#pied plover

[unrestrained-balderdash-art-blog]

Day 11 of Pied Month! Again, multiple puns for this, the Pied Plover/Lapwing - Pied Pallovaro, Pied Plovelessaro, and Pied Lapbing. Having a lot of fun with doing highlights on pride flags as different flags (the loveless one killed me since I did both of them the wrong way round first)

Reference photo by Kester Clarke

I'm on Cara, it's a social media for art that's against AI, follow me @ tbalderdash

[supremebirdbracket]

A couple of very baby-looking plovers.

Piping plovers can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America and in the Great Lakes region, as well as the Caribbean during the winter, spending their time on sandy or rocky beaches. These plovers have an elaborate mating display: A male will excavate several “scrapes” (nests), toss stones, and complete a courtship flight. A female will then choose his best scrape and demonstrate her choice by camouflaging it with beach debris. Like many plovers, parents may feign a broken wing to distract predators from their young. Chicks’ primary defense is their excellent camouflage. Unfortunately, piping plovers are endangered due to habitat destruction and nearby human activity, especially in relation to breeding sites.

Pied plovers, more accurately known as pied lapwings, live along lakes and rivers in northern South America. They are usually called plovers due to their plover-like appearance, but are taxonomically more closely related to lapwings, belonging to the genus Vanellus. They appear to be altitudinal migrants, pushed by the wet season to higher ground. They mainly eat insects and snails, and have even been recorded eating scorpions. They lay their eggs in shallow scrapes and camouflage them by covering them with sand.

[tenth-sentence]

The teru-tero (Vanellus cayanus) is another bird which often disturbs the stillness of the night.

"Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle Round the World, 1832-36" - Charles Darwin

[uwmspeccoll]

A Feathursday in Wading

This week we present a few wading birds -- some by lakes and rivers, some by the seashore -- rendered in black and white and hand-colored wood engravings by British author and wood engraver Eric Fitch Daglish (1892-1966) from his 1948 publication Birds of the British Isles, published in London by J. M. Dent & Sons in a limited edition of 1500 copies. Shown here from top to bottom are:

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)

Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)

Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)

Birds of the British Isles is a donation from our friend, Wisconsin wood engraver Tony Drehfal.

View more posts from this volume.

View more Feathursday posts.

[dansnaturepictures]

10th February 2024: A fantastic day at Lymington, Pennington, Milford on Sea, Toyd Down, Ashley Walk in the New Forest and home

Photos taken in this set today are of; vibrant daffodil and Red Admiral at Lymington great spring sights the ones I took of the Red Admiral surely my earliest ever butterfly photos in a year, fabulous Corn Buntings at Toyd Down among my first of the year always so exciting to see, views at Toyd Down and Ashley Walk in nice light, the sensational and stylish Red-breasted Goose among a gaggle charming Brent Geese at Pennington the rare Red-breasted a joy to see one of my birds of the year so far, Meadow Pipit at Toyd Down and views at Milford on Sea, out the back at home and Lymington.

Among the other highlights on one of my most memorable ever days of wildlife watching today were my first Yellowhammer and Brown Hare of the year at Toyd Down, Spoonbill, Curlew, Ringed Plover and lesser celandine at Lymington and Pennington, Buzzard at Toyd Down, Fieldfares at Toyd Down and Ashley Walk, Fallow Deer at Ashley Walk and hoards of Pied Wagtails flying to roost at Ashley Walk which was a nice immersive sight. We were also very fortunate to get an incredible view of an angelic male Hen Harrier gliding over the landscape today, one of our greatest ever views of this iconic bird, and snowdrops adorning verges was a great sight the journey today with Starlings enjoyed at home. My bird year list is up to 123 making it the fifth highest a year list of mine has been on this date which I'm thrilled with.

[whatsthebird]

Week of 17MAR2024 Answers

Answers hidden under the cut.

120 - Little Pied Cormorant by @officalukraine

121 - Piping Plover by @birbbro

122 - American Goldfinch by @raspberrymoonx

123 - Eastern Kingbird by @owlcreme

124 - Cooper's Hawk by @artifcedivine

125 - White-throated Sparrow by @tasty-patches

126 - Anhinga by @comedownstairsandsayhello

How many birds did you get right? Consider adding correct birds to your WTB Life List!

As always, birding is a cooperative experience. Help your fellow birders out by discussing key features that help identity and distinguish a bird in the notes.

