Archive for October, 2009

Sky Watch – The Flight of the Cranes

Sandhill Cranes during their fall migration
(photos taken October 22/09)

We don’t often see these stately birds, so it was truly a rare and beautiful sight when
softly, peacefully the cranes flew over
while I stood on the road with a friend.
We watched until the distance claimed
them, their strange warning calls still
resonating in our ears….kar-r-r-o-o-o,
kar-r-r-o-o-o.

Sandhill Cranes breed in the Northern US, Canada, Alaska and Eastern Siberia. In the autumn they migrate to their wintering grounds in Florida, Texas, Utah, Mexico, and California.

Sky Watch Friday

Pictures of the day!

Hi all,
I did not use this title for month I think. You, faithful readers, know that we are now entering a dark period over here (I’m not speaking about the crisis but about the light ;-) ). It is gonna be harder and harder to get nice pictures of birds. I will have to fight with aperture, ISO, shutter speed, and will most of the time come back with non-focused pictures. So rare is gonna be the event of getting a nice picture, that, whatever I will start publishing (like the series on my observation sites I started), will be interrupted as soon as I will have new pictures….

So today, I manage to get some shots while I was walking for half an hour around some gardens where we know that bohemian waxings are very often during winter. The reason for the walk was that the first bohemian have been spotted in the Westmann Islands and in the North of Iceland.

Now, you all believe that I got species number 94 (for the year) and got nice shots of Bohemian waxings… Well sorry my fellow readers, no, you misunderstood the message ;-) They were simply not there.. Next time maybe! But a lot of common wrens were around and I got some nice shots, so here there are.
Cheers,
Chris.

Bonjour,
Je pense que je n’ai pas utilisé ce titre depuis des mois maintenant! Toi, cher lecteur, tu sais bien qu’en Islande nous rentrons maintenant dans une période noire (je ne veux pas parler de la crise, mais bien de la lumière). Cela va être de plus en plus difficile de prendre des photos d’oiseaux. Je vais devoir me battre avec les ISO, l’ouverture, la vitesse d’obturation, et vais revenir la plupart du temps avec des photos floues! Ramener une photo parfaite à la maison va tellement être rare, que lorsque cela va arriver, je les publierai de suite, et ce quelque soit la série commencée (comme celles de mes sites d’observations que j’interromps donc).

Aujourd’hui, je suis parti une demi heure, pour essayer de voir si les jaseurs boréaux étaient enfin arrivés en ville. Ils ont été observées sur les Iles Westmann et au nord du pays. Je suis donc allé visité quelques jardins où nous savons qu’il est possible de les observer en hiver. J’ai réussi à faire de belles photos, d’où ce message.

Là, tout de suite, maintenant, tu te dis, cher lecteur, que j’ai enfin observé l’espèce numéro 94 et que je vais te montrer des photos de jaseur boréal. Et bien sache mon ami(e) que tu te trompes. Je n’ai pas vu l’ombre d’un jaseur. En revanche, j’ai vu de nombreux troglodytes, dont voici les portraits.
Amitiés,
Chris.

Common wren/Troglodyte mignon.
This one posed nicely/Celui-ci a pris la pose.
…and started to dance/…et a commencé à danser.…did strange things to get me impressed/…s’est mis à faire des trucs bizarres pour m’impressionner.And then left me when he realized I was not impressed and that I was just taking pictures/Et puis m’a quitté quand il a réalisé que je n’étais pas du tout impressionner et ne faisait que prendre des photos.Bye bye little wren and thanks for the fun/Salut petit troglodyte et merci pour le moment détente.

Good News for Polar Bears

Polar Bears that live in Canada’s far north, with ranges that overlap Nunavut and Greenland, will be protected by a new agreement. Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice is in Greenland today for the signing ceremony with the governments of Greenland and Nunavut.

From the Ottawa Citizen:

“Conservation groups have said they expect the agreement to be similar to other bilateral deals, such as one signed last year between Canada and the U.S., as well as a separate agreement between Alaska and Russia.

Previous bilateral agreements have set a framework for collaboration on scientific research and monitoring of population levels, and could also include specific provisions to address or restrict hunting.”

Read more news from the CBC and the Globe and Mail.

In 2008 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued its decision to list the Polar Bear as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. The Polar Bear is not yet listed under Canada’s Species At Risk Act, despite the fact that more than half of the world’s Polar Bears are found in Canada. You can join the campaign calling on the Environment Minister to add the Polar Bear to Canada’s official Species At Risk list.

