Dawn Chorus: Fall in New England

by juliewolf

I love living in Vermont.  Our birds aren't as exotic as the Southwestern Species, and we don't commonly get the coastal excitement that they do over in NH and MA, but we get birds that are adaptable to the cold.  Fall in Vermont is especially interesting because we get boreal birds passing through as well as some occasional surprises.  One surprise happened to me just the other day in the form of this Barred Owl

                               

I didn't photograph it for long, but apparently it's been hanging out in this one spot, not far from my house (I could walk there without too much hassle), for months.  

Below the fold, I'll share some of our other local Fall birds, as well as a fairly major surprise/life bird.

continued at Daily Kos....

Underwater Hawai'i - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

This is a photo diaries meant only as a brief respite from the ugliness of the day and as a reminder that we share this fragile planet with all manner of amazing creatures. I hope you enjoy your visit here.

The Waianae Coast

continued at Daily Kos....

Dawn Chorus Birdblog: It's all just a blur

by lineatus

I'm a decent bird photographer, but I'm not a great bird photographer.  For those of us with average abilities, a big part of looking like a halfway decent photographer is just knowing what not to show anyone else - don't annoy them with bird-dots (unless that tiny little object is actually quite rare and this is your only documentation and you can actually see some identifying marks on that little sesame seed of a bird...), don't post a lot of out of focus, underexposed/overexposed shots where the bird is half-obscured.

Except, sometimes those photos really work...

Pileated Woodpecker... they always feel like they're part of a dreamscape when I see them.  Even this blurry, they're so iconic that there's never any doubt.  (BTW, this is a color photo.  srsly.)

continued at Daily Kos....

Hawai'i Underwater and More - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

Welcome to another one of these photo diaries meant as a brief respite from the stuggles of the day and as a reminder that we share this planet with all manner of wonderful critters...

Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe
...and the occasional beautiful human-created space.  
(this is an infrared-HDR photo)

continued at Daily Kos....

Underwater Hawai'i and More - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

Good evening.  It is time for another one of these photo diaries provided only as a brief respite from the struggles of the day and as a brief reminder that we share this planet with all manner of amazing critters. I hope you enjoy your visit here.

Molokai Dawn

continued at Daily Kos....

Underwater Hawai'i - A Photo Diary with bOObies

by Haole in Hawaii

This is another one of these photo diaries meant as a small refuge from the strugggles of the day and as a brief reminder that we share this planet with all manner of amazing critters. I hope you enjoy your visit here.

Sea Star Shrimp Periclimenes soror on a Cushion Star Culcita novaguineae
When you turn over these echinoderms you often find these tiny crustaceans.  Their color varies to match their host.

continued at Daily Kos....

Underwater Hawai'i - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

This is another one of these photo diaries meant to provide a brief respite from Tea Party insanity and Meta Madness and as a reminder that we share this planet with a wide variety of amazing critters.  These photos with a couple of exceptions were taken this past weekend.  I hope you enjoy your visit here.

He'eia
Windward Oahu.

continued at Daily Kos...

Environmental Photo of the Year

by Gangster Octopus

Nature is an amazing place, and some folks manage to capture nature at its most amazing and beautiful in images that remind us of this fact and what is at stake.

Th Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management awarded their2010 Photographer of the Year for:

A picture of an unprecedented congregation of Munkiana Devil Rays in Baja California Sur has won Florian Schulz the prestigious 2010 title of The Environmental Photographer of the Year.

"During an aerial expedition over the coast of Baja California Sur, I came across something I had never seen before.... As we glided high above over the water looking for whales, a large dark spot caught our attention. As we got closer we started to discover its nature: an unprecedented congregation of rays. The group was as thick as it was wide, all heading towards the same direction...."

continued at Daily Kos....

Underwater Hawai'i with Boobies - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

This is another in a series of photo diaries intended as a brief respite from the struggles of the day and as a reminder that we share this planet with an amazing variety of critters.  I hope you enjoy your visit here.

Spotted Eagle Ray
This is a case of trying to salvage a low-contrast technically flawed photo using some software tools to give a different look. Maybe not entirely successful but better than the original.

continued at Daily Kos....

Hawai'i Underwater - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

This is another photo diary meant to provide a brief respite from the stuggles of the day and as a reminder that we share this planet with all matter of amazing critters. These photos were taken this past weekend, including sunrise at Lanai Lookout at the eastern end of Oahu and during four dives on the west side of the island.  I hope you enjoy your visit here.