Finally, let's give a feathery thank you to this week's submitters.

Keep the game alive! Submit a bird HERE

[queersrus]

Bird theme

general bird theme

tagging: @bpdxhoardic, @s-hinobun

owl, parrot

(Nick)Names:

bird, birdi/birdie/birdy, birdette, birdley, beak, blue, bill, byrd, byrdi/byrdie/byrdy, berd, berdi/berdie/berdy, birdo, budgy/budgie, birdine/byrdine/berdine, bittern wing, wren feather, feasant, falcon, fiacre, fugl, fugel, fagel song owl, oiseau, ocell, ocellu ave, ava, avi, avia, aviar, aviary, arden, alouette, avis, aviana, avion, arno, adler, arvid, audette, amsel, avem, aderyn, allen, avocet crow, chick, callum, circe, chirp, corbin, colm, colombe, columbia, canary, caique, chickadee dove, duck, dipper hen, hawk, hoot, hooty, hum/humm, hummer, humming, hunter sparrow, stork, swan, shiri pheasant, pelican, prey, phoenix, paloma, peregrine, peregrina, paxaro, pouli, poulaki, ptashka, ptitsa, pasare, ptica, ptashynyy, ptakh, parrot, parakee, parakeet, pidgy, pidgin/pidgen/pigeon, pidove, pidge, plovar, plover, perch, percher raven, robin eagle, ezio, eun, ean, egg, eggbirt/egbirt/eggbert/egbert kite, kestrel/kestral quail, quill jay, jonah, jonas gavin, game, gannet, geese, goose mavis, merle, merula, merel, madar vulture, vogel, vorona, vtak, vtaci lark, lonan, lind, lintu, loon talon, teal, teyr, tweet, tweety/tweeti/tweetie ucello nest, nester

1stp prns: i/me/my/mine/myself

bi/bii/bir/birdine/birdself wi/win/wing/wingine/wingself fi/fea/feath/feathine/featherself bi/bea/beak/beakine/beakself ei/egg/eggs/eggine/eggself ti/tal/talon/taline/talonself ni/ne/nes/nestine/nestself twi/twee/tweet/tweetine/tweetself pi/pe/per/perchine/perchself bi/bii/bill/billine/billself chi/chii/chir/chirpine/chirpself

2ndp prns: you/your/yours/yourself

bo/bir/birds/birdself wo/wingr/wingrs/wingrself fo/feather/feathers/featherself bo/beakr/beakrs/beakrself eo/eggr/eggrs/eggrself to/talonr/talonr/talonrself no/nester/nesters/nesterself two/tweeter/tweeters/tweeterself po/percher/perchers/percherself bo/billr/billrs/billrself cho/chir/chirpers/chirpself

3rdp prns: they/them/theirs/themself

bi/bird/birds/birdslef bi/ird, bird/birds wi/wing/wings/wingself wi/ing, wing/wings bea/beak/beaks/beakself e/egg/eggs/eggself eg/egg, egg/eggs tal/talon/talons/talonself tal/on, talon/talons nes/nest/nests/nestself ne/est, nest/nests, nest/nester nest/nesting twe/tweet/tweets/tweetself twee/tweet, twe/eet, tweet/tweets tweet/tweeting song/bird water/bird per/perch/perches/perchself per/ch, per/erch, perch/perches perch/perching bi/bill/bills/billself bi/ill, bill/bills phea/pheasant/pheasants/pheasantself phea/sant, pheasant/pheasants chi/chirp/chirps/chirpself chi/irp, chirp/chirps

Titles

the bird, the bird of prey, the small bird, the waterbird, the songbird, the flightless bird, the migrator, the migrating bird, the one who migrates, the one who tweets, the one who chirps, the nest, the nest of eggs, the egg, the wing, the falling feather, the winged one, the nester, the nesting bird, the caretaker of birds, the bird trainer, the bird owner, the birds nest, the feathered one, the one with talons, the one with feathers, the pretty bird

(prn) who chirps, (prn) who tweets, (prn) who nests, (prn) who flies, (prn) who cannot fly, (prn) who dives for prey, (prn) who lays eggs, (prn) who cares for bird, (prn) who trains birds, (prn) who is bird-like, (prn) who is winged, (prn) who takes flight, (prn) who cannot take flight, (prn) who has feathers, (prn) who is feathered

this bird, this bird of prey, this songbird, this waterbird, this bird trainer, this nest, this birds nest, this wing, this feather, this winged hunter, this small bird, this pretty bird

[neopronouns]

hi, it's me the bird/astronomy guy again. Could I add these other genders to my previous requests?

