Birders' Nest

[Elgarian Redux]

Slugs are people too, Elgarian, and deserve to eat. Thank you for making sure they have accessible food.

Ha! Yes. Alright. But I don't like the slithery blighters!
Still, let us remember: 'Be kind to everyone. Be kind to slugs.'

Onward to other things...

A propos of nothing, a photo of my favorite mug, a gift earlier this year from my son:

Sometimes, I'm surprised at just how well my son knows me; I'm certain the moment he saw this mug, he knew I'd love it. And I do! And I say so out loud every time I take the mug from the shelf/return it to the shelf (which is every day)! Yes, I've just finished my first coffee, so I'm looking at this cup and ... I love it!

The Gastropod Ball
Slime on the sidewalk, slime on the stair,
Slime on the road, and slime in the air.
Come to the party! Slither up the wall!
Come and have fun at the Gastropod Ball!

(Shall we go? Shall we go? You can bring your mug!)

[Elgarian Redux]

Yes, such competition arises; it is with animals every day. Everything is prey to something, and everything wants to survive. Bees are rich protein sources, and are eaten by bears, badgers, other insects (preying mantis, beewolves, dragonflies), toads... and so on.

Sigh ....

I'm sure I'm not alone in being glad you're not an insect, too!!

Aw shucks, Ma'am. [Looks down and shuffles feet.]

That is one gorgeous bird!!! GORGEOUS!!!

And he hangs out in your yard!!! Lucky lucky lucky you!!!!

We feel the honour when he comes, and I'm not kidding.

[owlice]

Great Blue Heron

Deadline coming up; will be absent for a while. Apologies.
You can also find more photos, the horrible, the stupendously horrible, the rare pretty good shot, here.

[owlice]

Oh, one more...

Goliath Heron

[JBS]

Oh, one more...

Goliath Heron

That's so good, it seems like a painting.

(Hears "Was it live or was it Memorex?" echoing in his mind.)

[Elgarian Redux]

Great Blue Heron

Deadline coming up; will be absent for a while. Apologies.
You can also find more photos, the horrible, the stupendously horrible, the rare pretty good shot, here.

Astonishing piece of foreshortening on the bill!

[Elgarian Redux]

That's so good, it seems like a painting.

(Hears "Was it live or was it Memorex?" echoing in his mind.)

I've been trying to figure out why it's so strange - I think it's because there's no background. None at all. Just the bird and its reflection, presented in a context of nothingness.

Fantastic image.

[Iota]

Great Blue Heron

Deadline coming up; will be absent for a while. Apologies.
You can also find more photos, the horrible, the stupendously horrible, the rare pretty good shot, here.

I'll take a look at that link another time, as I looked up the Great Blue Heron on Wiki the other day following your earlier pic and found two images there quite shocking for some reason. In the first the heron was swallowing a squirrel, and in the second a duck! Maybe I'm just a wimp, but feel I've had my fill of Heron horror pics for now ..

That's so good, it seems like a painting.

Totally agree! An absolutely magnificent shot, even by owlice's dizzying standards! Brava!

[owlice]

You are all very kind; thank you!

Taking a break from the screaming and tears to supply a little context for the Goliath.
(No idea why I thought writing what I'm not writing but should be was a good idea and omg, why am I doing this?!?!?!)

You can see how flat and grey the sky and water were that day. I had to wait for various birds to move away from the heron, but once they were gone and I zoomed in, all that was behind and around the bird was water, flat still water reflecting the flat grey sky. As Elgarian phrased it so well, "Just the bird and its reflection, presented in a context of nothingness."




(Back to facing my incompetence.)

[Elgarian Redux]

Taking a break from the screaming and tears to supply a little context for the Goliath.
(No idea why I thought writing what I'm not writing but should be was a good idea and omg, why am I doing this?!?!?!)

I don't understand any of this but it doesn't sound great. I hope you're alright?

You can see how flat and grey the sky and water were that day. I had to wait for various birds to move away from the heron, but once they were gone and I zoomed in, all that was behind and around the bird was water, flat still water reflecting the flat grey sky.

This adds helpful context but in itself presents a bird-populated waterscape of astonishing, almost abstract, strangeness. If someone had zoomed off to a distant alien planet and returned with these photos of the place, many of us would talk about its essentially alien beauty. Yet here it is, on Earth. Someone once said (I think it was CS Lewis, but it might have been Ruskin) that if we can't activate our imaginations sufficiently to acknowledge the strange beauties to be found here on the earth, what's the point in trying to find them elsewhere in the universe? These photos bring home to us the fact that we inhabit an extraordinarily strange and beautiful planet.

