Nature

House Sparrow Feeding Time for Fledglings

Jeff

Sierra Vista, AZ is known for the birds that visit that area year-round. There are migratory birds that leave south and central America as well as Mexico and spend part of the summer in the southeast portion of Arizona. While visiting that region recently, we took note of a house sparrow nest in a tree and a male and female that were taking care of their young.

In the picture (below), the “dad” is bringing food to the babies. If you look closely you can see a grasshopper (or similar insect) just to the left of the tip of the yellow arrow (center of photo).

The adult bird is getting ready to “cram” the insect down the throat of the chick. They do this with great energy.

Male house sparrow cramming food into chick's mouth

In this case, as in some bird species, both adults take turns feeding the chicks. This is a picture of “mom” watching the meal being delivered and perhaps providing instructions.

Mother bird gives offering advice about feeding

The male bird has left for a “refill” and both chicks look on in anticipation. The one on the left almost appears to be frowning as it awaits its turn.

Chicks await more food delivery

Here is another photo of the chicks looking on with apparent increased vigilance and vocalizations.

Chicks calling for more food

This scene repeated itself over time and we enjoyed watching the protocol of the house sparrow for taking care of its fledglings. It is estimated that these chicks were just a few days away from leaving the nest as they are rather large; as chicks go.

Read More:

House Sparrow (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

Sialis: House Sparrow Biology

House Sparrows Habits

 



.JBRish.com originally published this post

Dubai World Record Eagle Flight – Video

Jeff

“[An] Eagle cam captures stunning footage of an imperial eagle descending over 2,700 ft (830 m) from the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai.”

Goal: Take an Imperial Eagle (with a camera attached) to the tallest building in the world and from that height, have it locate its handler and land on the arm of that trainer. The bird looks around for quite some time until it sees the trainer and then it folds its wings (@ 1:40 +/-) and dives. What details could a human see from that height? (Admittedly, the trainer appears to be in the middle of a large red square, but still…)

Apparently this event was held to draw attention to the fact that these eagles are endangered.

To learn more about how the eyesight of humans and eagles compare, read What If Humans Had Eagle Vision?

School Time for Orangutans – Picture

Jeff

Not quite a barrel of monkeys, but close!

Baby orangutans on the way to school

Picture courtesy of the Mirror, UK – www.mirror.co.uk

These baby orangutans were recently rescued from captivity according to a story in Mirror – UK. Once rescued, these apes need to be taught, well…how to be apes. They receive training in climbing and fending for themselves before being released into the wild.

Read the entire story and see the picture gallery at the link below:

Orangutan orphanage: Baby apes go to ‘forest school’ in wheelbarrow after being rescued from captivity

Dripping Springs Trail – OMDP NM, Las Cruces, NM

Jeff

Dripping Springs National Rec. Area Sign

In early May my wife and I visited Las Cruces, New Mexico to hike in the surrounding mountains. One area of focus was the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument which received this new federal designation about one year ago.

View of the surrounding mountains

This (pictured above) was one of the first views after leaving the visitor center. Las Cruces is to the left of the picture from this vantage point. We had no idea how well we would come to know these particular hills over the next several days.

Livery and other buildings date back to the late 1800s

As we made our way toward the springs, wooden buildings that were erected in the late 1800s became visible. The fact that anything remains of them today considering weather, potential vandalism and the ravages of nature is remarkable enough.

I couldn’t help myself in rendering this section of fence in what I hope is an appropriate black and white setting to pay homage to the past.

The structures were part of Van Patten’s Mountain Camp which included a historic hotel. These wooden buildings served as the stables, chicken coop, etc. for the resort. The hotel operated until the 1920’s. This area is now under the care of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The buildings have been stabilized, but remain fragile on site exploration by the public is not permitted.

The Mountain Camp hotel was a two-story, 14-room facility with dining and recreation facilities. The rock was harvested from the canyon and used to build the hotel. The resort was popular enough that in 1906, 18 more rooms were added.

Ruins of the hotel as seen from the porch of the main building

This is a view from the porch of what was most likely the main building.

Ruins of the hotel as seen from the porch of the main building

This is a closer view of the stabilized, but still precarious rock and mud walls of the hotel.

The resort was sold in 1915 to Dr. Nathan Boyd, a native of Illinois, who used it as a tuberculosis sanatorium. The property underwent a series of sales subsequently and in 1988 came under the jurisdiction of the BLM.

Time and nature have had their way with the ruins

ABOVE – Looking through the frame of what once was a window, we can see how time and nature are reclaiming the land as grass and weeds are now growing in a former interior space.

A series of old wall and window frames remain

These relics of the past stand as sentinels of yesteryear while they sadly greet modern hikers and nature lovers.

Below is a picture of the “dripping spring” which was running this day and threw off a fine mist as we approached the man-made rock wall which I suspect served as a type of dam.

The dripping spring from which the trail gets its name

As we retraced our steps down the mountain trail towards the visitor center, we passed the stables again and I was drawn to this old fence post with rusted, yet quite functional bolts. If only it could talk!

Close up of fence post and hardware

We were treated to this vista of Las Cruces from near the junction of the Dripping Springs trail and the connecting path to Fillmore Canyon.

A final view as we descend from the Dripping Springs Trail

More of the New Mexico adventure will follow…

Learn more on your own:

Dripping Springs Natural Area – BLM

Las Cruces Off The Beaten Path