Genders relating to:

partridges and plasma american coots and the constellation of Centaurus toucans and cosmic webs harpy eagles and the sun the pied avocet and Saturn's Great Red Spot baltimore orioles and the Sirius silver star. mynas and Venus pigeons and Pluto frogmouth birds and the Lagoon Nebula hoatzins and cosmic rays blue-footed boobys and the concept of spaghettification plovers and pulsars the stripe-breasted starthroat and the Omega Nebula kookaburras and the Great Rift oxpeckers and Herbig–Haro objects cardinals and neutron star mergers secretary birds and the Sagittarius C

queued!

[echoes-of-kemet]

Do yu know what other animals were in ancient egypt? I want my oc to have a unique animal and you seem to know a fair amount

I am a well of ridiculous, hyperspecific, only interesting to some trivia lmao.

I would encourage you not to limit yourself to an entirely unique beast- many deities share sacred animals and are still strong individuals. My mind immediately goes to the huge number of feline deities- lions and lionesses in particular- for an example. Additionally, it's nigh impossible for me (with no academic anthropology/egyptology/historic zoology knowledge) to say for certain that particular animals were present in Kemet when they have no documented deities, mummies, or written mentions. I've had to guess for some, deduce by their present day habitats and more or less "timeline" of their species.

It's also important to keep in mind Kemet had contact with other civilizations in other habitats, meaning they were aware of animals not necessarily native to the area. A perfect example is the Hamadryas baboon- they were Nubian animals, but were sacred to both Thoth and Babi, depicted in art, and many mummies of the species have been recovered. A more surprising example is the Syrian brown bear, which was a rare exotic spectacle for the royal elite. There's also the trouble of many species now being extant from the area, meaning they were there but the local population is now extinct- the African sacred ibis is the example my mind comes to first, the waterfowl no longer present along the Nile.

Coincidentally, I've been compiling a list of animals for my own reference to supply a beast or two for the deities that don't have one in tradition. 

Birds

Abdim's Stork

African Darter

African Dwarf Kingfisher

African Grass Owl

African Open-billed Stork

African Pied Wagtail

African Sacred Ibis

Asian Green Bee-Eater

Barbary Falcon

Barbary Partridge

Barn Owl

Barn Swallow

Bearded Vulture

Bennu Heron (likely not an actual animal, the Bennu bird inspired by the Goliath Heron- but felt like including it anyhow)

Black Kite

Black Stork

Black-throated Loon

Black-winged Kite

Brown-necked Raven

Carrion Crow

Cattle Egret

Chukar Partridge

Common Buzzard

Common Cormorant

Common Crane

Common Greenshank

Common House Martin

Common Kestrel

Common Kingfisher

Common Pochard

Common Quail

Common Raven

Common Redshank

Common Redstart

Common Sandpiper

Common Spoonbill

Common Teal

Crab Plover

Crested Plover

Dalmatian Pelican

Demoiselle Crane

Eagle (I'm sure there were some, but I can't find any definitive evidence of species in the ancient Kemetic culture- I would take a guess that the Golden Eage was an infrequent visitor)

Egyptian Plover

Egyptian Vulture

European Roller (considered a pest)

European Turtle-dove

Eurasian Coot

Eurasian Crag Martin

Eurasian Teal

Eurasian Wigeon

Fan-tailed Raven

Ferruginous Duck

Gadwall

Garganey

Glossy Ibis

Golden Oriole

Goliath Heron

Great Bittern

Great Bustard

Great Cormorant

Great Egret

Great Spotted Cuckoo

Great White Pelican

Greater Flamingo (possibly not native)

Green Sandpiper

Grey Heron

Griffon Vulture

Helmeted Guineafowl (not native)

Hermit Ibis

Hobby Falcon

Honey Buzzard

Hooded Crow

Hoopoe

Houbara Bustard

House Crow

House Sparrow (pest, hieroglyph had negative connotation)

