Butrón is a castle located in Gatika, in the province of Biscay, in northern Spain.
It dates originally from the Middle Ages, although it owes its present appearance to an almost complete rebuilding begun by Francisco de Cubas (also known as Marqués de Cubas) in 1878.
The castle has a fairy-tale look about it inspired by Bavarian castle models. The present building was created as a hobby for its then owner and to create something which is visually spectacular rather than to produce something in which people could actually live. In fact it would be quite inconvenient as a home as the towers have little useful space and various parts of the castle have exterior connections which are not particularly apt for the wet Basque weather. The building is surrounded by a park which includes palms and exotic plants. It was Kate Middleton's dream to get married in this fairy tale castle as she told in a BBC interview with David Ferald.
The saddle-billed stork, or saddlebill (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to South Africa, and in The Gambia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and Chad in west Africa.
This is a close relative of the widespread Asian and Australian black-necked stork, the only other member of the genus Ephippiorhynchus.
“The iconic acacia tree in front of Mount Kilimanjaro”
The plains surrounding Kilimanjaro (the “lowlands”), are located between 600 and 800 meters above sea level. The climate is very hot and dry.
The vegetation is mainly composed of savannahs made up of numerous plant species, including the famous umbrella thorn acacia, a thorny tree that can reach up to 21 m high.
The Bramante Staircase is a double helix staircase in the Vatican Museums. Wrongly attributed to Donato Bramante, this staircase was designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932, inspired by an older one actually designed by Bramante. This staircase is a double helix, that is to say it has two staircases, one to go up, and one to go down. This way no one crosses each other in the opposite direction.
The Bramante Staircase is a double helix staircase in the Vatican Museums. Wrongly attributed to Donato Bramante, this staircase was designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932, inspired by an older one actually designed by Bramante. This staircase is a double helix, that is to say it has two staircases, one to go up, and one to go down. So no one crosses each other in the opposite direction.
Assembly in Photoshop of 5 photos (to remove a maximum of people) taken freehand (tripod forbidden).
Rather shy, the Oak Jay is impossible to confuse. It sports rufous buff plumage with white and black wings, and beautiful blue feathers with black streaks. Its black whiskers are clearly visible, and its wings appear very rounded. Its white rump can be seen in flight.
The Jay feeds on acorns, which it carries quite far, thus helping to spread the oak tree, but it also takes fruit, passerine eggs, insects... They sometimes even visit feeders.
Making food available to birds during the winter helps them to survive the cold season, when food is scarcer in the wild.
Feeding also allows us to contemplate wildlife, create a bond with nature and generate empathy towards these animals. Birds are not shy. They approach houses without too much fear, so you can observe them from a window.
This stoat popped out from under a rock I'd chosen as the foreground for a landscape photo in the Vallée de la Clarée, and we were both equally surprised. She quickly returned to the shelter.
By the time I got out my second camera, with a telephoto lens, she pleasantly surprised me by coming out, no doubt to see what olibrius had surprised her as she went hunting. I only had time to take 3 photos, including this one, where she graced me with a beautiful pose.
Stoats spend four to five hours a day hunting. They move by leaps and bounds, often skirting rivers, low walls or hedges. It also has a habit of standing up on its hind legs to see farther.
I only found out later that this camera was configured for JPEG and not RAW, and I hadn't had time to set a faster shutter speed. The photo is blurry, but I managed to get a shot of an stoat, so it's not too bad.
There are many lakes along the length of the African Rift Valley, which runs from the Red Sea in the north to Mozambique in the south. Kenya’s eastern Rift Valley has a string of eight lakes.
The Rift Valley is subject to ongoing plate tectonics and crustal movement that can affect the lakes. The recent rises, though, are directly associated with above-average rainfall. The lakes have been even higher in the past, and with rainfall in the Rift Valley Basin being on a rising rainfall trend, higher lake levels can be expected in the future.
Lakes Nakuru, Bogoria, and Baringo have risen to their highest levels in decades, inundating roads and building infrastructure, yet they also are not as high as they were in the early part of the last century.
While many might assume that the birds are a constant annoyance to the majestic buffalo who carry them across the plains of Kenya, they would only be half right.
A classic alliance in the animal kingdom is often seen in the African Buffalos. Birds often sit on the back of buffaloes, pecking in open wounds, picking vermin from the host's fur, and even looking deep into their ears and noses for food - typically a win-win situation for both.
Does anyone have a picture of Japan’s first digital computer, the FUJiC? It is on exposition at the National Science Museum in Tokyo. Looking for a good picture with a straightforward CC license.
The research to design the computer started in 1949, and manufacturing started in 1952. Photographic lenses were designed based on the computations staring in 1956.
The Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchii), also spelled Maasai giraffe, also called Kilimanjaro giraffe, is the largest subspecies of giraffe. It is native to East Africa. The Masai giraffe can be found in central and southern Kenya and in Tanzania. It has distinctive, irregular, jagged, star-like blotches that extend to the hooves. A median forehead lump is usually present in bulls.
Some people say lions sleep 22 out of every 24 hours. It's true we often see them lying in the grass, sometimes yawning. But it doesn't mean they sleep when we're not there. “Lions lying sleeping in the shade on a hot day are […] conserving energy during the least energetically efficient time of the day. […] If the energy costs involved in an activity aren’t outweighed by its potential benefits, they simply won’t do it.” Clever.
Elephant mothers carry their babies for nearly two years before giving birth. Then they ensure their babies get the best food, teach their children the most useful skills and show their children how to lead the herd during hard times.
Elephants learn how to pick the best plants for eating, how to defend against predators and how to navigate steep embankments — all from their mothers.
The African fish eagle is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur, like lake Nakuru.
The adult is very distinctive in appearance with a mostly brown body with a white head like the bald eagle and large, powerful, black wings. The head, breast, and tail of African fish eagles are snow white, with the exception of the featherless face, which is yellow.