Nature Pics

[Voronwë the Faithful]

AWEsome in every possible way!

[RoseMorninStar]

WOW. It looks like they collectively formed one giant bird.

[Maria]

I think that picture right there explains the purpose of murmurations all by itself. All of a sudden a flock of small creatures looks like one great big creature that could possibly eat the would be predator hunting the little birds.

[Inanna]

WOW

[Inanna]

Pics from this year’s first bike ride:






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Where is that darn 'like' button?

[Alatar]

Now added

[Inanna]

Oh I'm going to have so much fun with that button!

[Maria]

The vultures around where I live have taken to posing on top of barns lately. They spread their wings out and hold them there for minutes at a time. I've never noticed this behavior before this year, but now I've seen it half a dozen times already.

20210511_144449.jpg (390.52 KiB) Viewed 5634 times

It's very strange. And sort of ominous. They never do this on houses, just dilapidated barns.
I don't understand it.

[Inanna]

Have you seen “Birds”??

[Maria]

About half a century ago.

[RoseMorninStar]

Are they vultures or turkey vultures? Has it been cool in the mornings and is this when you notice this behavior? If so, I believe they do this to raise their body temperature when the sun is out.

I'm going to guess they are turkey vultures. Here's a good article on the 3 types of vultures found in the US.

[Maria]

They are definitely not California Condors or Black Vultures, so Turkey vulture it seems to be. The pic was taken at noon, and the day wasn't particularly chilly.
The first time I saw them doing this *hold the wings up* thing was about a month ago, on a fence.

20210415_084055.jpg (22.34 KiB) Viewed 5545 times

Again, it was close to noon and since I saw two of them doing it I thought it might be some kind of mating ritual. I've since seen lone ones holding their wings up like that, though, so I doubt the mating hypothesis.

[Dave_LF]

I know we all live in different places, but where I am, after a long winter the sky is blue, the sun is hot, the world is full of birds, insects, and green growing things, and it's hard not to feel alive.

[Inanna]

So, where are your pics?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Voronwë the Faithful]

flower.jpg (120.05 KiB) Viewed 4126 times

[Frelga]

It's the flower that the deer come to munch in my front yard.

[Maria]

More vulture fun:
'

20210529_093038.png (385.37 KiB) Viewed 3932 times

.
Low quality pic because it was from a cheap internet video monitor thingy. We just happened to have it pointed where a group of vultures came to do their posing thing.

They hold that wings up position for minutes at a time. Very strange.

[RoseMorninStar]

They must enjoy sunning themselves. I wonder if the heat rids them of pests? Fun photo.. too bad it's not of better quality.

[Inanna]

The annular solar eclipse.