Kittliz's Plover

Lanner Falcon

Lappet-faced Vulture

Laughing Dove

Lesser Kestrel

Lesser Pied Kingfisher

Little Bittern

Little Bustard

Little Egret

Little Owl

Long-eared Owl

Long-legged Buzzard

Mallard

Marabou Stork

Marsh Sandpiper

Masked Shrike

Merlin

Mourning Wheatear

Northern Lapwing

Northern Pintail

Northern Shoveler

Ostrich

Pale Crag Martin

Peregrine Falcon

Pied Avocet

Pink-backed Pelican

Purple Gallinule

Purple Heron

Red Kite

Red-backed Shrike

Red-footed Falcon

Red-rumped Wheatear

Reed Cormorant

Ring-necked Dove

Rock Dove

Rook

Ruddy Shelduck

Saddle-bill Stork

Saker Falcon

Sandhill Crane

Sand Martin

Sand Partridge

Short-eared Owl

Spotted Redshank

Sooty Falcon

Squacco Heron

Striated Heron

Swan (not native)

Tawny Owl

Tufted Duck

Western Reef Heron

White-backed Night Heron

White-crowned Wheatear

White Stork

White Wagtail

Wood Sandpiper

Yellow-billed Stork

Mammals

Aardvark (possibly not native)

Aardwolf

Addax Antelope

African Clawless Otter

African Giant Shrew

African Green Monkey (not native)

African Grass Rat

African Leopard

African Striped Weasel

Arabian Oryx

Barbary Deer (not native)

Barbary Lion (now extinct)

Barbary Macaque (not native)

Black Rat

Common Patas Monkey (not native)

Black Rhinoceros

Blanford's Fox

Black Wildebeest

Bubal Hartebeest (now extinct)

Cairo Spiny Mouse

Cape Hare

Caracal

Cheetah

Common Beisa Oryx

Common Genet

Desert Hedgehog

Desert Long-eared Bat

Dorcas Gazelle

Desert Black Cobra

Egyptian Fruit Bat

Egyptian Jackal/African Wolf (originally misidentified, now the African Wolf)

Egyptian Mongoose

Egyptian Pipistrelle

Egyptian Red Fox

Egyptian Slit-faced Bat

Egyptian Tomb Bat

Egyptian Weasel

Egyptian Wild Ass 

Fennec Fox

Flower's Shrew

Four-toed Jerboa

Geoffroy's Horseshoe Bat

Gerenuk

Giraffe

Golden Spiny Mouse

Greater Egyptian Jerboa

Greater Mouse-tailed Bat

Greater Red Musk Shrew

Hamadryas Baboon (not native)

Hippopotamus

Honey Badger

House Mouse

Lesser Egyptian Jerboa

Lesser Mouse-tailed Bat

Long-eared Hedgehog

Long-nosed Shrew

North African/Bush Elephant (vilified and driven out by prehistoric Egyptians)

North African Crested Porcupine (not native)

Nubian Ibex (not native)

Olive Baboon (likely not native, sometimes called the Anubis Baboon)

Persian Fallow Deer (not native)

Rhim Gazelle

Rüppell's Fox

Sand Rat

Serval (likely not native, but Ra was depicted as one)

Scimitar Oryx

Soemmerring's Gazelle

Somali Dwarf Shrew

Spotted Hyena

Spotted-necked Otter

Striped Hyena

Syrian Brown Bear (not native)

Wild Boar

White Rhinoceros

Yellow Baboon (not native, species' epithet means 'dog-head' in Greek)

Vervet Monkey

Reptiles

African Chameleon

African Rock Python

Arabian Horned Viper

Desert Horned Viper

Desert Monitor Lizard

Egyptian Cobra

Egyptian Gecko

Egyptian Sand Boa

Egyptian Sand Racer

Egyptian Tortoise

Javelin Sand Boa

Insects/Arachnids/Etc.

Nile Crocodile

Nile Soft-shelled Turtle

Red Spitting Cobra

Saharan Sand Viper

Amphibians

African Common Toad

European Green Toad

Marsh Frog

Mascarene Grass Frog

Nile Delta Toad

Nile Valley Toad

Camel Spider

Banded Garden Spider

Brown Widow Spider

Carpenter Ant

Centipede

Click Beetle

Common Housefly (NOT considered a pest, actually revered as a protector)

Danaid Eggfly

Desert Ant

Desert Locust

Devil's Coach Horse Beetle

Dorippus Tiger Butterfly

Dragonfly

Flea

Fire Ant

Jewel Beetle

Gaudy Commodore Butterfly

Half-edged Wall Jumping Spider

Large Salmon Arab Butterfly

Maggot/Carrion Fly

Migratory Locust

Messor Ant

Millipede

Red-breasted Goose

Mosquito (pest)

