My tank is very low, so do send in your good wildlife photos and videos. All the readers will appreciate it, as of course will I.
First, a video from Rick Longworth:
As fall begins the water birds have been grouping for flights south. The Canada geese (Branta canadensis) leave the river in the morning to forage and they collect again in the evening. I particularly like to watch them descending by flipping over to rapidly lose altitude. In aviation this is called “slipping”, although planes do not roll completely inverted as the geese sometimes do. Most of the smaller birds shown are American coots (Fulica americana).
Some photos from reader Liz Strahle, with her IDs:
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum):
Mute Swans (Cygnus olor):
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura):
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus):
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis):
A photo from reader Jeffrey Shallit:
Slightly-predated Peacock Butterfly (Aglais io), near Annascaul, Dingle Peninsula, Ireland.
And a wild mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) named James Pond; photo taken by me:
For grins, here’s the mallard’s range as given on the Cornell website. Note that they can be year-round residents of Illinois:
Mallards reside year-round contingent on state and local property taxes.
Fab.
Does anyone know if there is a purpose or function for the male mallards ‘sex feathers’ above the tail.
What lovely photos.
But as a relatively new subscriber may I ask a general question? That is is there any way to regulate the number of blog post alerts that come in as emails?
Because I am truly interested in following Why Evolution is True but struggling to handle the daily volume of emails.
Any ideas?
Sincerely, Paul H.
Great pictures! One of my must-see-someday goals is the amazing peacock butterfly from across the pond.
Beautiful video, Rick. Your low-light talent is most impressive! I’m going to have to keep an eye out for that flipping you mention (and show).
The swan pic is a classic, very nice pics all round.
Do i take this to mean that Pond and Honey (sounds like barristers) could hang around all winter, if so, Prof(E)it could be time to stock up and consider a thermal outhouse for your royal ducknesses.