About the Polar Bear
Common Name: Polar Bear
Latin Name: Ursus Maritimus
Status: Special Concern (according to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada)
Size: Males are typically between two and three metres long and weigh up to 500 kg, though a few weigh as much as 800 kg. Females weigh between 150 to 250 kg.
Population: 22,000 to 27,000
Life Span: 20 to 25 years
Range: Most polar bears live in Canada, but other populations exist in Alaska, Russia, Greenland and Norway.
Threats: Climate change, air pollution, oil spills and toxic chemicals.

The Gardiens of the IBAs are hard at work in Quebec

A large number of globally significant IBAs have been identified along the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec (IBAs are called ZICOs – Zones Importantes pour la Conservation des Oiseaux – in Quebec). Many are designated for concentrations of shorebirds which migrate south from James and Hudson Bay in the fall, or north in the spring from their wintering grounds often thousands of kilometres to the south. Extensive mudflats, sandbars and wetlands provide critical habitat rich in the invertebrate foods that fuel the next leg of their thousands of kilometres long journeys. The “battures” or tidal flats near the sprawling 80 kilometres square Sept Iles IBA, the Pointe au Pere IBA near Rimouski, or the sand bar at Portneuf, all support thousands of individuals from species such as White-rumped Sandpiper, American Golden Plover, and Ruddy Turnstone. This rich and dynamic littoral zone also supports massive numbers of migrating waterfowl, including Snow Goose, Canada Goose, Common Eider and Barrow’s Goldeneye.
As well as providing stop-over habitat for shorebirds and waterfowl, the coastline is a veritable highway of birds from Pointe des Monts, about an hour’s drive east of Baie Comeau, where the coast takes a shape turn to the north and the Saint Lawrence River becomes a gulf, to the beautiful village of Tadoussac and even further to the south-west. Tens and perhaps hundreds of millions of migrant landbirds move south from the huge area of boreal forest and tundra between Hudson Bay and the Labrador coast, arriving at the south-west angle of the Saint Lawrence coastline then follow the coast south-westward before crossing the Saint Lawrence at one of a few locations east of Quebec City. Observers with the Tadoussac Bird Observatory document part of this migration in the fall season from lookouts above the Saint Lawrence near Tadoussac and from observation points near Pointe des Monts.

In visiting three of these highly significant IBAs with very active groups and champions, I have been impressed with how enthusiastically the IBA concept is embraced and how eager the local people are to continue their work as “Gardiens” or Caretakers. Along the way I have also met several very talented and passionate young ornithologists such as Marylène and Jean Étienne (in the photo) who paint a very bright future for bird conservation in la belle province!

Theme Thursday – Samhain, the Original Halloween

Samhain (pronounced SAH-wen) was the Celtic New Year, signifying the end of the growing season and the “death” of the earth until it would be reborn in the Spring. Death as a natural part of the cycle of life is the central theme of Samhain and is at the root of all the symbolism in the holiday. The celebration of Samhain was such a major part of culture in the British Isles and parts of northern Europe that the Church appropriated and “Christianized” it, thus creating All Hallows Eve, which with the passage of time became “Halloween”. With the reemergence of ecologically inclined earth-based spirituality, Samhain has been gradually coming back to some importance. And yes, I’m one of those people who celebrates Samhain rather than Halloween.

As I said above, Samhain is all about the recognition of death as a natural part of the cycle of life. Seasonally, it represents the “death” of the earth. The final harvest of the last of the crops – mostly gourds and root crops like beets and turnips – took place now. Many of the fruits set to dry to last the Winter – raisins and sultanas from grapes, figs, prunes from plums, etc. – are ready now, and many baked goods that use these are baked, like barmbrack (Irish: Báirín Breac), which is a Halloween staple in Ireland, where symbolic objects like pennies and rings are baked in the bread for children to find as prizes. Livestock is also slaughtered now to provide meat for the Winter and to thin out the herd so that it, too, can survive the “dead” months.

Another aspect of the death theme of Samhain is the belief that the border between the physical and spiritual worlds is at its weakest now. This has both positive and negative aspects. The negative aspect is the possibility that spirits with evil intent can roam the world of the living at will and spread panic. The tradition of carving gourds (although it was originally turnips that were hollowed out and carved) with diabolical faces and lit from within by candles came from this; the intent was to scare off the evil spirits.

The positive aspect of this weakened border is the possibility of communication with loved ones who have passed on. Seances are often held during Samhain, and tributes to those who have passed during the preceding year. The most beloved of these tributes is the Dumb Feast or Dumb Supper, where the table is set for both the living and the dead, with pictures and personal objects of the deceased placed at their place at the table, and the favorite foods of the deceased served at the meal. The meal is eaten in silence, which is only broken at the end of the meal when a toast is made to the deceased and stories from their lives told. The meal starts out solemnly and ends up in joy.