Moths in the Saturniidae family

Palestine Yellow Scorpion

Pantropical Jumping Spider

Pharaoh Ant

Plain Tiger Butterfly

Praying Mantis

Scarab Beetle

Sinai Baton Blue Butterfly

Southern White Admiral Butterfly

Scorpions in the Buthidae and Scorpionidae families

Water Scorpion

Fish, Mollusks, etc. (Keep in mind fish were taboo in Kemet)

Abju

African Catfish

African Tigerfish

Bayad Fish

Blacktip Shark

Blue-spotted Stingray

Bolti

Chromis

Cichlid

Cornish Jack

Eel

Flatfish

Gilt-head Bream

Great Barracuda

Leopard Shark

Lepidotus Fish

Loligo Squid

Lungfish

Moon Fish

Mullet

Nile Barb

Nile Bichir

Nile Carp

Nile Mormyrid

Nile Labeo

Nile Perch

Nile Puffer

Parrotfish

Reef Manta Ray

Reef Shark

Sandbar Shark

Sea Snake

Scorpionfish

Spiny Lobster

Sturgeon

Surgeonfish

Swordfish

Thornback Ray

Thresher Shark

Tiger Shark

Tilapia

Triggerfish

Unicorn Fish

Wrasse

Zebra Shark

Domestic Animals

Bean Goose

Brant Goose

Camel (not introduced until Middle/New Kingdom)

Cats (Mau breed)

Chickens (not introduced until New Kingdom era)

Cow/Bull

Dogs (Saluki, Greyhound, Basenji, and Pharaoh Hound breeds)

Donkey

Egyptian Goose

Greater White-fronted Goose

Greylag Goose

Honey Bees

Horse (not introduced until New Kingdom)

Pig

Ram

My sources, if you're interested, are the Wikipedia page for Egyptian wildlife, a few different diving sites about the Mediterranean and Red Sea, a couple books I own on Ancient Egypt that describe the geography of the periods, and this lovely reddit multi-post

Sheep

[mildlyembarrassedarmadillo]

i would like to hear more about birds. do you have a “Best Of” bird facts?

i got excited about birds on ao3 and now its your problem

hey ! sorry this took me a hot minute, suddenly had the most exam-ridden week of my life for some reason ?? i have also been compiling my very best bird facts to make sure this list is of the Highest Quality (but fair warning it probably isn't. in terms of silly little factoids i'm really not that great. i'm just a huge fan of my little backyard friends.)

anyway without further ado:

the pied billed grebe (a very small and really very cute water bird- a very teeny duck) has the unique ability to control its buoyancy. it can adjust itself so that only its head pokes up out of the water, like a little periscope, or like how alligators rest in the water with only their eyes and nostrils above the surface.

the black-capped chickadee's name is derived from its distinctive call. you can actually (to a certain extent anyway) figure out the particular meaning of a chickadee's call by how many 'dee''s are tacked on at the end (i believe longer calls, more than five or so dee's, are perceived as alarm calls?). i heard this Once, though, so. don't quote me on this.

the western meadowlark has the scientific name Sturnella neglecta because it was long believed to be the same species as the eastern meadowlark- that is to say, 'neglected' by previous biologists. (in reality, they can only be distinguished in the field by differences in their songs, i think- they really do look exactly the same)

chimney swifts- who before humans nested primarily on cliffsides and stuff like that- have become so well-adapted to nesting in chimneys that the influx of more modern, thinner chimneys (and the overall decrease in chimneys in general) is actually believed to be contributing to their decline as a species. very reminiscent of the old "upgrade, upgrade, WAIT GO BACK" meme.

birds (along with insects??) can in very rare cases be 'gynandromorphs'-- essentially half male and half female. the best example of this is the gynandromorph cardinal, which just looks split down the middle, one half bright red and one half duller brown. apparently this happens because one of the parents' sex chromosomes fails to divide properly during mitosis? idk.

many species of plovers and small shorebirds will do a clever 'defense display' whenever a potential threat approaches their nests, which are often exposed on the ground. the bird will feign a broken wing and lure the predator away from their nest, and once they've deemed they've drawn far enough away, the bird will take off unharmed and return to its eggs (i just think this is the smartest thing ever. plovers skyrocketed to some of my favorite birds as soon as i learned this).

hummingbird tongues are actually so long that they wrap around their skulls and eyes when not in use. when their tongue does unfurl to take up nectar, a complex system of tubes and flaps reflexively open to sort of 'scoop' the nectar in. (i just thought this was really weird. tiny freaks. i love them.)

uhmmrm i think that's all i have for now? hopefully this was at least a little interesting !! thank you for indulging my bird-related foolery!

