A late-feeding cardinal leaps into spring, leaving an after-image behind, along with his shadow. Northern Cardinal | Cardinalis cardinalis
Corporate Memory Awash
Recently Melbourne researchers have found that green weaver ants memorise the odour of other green ants and use this to sniff out rivals and do battle. What an interesting reveal, especially when this “whiff” propagates amongst media news frenzy and a global run on the subject, goes a-wire! How much more could one tell about […]
Nature Photography = Natural Light by Ray Barlow
Well, there is a lot of discussion these days about flash usage and nature imaging. Certainly, there could never be an absolutely right or wrong here, we all can only share opinions. Although using a fill flash, with various attachments may be fun, or considered the “better” technique, I personally do not agree. In the […]
Do the Bee-eaters decimate bees?
Southern Spain is yet again suffering a general lack of rain. The Mediterranean climate is characterised by periods of rain followed periods of drought with a resultant biodiversity paradise.We now appear to be entering a drought period after three winters with ample rainfall. In the start of what appears to be a new drought period […]
The Birds of Egypt, a photography trip, 2006-2012, 1 of 4
Living in Cairo, Egypt, one of the most congested and polluted cites of the world, and the oldest one in history, where the Pharaohs built the city 10,000 years ago. In the surrounding environment in the street of Cairo you rarely spot a any birds away from the house sparrow, and that was all I […]
Baha, a path less trodden
As I wrote in my last article, my birding has mostly been in countries off the beaten track. In the past five years, my work has taken me to Azerbaijan, Libya and now Saudi Arabia. As a consequence much of my birding has been in these countries. The truth is that I get enjoyment from […]
Birds of the Prairie, Part 2
In Part 1 of “Birds of the Prairie“, I highlighted the Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus), a wonderful bird of our midwestern prairies and marshes. Today’s Part 2 focuses on an equally impressive bird, the Short-Eared Owl (Asio flammeus), a new “life bird” for me. The Short-Eared Owl is no longerĀ a year-round resident of the Missouri […]
Pheasant-tailed Jacana courtship dance by Adam Riley
Whilst leading a birding tour to Sri Lanka last year, I spotted a flash of bright white in a lily-choked wetland near Ambalantota in the south-east of this verdant island. Closer investigation revealed a stunning male Pheasant-tailed Jacana perched atop a female. Pheasant-tailed Jacana pair by Adam Riley Our excitement at finding these avian gems […]