . […]
Australasian Grebe
This cute little guy was as fast as a the duck-bill platypus, diving with an almost same ritual and diving to escape danger rather than take flight. Unusual is also the ability to take flight during the night (I suppose during clear celestial nights or moon nights). They use their lobed feet during underwaterswimming rather […]
Bird-Friendly Wind Power
Bird collisions have been one of the primary negatives of the recent growth in wind power across the United States and beyond. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) estimates that almost a half million birds are killed each year in the U.S. by wind turbines. “Birds can die in collisions with the turbine blades, […]
PhotoShare: Kruger Kuduscape
Things are buzzing by my head now at a pace so frantic it’s hard to keep up. I am heading off to Mana Pools in Zimbabwe next week, a dream destination for me. Afterwards I shall have plenty of time to wind down and catch up on things like regular blogging, etc. In the meantime […]
Different Views of Nature
I was developing a research project on Grey Partridge a number of years ago and part of the experimental aspect of the work involved releasing pen reared birds on what appeared to be suitable farmland habitat. I identified with a farmer in Kildare, Ireland, who had a great love of Partridge. He vividly recounted where […]