[crambery]

BABY PIPING PLOVERS I CANT ŞUNA BAKK ANNEMMMM MİNİMİNNACIK BU NE YA YERE ATILMIŞ PİS MENDİLE BENZİYO

Piping Plover

[crossed-paws]

Crossed Paws, Book 1: Rising

The Characters of Crossed Paws

CAVECLAN

Territory: a rocky terrain of uneven and potentially treacherous ground

Prey: Rockslides, falling boulders, cliffs, skylarks, dunlins, ring ousel, red squirrels, golden plovers, black grouse, pied flycatchers, redstarts, sandpipers, dippers, grey wagtails

Dangers: Merlins, hen harriers, polecats, pine martens, otters, red kites

Camp location: a large cavern hidden amongst a handful of particularly narrow openings in the mountain face

Current High Saint and Herald: No High Saint, Doveband

What once began as the remnants of the Clan of Flapping Wings, nearly decimated and fragmented, has now transformed into CaveClan, the most formidable and influential of the four cat Clans. From its origins, marked by struggle and near extinction, CaveClan has risen through a combination of strategic prowess, unyielding resilience, and strong leadership. 

Over time, it has consolidated power and expanded its territory, establishing itself as the dominant force in the region. With a well-organized hierarchy and a reputation for both strength and wisdom, CaveClan has surpassed the other Clans in influence, setting the tone for inter-Clan relations and shaping the future of the Clan society. Its rise from the ashes of its predecessor reflects a remarkable story of revival and ascendancy, positioning it as the pivotal player in the ongoing dynamics among the Clans.

THE CATS OF CAVECLAN

HIGH SAINT

HERALD

Doveband — short-haired white cat with hazel eyes

Previous name(s): Sacred Dove, Mediator Dove

Referred to as: Dove

Gender: She-cat

Age: 7 summers

SHAMAN

Droopthorn — long-haired black cat with gold eyes

Previous name(s): Sacred Droop, Disciple Droop

Referred to as: Droop

Gender: Tom

Age: 8 winters

SCHOLAR

HEALERS

WARRIORS

APPRENTICES

BLESSEDS

SACREDS

Sacred Bumble — short-haired black and red tortoiseshell-tabby cat with yellow eyes

Previous name(s): -

Referred to as: Bumble

Gender: She-cat

Age: 4 moons

ELDERS

CAVECLAN FAMILY TREE

[supremebirdbracket]

From left to right: Pied plover, Blacksmith plover, Spur-winged lapwing

[lindsaystravelblogs4]

Time for some birds - I know you have been waiting impatiently for them. A Great Egret; a Black-fronted Dotterel; two White Ibis, a little Pied Cormorant and another Great Egret in a tree: a Black-tailed Native Hen: some Masked Lapwings; some Pelicans, some Red-capped Plovers; a Pacific Gull; a New Holland Honeyeater; and a Silver Gull (aka common seagull).

[inc-b]

On my 6am mental/physical health walk and it's beautiful here in Hobart.

Then, in the distance, I spot this:

Cool! An Antarctic research ship!

So I decide to walk over and have a look. It's a long way so I get to thinking about the history of research vessels. How the deepest part of the ocean was discovered in the 1870s by a wooden sailing ship, and how lucky they were to stumble on it. I still don't understand how they measured it - 8 kilometres of waterlogged hemp rope. Almost twice the distance I'm walking today.

I stop a few times for birds.

Little Pied Cormorant.

I'm about halfway now and realise I can detour to one of my favourite bits of local history - the site where Fanny Cochrane Smith sang into a wax cylinder phonograph, leaving the only audio record of any Tasmanian Aboriginal language.

If you'd like to know why there's been no further recordings in the 120 years since you should probably read about the Black War.

You can listen to her voice here: https://aso.gov.au/titles/music/fanny-cochrane-smith-songs/

There's even a photo of her listening to the recordings:

And here's a photo I took this morning in roughly the same spot, 120 years and two months later.

But the ship is still an hour away so I keep going, and spot a Masked Lapwings (aka a 'plover'), one of my five favourite birds.