I remember once standing on the beach at Blackpool, facing west as the sun was going down over the sea. Unusually for Blackpool, there was no one else visible on the beach but us. (The town was not visible, because behind us.) And we stood there, on this silent windless beach, seeing nothing but sun, sand, cloudless sky, and almost motionless sea. And it seemed piercingly clear that we were on a planet. There was nothing ordinary or 'down to earth' about our situation. We were on a planet, in an extraordinary universe, and where we were was just as extraordinary as we might find if we were standing on Venus, or Mars, or somewhere light years away.

Your photos show us this fresh 'I'm on a planet' aspect of the world. What a treat. What a revelation.

[Iota]

(No idea why I thought writing what I'm not writing but should be was a good idea and omg, why am I doing this?!?!?!)

Like Elgarian, not quite sure how to read this, but send my best wishes for a good outcome to your endeavour.

The photos are beautiful. Birds do seem to have a particular ability to appear alien in nature and form, not at all of our anthropocentric world, but entirely their own. The Heron in second shot above is a good example of that I think. Thanks very much as ever for sharing them. : )

we inhabit an extraordinarily strange and beautiful planet.

Quoted for truth.

These days I find myself confronted by that reality almost every day, even in the most ordinary and 'down-to-earth' seeming places. It's a source of great inspiration and solace. I singled that comment out, but you put it all so well in your lovely post. The apprehension of extraordinariness all around us, as you describe, seems such an enriching and illuminating thing.

[Elgarian Redux]

I was standing in the kitchen feeling gloomy because I still haven't properly shaken off the virus that likes me so much, when through the hedge came Mr Pheasantosaurus. I was able to get another good shot of him, so will post it here.

And then there was this great flurry of wings, and a host of long-tailed tits descended upon the bird feeders. They are always unexpected. They never hang around afterwards. They come in, maybe half a dozen of them, ravage the feeders in their revels for ten minutes, and then off they go. 'See you in a day/week/month/year' they cry, and who knows when it will be. For the long-tailed tits, there's always a party somewhere.

[Elgarian Redux]

These days I find myself confronted by that reality almost every day, even in the most ordinary and 'down-to-earth' seeming places. It's a source of great inspiration and solace.

There's a sense of real comradeship in reading that. Thanks.

[owlice]

We have the best solar system! Aren't you glad you settled here? 

[owlice]

What a Pheasantosaurus!!!! Just look at those feathers!! The colors!! That shiny head!! The extraordinary eye!!!

Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.

The Long-tailed Tits are adorable!! Lucky you, to have them visit you!! Maybe someday I'll get a good photo of one. Maybe. Someday!

Elgerian, I'm sorry your virus is hanging on and I hope you feel better -- completely well! -- soonest!

The screaming and tears ... I'm writing a proposal. Or trying to, anyway. And now that my coffee is nearly gone, I must get back to it, but...

Elgarian, once again, you've expressed so much so well, put it so beautifully. Yes to all of it. We have an extraordinary pale blue dot.

It's a source of great inspiration and solace.

Truth.

[owlice]

And now that my coffee is nearly gone, I must get back to it, but...

... first, I'll goof off a little more, apparently... 



What a planet!!


Meep meep!
(Greater Roadrunner)

If any of these are repeats, my apologies!

[Elgarian Redux]

If any of these are repeats, my apologies!

1. Since each image is unforgettable, I can say for certain there are no repeats.
2. Even if there were, a thing worth showing once ought to be worth showing twice. Or more.
3. Blimey! Those landscapes!
4. That roadrunner seems to be a VERY cheerful cheeping chappie.

[Iota]

There's a sense of real comradeship in reading that. Thanks.

You're welcome! And vice versa! Reading your post rang such a familiar bells for me, lovely to read! : )

And your visiting Pheasantosaurus looks so splendid in all his finery, the extraordinary variety of feathers and colourings set against the bold colours of his headdress, would surely be enough to turn the head of any target of his wooing. Certainly turned mine! And your invasions of long-tailed tits sound wonderful!
Was away in the country this weekend and en route saw a double murmuration of starlings swirling around the early evening sky, which was pretty magical.

Sorry to hear you're still feeling a bit rough, those bugs can be exasperating at times. Wish you all the best!

[Iota]

... first, I'll goof off a little more, apparently... 



What a planet!!


Meep meep!
(Greater Roadrunner)

If any of these are repeats, my apologies!

Great images all, owlice! That single tiny human sitting dwarfed by the ancient rocks is such a memorable sight! The rainbow-crowned waterfall is just beautiful! And I've never seen/looked closely at a non-cartoon Roadrunner before, he has a cheeky-chappy kind of face, it made me smile, it's actually kind of not hard to imagine meep meeps coming out of it! 

Good luck with your proposal!