Sat outside reading with “my” critters for three hours this sunny morning. The neighborhood mockingbird is a VERY enthusiastic virtuoso!
Brunch was leftover plain rotini with dollops of Tostitos’ queso dip. Unbelievably tasty/spicy (& not all that decadent).
January’s Albatross chicks in Dunedin, NZ, are about halfway to fledge time. The average chick now weighs about 20 pounds (equal to an adult) and are getting some dark wing plumage. (By comparison, bald eagles fledge at about 12 weeks & males weigh about 9 lbs.) Here’s the live-cam boy and his mom, talking things over before lunch. ⬇️ (From “Lady Hawk” YouTube channel)
"A drake mallard has set a speed record of 103 mph while migrating across southern Minnesota and southeast North Dakota [in the U.S.] on April 6, breaking the Cohen Wildlife Ecology Lab’s previous record of 99.3 mph set on the same day."
Outdoor Life reports: "The two GPS-tracked mallard caught the same weather front that helped them reach top speeds on their return flights to Canada."
"Someone feed me!" the youngster yelled 😂 .
The little Ravens have just climbed out of their nest and up the cliff, still wobbly on their feet but practising their wings.
Parents did a very good job. The food delivery was constant, as was the screaming of their kids whenever a parent approached with food.
I fill our bird feeders every morning, and the main seed mix feeder is always empty again within about 2 hours. They all start singing while I'm filling up, and then plop their babies down somewhere for breakfast as soon as I'm back in the house. I swear they have you believe that if I don't keep up with this they'll just starve for the day. As if we don't live in a rural village surrounded by actual seeds and bugs.
The 2008 book, A TIME TRAVELLER'S FIELD NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS OF DINOSAURS; I'll post a bunch of my illustrations. It is a fictional story, so be prepared for plenty of inaccuracies, for example, there is no evidence for autotomy in Tanystropheus.
I found a curlew’s egg. Under a tree and predated by a crow I guess. Shame as they’re increasingly rare. I love their mournful fluting of downward notes, so evocative of summer moors. #nature#birds