Making good time now, but I stop to take some photos of the CSIRO Marine Laboratories because it's such a cool looking building.

A bit further on I spot a certain orange ship!

Wait...

Turns out this is a corporate owned support vessel. It's definitely involved in some kind of research, but the ship I'm looking for is still a bit further on (you can see it to the left).

Nearly there! I start rushing at this point because a cruise ship is moving in to dock and I don't want to be caught up in that.

Finally, I can see the ship up close. The RSV Nuyina! The name is palawa for the aurora australis/southern lights, which is a nice tribute to the Aurora Australis ice breaker it replaced.

Unfortunately, this is as close as I can get. Social anxiety (and common sense) stop me from wandering into an active port, but I'm happy enough with this pic. Time to walk home.

[dansnaturepictures]

Ten of my favourite photos I took in October 2024 and month summary

The photos are of; fly agaric at Matley Wood in the New Forest, shaggy scalycaps at Lakeside Country Park, Kingfisher at Blashford Lakes, Speckled Wood, Migrant Hawker, Mottled shieldbugs and view at Lakeside, autumn leaves in Winchester and Michaelmas daisies and New Forest Pony at Lymington.

October was a fantastic month of fungi for me. In the peak season I treasured seeing many spectacular, gorgeous and fascinating species including fly agaric, devil's fingers, amethyst deceiver, yellow stagshorn, shaggy scalycap, candlesnuff fungi, bleeding fairy helmet, eyelash fungi, parasol, turkey tail, earthballs, panthercap, false death cap, sulphur tuft and waxcaps. It has also been nice to see slime mould including red raspberry slime mould at a few places and lichen and moss.

I had a brilliant birdwatching month too with some special species seen heading well into autumn. Key species seen were a fair few Kingfishers, Water Rail, Great White Egret, Greenshank, Avocet, Lapwing, Jack Snipe, Sanderling, Common Gull, Pochard, Gadwall, Pintail, Wigeon, Shoveler, Teal, Goosander, Brent Geese, Egyptian Geese, Little Grebe, Marsh Harriers, Siskin, Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, lots of Jays seen in their active time of year, notable Ravens at Lakeside and home, Dunnock, Blackcap at Lakeside, Cetti's Warbler, Wren and Long-tailed Tit. Turnstones and Ringed Plover seen well, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coots and Greylag Geese at Lakeside, Jackdaw and Magpie seen a lot, Red Kite in Winchester, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Chaffinch, Grey Wagtail seen well and Pied Wagtail were also great to see. Glorious scenes came this month with the return of the Redwings a key bird of the autumn and winter, I was elated to see a Hen Harrier and I was thrilled to see the Winchester Peregrines and Lakeside Great Crested Grebes including their chicks a lot.

There were some nice butterflies to see still with lots of Speckled Woods especially at Lakeside, Red Admiral and Peacock and I was amazed to see a Hummingbird Hawk-moth in Winchester as well as other moths. Dragonflies and damselflies continued to shine this month with so many splendid views of Migrant Hawkers and Southern Hawker and Common Darters too. My first Willow Emerald Damselfly of the year was special to see at Fishlake Meadows. Other insects I enjoyed seeing this month were Mottled shieldbugs and other shieldbugs, wasps and hornets. It was good to see lots of spiders this month too including Long-bodied Cellar spider at home and snails and slugs. In terms of mammals I enjoyed seeing the also active Grey Squirrels a few times, Roe and Fallow Deers and New Forest Ponies.

Key flowers seen this month included Michaelmas daisies, forget-me-not, comfrey, lots of oxtongue, dandelion, tormentil, bell heather, common mallow, white deadnettle, stinging nettle, daisy, water mint, vervain, viper's-bugloss, horseweed, common and ivy-leaved toadflax, hogweed, yarrow, hedge woundwort, ragwort, gorse, dock, herb-Robert and wood avens which brought some wonderful colour as it quietened down for flowers. Wild carrot, teasel, hemp agrimony and spear thistle were among pretty seed heads enjoyed this month with cleavers enjoyed too. There was also a great display of berries this month again with rose hips, hawthorn berries, guelder rose berries, dogwood berries, nightshade berries and snowberries creating vibrant scenes.

And of course this month the splendour of autumn's colour was captivating and wholesome to observe. I also enjoyed taking in many great other vistas this month including coast, reedbed and general wetland, rivers and New Forest heaths and woodland. There were some special sky scenes observed this month too. Have a great November all.