Pre-Dawn

continued at Daily Kos....

Vacation in A Volcano: a trs & iriti joint photodiary

by it really is that important

In mid-August, new hubby trs and I took our teenage daughter to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. Yellowstone is the site of a huge volcanic caldera caused by the most recent eruption of a still active volcanic hot spot (this neat interactive shows the location of the hot spot in relation to the overlying land over time.)

Yellowstone still shows evidence of the magma pool below it, with 1000 to 3000 earthquakes per year. It's this magma that's responsible for Yellowstone's primary attractions: the largest collection of geothermal features like hot springs, geysers and steam vents in the world.
 

Stream rising from a pool at Midway Basin by iriti

continued at Daily Kos....

Underwater Hawai'i - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

This is another of these diaries meant as a respite from the stuggles of the day and as a reminder that we share this planet with a huge variety of incredible creatures.  Remember we are all related.

These photos were taken during four dives this past weekend on the north shore of Oahu in Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District. I hope you enjoy your visit.

Rain Over the Mokuluas

continued at Daily Kos....

Okavango Wildlife - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

Another one of these diaries meant to provide a brief respite from.. well you know.  These photos were taken in the Okavango and Linyanti regions of northwest Botswana.

Savuti Sunset

continued at Daily Kos....

Hawai'i Underwater - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

This is another in a series of diaries meant only as a brief respite from the stuggles and infuriations of the day and as a reminder that we share this planet with all manner of amazing critters.  These photos were taken during a handfull of dives over the past two weekends including a night dive last night at Pupukea Marine Reserve. I hope you enjoy your visit.

Lanikai Beach

continued at Daily Kos....

African Wildlife and More - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

This is another one of these diaries.  You probably know the drill by now.  No meta or conflict, just some photos of wildlife and some beautiful things.  I have to say that I am in a serious post vacation funk abetted by tons of ugly news and a country that seems to have gone utterly insane. I doubt I am alone in my anger and disgust.  I hope this helps in some small way.

The Mokuluas, Oahu

continued at Daily Kos....

GULF COAST, New Agenda

by Knucklehead

  As usual, I`m back on Fridays to post my coral reef images & to lend my small support to all the people from the gulf, & for all the plants & animals, above & belowthe surface.
I fear the damage will affect more the denizens of the deep, than the more visible surface land inhabitants.
  As I`m sure you`ll all concur, I believe this was by design, … to minimize the visible surface  damage, at the much greater expense of the out-of-sight underwater damage.
I`m encouraged, albeit minimally, of the renewed pushback against the mantra of “the oil is gone”, a magical feat, (read, pack of lies) akin to the  (mushroom cloud from WMD`S in Iraq).

BP

continued at Daily Kos....

Big Kittehs & Wild Woozles - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

This is another photo diary of images that I was fortunate enough to capture during a recent trip to the Okavango and Linyanti wilderness of northwest Botswana.

Sundowner

continued at Daily Kos....

Wildlife of the Okavango - A Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

I recently returned from a photo safari to the Okavango and Linyanti wilderness of northwest Botswana. These photos are a result of that amazing trip.  I offer this diary as a brief respite from the struggles of the day and a reminder that, holy sh*t, it's a leopard! There is still some wilderness left on earth. Not much and it is threatened, but there is a little. A big chunk of it is in Botswana.

Burchell's zebra (Equus burchellii)

continued at Daily Kos...

GULF COAST, NEW DAYS

by Knucklehead

  Lately, I`ve been not so enthused about the progress in the gulf.
I see the ramping up of activism in diaries with multiple posters, that, great unto themselves, the collective impact is much more than the sum of it`s parts.
Here are a few links.

http://www.dailykos.com/... - 295Drill,BP,-DrillBPs-Gulf-Catastrophe

http://www.dailykos.com/...

http://www.dailykos.com/...

OCTOPUSES GARDEN

continued at Daily Kos...

Really Big Pooties - A Botswana Photo Diary

by Haole in Hawaii

I recently returned from my second once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Okavango and Linyanti wilderness of northwest Botswana. This dairy includes the some of the photographic results of that trip. I offer it as a brief respite from the insanity of the day, whatever that may mean to you, and as a reminder that we share this planet with some amazing creatures.

The Okavango

continued at Daily Kos...