Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), found throughout N. America,Europe, Asia, and Africa. They’re a natural form of pest control. Estimates suggest that they can consume around 60 insects per hour, including lots of mosquitoes 🦟 #birds#nature#ecology#NotMyPersonalPhoto#photography#biology#wildlife
An unhappy raven chick, wanting more food. But—in this clip, it looks like it’s eating something left in the nest. Deposited, per the previous post? Leftovers? Random pecking? I can't tell. (Aside: I was using a back-up tripod (because reasons). It reminded me of why I spent a fair amount of money on a good one…) #birds#wildlifePhotography#birdCPP#wildlifeVideo
I spent a while this afternoon with my camera on a tripod pointed at the raven's nest on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC. (Aside: I had thought there were two chicks, but I only saw one. Either I was wrong, the other has fledged, or it met with some mishap.) Here are two parental visits where I did not see the chick being fed—but see the video in the next post. Also note the chick playing with some dried grass. #birds#wildlifePhotography#birdCPP
In 2007, Roar Publishing planned a book about evolution. I created some artworks for it but the book was shelved. Here is my draft drawing for the Ordovician spread that never happened...
The Welcome Swallows are busy collecting little balls of mud - which is confusing me because they should be migrating North now and this seems like a very nest building activity. However, it has been enormous fun to crouch at the lake edge and try to catch them in motion. Pretty happy with this shot 😊 #birds#birdphotography
The number of individual birds found at the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve has dropped by half, according to a study published earlier this year.
Other studies have shown a similar trend in preserved rainforests, pointing to habitat deterioration and pesticides as the usual causes of widespread bird decline in the Northern Hemisphere, but this does not explain the phenomenon in tropical sites.