I love Samhain, possibly because I also love Autumn and Samhain is the very essence of an autumnal celebration. You all know my fascination with cemeteries and stonecarving, and it’s usually around Samhain that I do a lot of visiting and taking pictures in Newport’s historic boneyards. All in all, it’s a lovely season for me, and a nostalgic one, too.

The colonial era Easton family cemetery in Autumn

Ah, now we come to the videos. One of my “traditions” this time of year is to listen to Camille Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre, an orchestral tone poem describing Death pulling out his fiddle on All Souls Night (Halloween) and leading the dead in a dance that lasts until the rooster crows, when the dead sadly go back to their graves after a lovely evening of fun. I found this great video on YouTube, a PBS animation from the 1980s illustrating the music. It’s great!

I also tend to listen to the music of Loreena McKennitt this time of year; there’s just something so autumnal both about her music and about her personality. And being the autumnal type that I am, I gravitated to her the first time I heard her music! She’s written what I think is one of the best Samhain songs ever, “All Souls Night” from the 1991 CD The Visit. This video of the song comes from her 2006 concert at the Alhambra in Spain.

As an added treat today, another song from that concert in the Alhambra. It has nothing to do with Samhain, I just like it. It’s her song “Santiago”, and in this live version she and the band just cut loose! She dances around with her accordion and kicks up her heels, and fiddler Hugh Marsh plays like a man possessed. So you can leave my party to go visit the other Theme Thursday parties dancing. Enjoy!

Photos & text © 2009 by A. Roy Hilbinger
PS – I just uploaded my latest Lulu.com offering to my storefront: On a Cold Winter’s Night – Images of Yule, a photographic celebration of the Winter Solstice holidays. Please check it out! And while you’re there, check out the calendars I’ve put together as well. Thanks!

KOURTNI LIND


Kourtni Josephine Lind (born November 9, 1989) is from Forest Lake, Minnesota. She started dancing at age 3[citation needed], focusing on contemporary, jazz, ballet, and tap. She also trained in musical theatre, pointe, and hip-hop. She auditioned at Milwaukee. She was paired with Matt Dorame and was eliminated on July 3, 2008.

KHERINGTON PAYNE


Kherington Taylor Payne (born January 26, 1990) is a dancer from Placentia, California.

She was born in Whittier, California, and has been taking formal dance lessons since she was 2 years old at Dance Precisions, located in Placentia, Ca. She graduated from El Dorado High School on June 10, 2008 and now lives in Placentia, California while pursuing her dancing career. Kherington is also the cousin of The Bolts brothers Addam, Heath, and Austin Farmer. Kherington played Alice in the remake of the movie Fame, which opened in theaters in September, 2009. Kherington also made the top ten of Season 4 So You Think You Can Dance.

KATEE SHEAN


Katee Taira Shean (born May 14, 1988) is a contemporary dancer from San Jose, California. She has been taking formal dance lessons since she was 4 years old and trained at the Teen Dance Company and Atlas School of Dance. She has been teaching at South County Classical Ballet for just over a year now with fellow finalist, Stephen “Twitch” Boss.

Shean was born in San Jose, California and graduated from Pioneer High School in 2006. She currently attends Chapman University, where she is pursuing a double major in leadership and dance and is active in many volunteer organizations. Sometime after the So You Think You Can Dance tour, Katee moved to Los Angeles along with Comfort Fedoke and Courtney Galiano.

JESSICA KING


Jessica Careen King is a dancer from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. An injury forced her to prematurely leave the competition.

King previously auditioned for So You Think You Can Danc in the third season, but did not make the top 20. She re-auditioned and ultimately made the top 20 for Season 4, where she was paired with contemporary dancer William Wingfield. On July 14, 2008, King suffered a major injury and was forced to bow out of the competition. Her spot was given to Comfort Fedoke, who had been eliminated the previous week.

King is a Visual Arts Major at Coastal Carolina University and has been taking formal dance lessons within various styles including tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop and contemporary since the age of three. On July 30th, 2009, King returned to the show with her former So You Think You Can Dance partner William Wingfield to perform their Emmy nominated routine “Adam and Eve” choreographed by Tyce DiOrio.

She is also backup dancing for Lady Gaga, which can be seen on the 2009 VMA’s.

100ft long Snake Pictured In Borneo

100ft long Snake Pictured In Borneo – Amazing Pictures


According to legend, the Nabau was a terrifying snake more than 100ft in length and with a dragon’s head and seven nostrils. But now local villagers living along the Baleh river in Borneo believe the mythical creature has returned after this photo of a gigantic snake swimming along the remote waterways has emerged. The picture, taken by a member of a disaster team monitoring flood regions by helicopter, has sparked a huge debate about whether the photos are genuine or merely the work of photo-editing software.


Page 1 of 3312345»510152025...Last »