Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: walls

Last night, I decided that I would try and start posting the occasional photo taken during a 10-day trip to Trinidad & Tobago with six birding.photographer friends. My scattered photos will at least be together in my three albums from this holiday. I have already posted photos taken on the hike down to the cave. This outing was one of the highlights of the trip to Trinidad.& Tobago in March 2017. One that I wasn't sure I'd be able to manage, after reading endless accounts and descriptions of how difficult the trail was. In the end, I decided I would go, as I was sure we would see things on the way, even if I wasn't able to do the whole hike. As it turned out, the hike could have been a lot more difficult, so I was really glad that I went after all. It was too challenging to get a decent shot of the Oilbirds in their cave. No camera flash is allowed, but the Guide allows two people at a time to join her, and she shines her flashlight very briefly on the birds. I keep forgetting how large these birds are. Link below for a short video (just over 2 minutes) from WildExplorer (Toledo Zoo), taken at the Oilbird's cave. My friends and I did not go into the cave itself: youtu.be/5Lm5YEsUreY "The oilbird (Steatornis caripensis), locally known as the guácharo, is a bird species found in the northern areas of South America including the island of Trinidad. It is the only species in the genus Steatornis and the family Steatornithidae. Nesting in colonies in caves, oilbirds are nocturnal feeders on the fruits of the oil palm and tropical laurels. They are the only nocturnal flying fruit-eating birds in the world (the kakapo is flightless). They forage at night, with specially adapted eyesight. However they navigate by echolocation in the same way as bats, and are one of the few kinds of birds known to do so. They produce a high-pitched clicking sound of around 2 kHz that is audible to humans. This is a large, slim bird at 40–49 cm (16–19 in), with a wing span of 95 cm (37 in). It has a flattened, powerfully hooked, bill surrounded by deep chestnut rictal bristles up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long. The adult weighs 350–475 g (12.3–16.8 oz) but the chicks can weigh considerably more, at up to 600 grams (21 oz), when their parents feed them a good deal of fruit before they fly. The feathers of the oilbird are soft like those of many nightbirds, but not as soft as those of owls or nightjars, as they do not need to be silent like predatory species. The oilbird is mainly reddish-brown with white spots on the nape and wings. Lower parts are cinnamon-buff with white diamond-shaped spots edged in black, these spots start small towards the throat and get larger towards the back. The stiff tail feathers are a rich brown spotted with white on either side. The feet are small and almost useless, other than for clinging to vertical surfaces. The long wings have evolved to make it capable of hovering and twisting flight, which enables it to navigate through restricted areas of its caves. For example the wings have deep wingtip slotting, like New World vultures, to reduce the stalling speed, and the wings have a low aspect ratio and low wing-loading, all to make the oilbird capable of flying at low speeds. The eyes of oilbirds are highly adapted to nocturnal foraging. The eyes are small, but the pupils are relatively large, allowing the highest light-gathering capacity of any bird (f-number of 1.07).[8] The retina is dominated by rod cells, 1,000,000 per rods mm2, the highest density of any vertebrate eye, which are organised in layers, an arrangement unique among birds but shared by deep-sea fish. They have low numbers of cone cells, and the whole arrangement would allow them to capture more light in low light conditions but probably have poor vision in daylight. Although they have specially adapted vision to forage by sight, they are among the few birds known to supplement sight by echolocation in sufficiently poor light conditions, using a series of sharp audible clicks for this purpose. The only other birds known to do this are some species of swift." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oilbird Information about Oilbirds from Asa Wright Nature Centre: asawright.org/about-oilbirds/

After missing birding walks with friends the previous two weeks, I finally got myself out to the walk yesterday afternoon. It was held at a location that I have only been to a handful of times before - Pearce Estate, near the community of Inglewood - and I never like the last part of the drive there. Yesterday, I got caught at the railway tracks and had to wait forever for the long, slow freight train to come to an end. At the next road intersection, there were roadworks and a sign saying that my lane was closed ahead, with a large arrow pointing in the opposite direction. It all looked fine to me, and I was easily able to go where I wanted. On the way home, though, there was a 'no left turn' sign, so I had to find another way out of there. Never something I enjoy! "The Pearce Estate Wetland lies in a curve of the Bow River as it flows through the southeast part of the city. The 15-hectare wetland area, when combined with the adjacent provincially operated Bow Habitat Station, results in a 21-hectare park. The area was donated to the city by William Pearce, a prominent early Calgarian who died in 1930. The current wetland area and interpretive trail were redeveloped and opened to the public in 2004." www.calgary.ca/csps/parks/pages/locations/se-parks/pearce... "In 1904 the Bow River Weir was constructed close to Calgary's downtown core in order to divert water into the Western Irrigation District. Since its construction a side effect of the weir had been that it created a circulating wave, with a lethal and powerful undertow, immediately downstream of it. Because rafting, canoeing, and kayaking down the Bow River are such popular summer activities, there had been many fatalities. Furthermore, because fish were not able to pass through the structure, they too became trapped in the circulating wave and a dense, unnatural concentration of pelicans congregated immediately following the weir. In order to combat the circulating wave and undertow, in August 2007 the Province of Alberta through the Alberta Lottery fund, in conjunction with the Calgary Foundation and the City of Calgary, began construction of the Bow River Weir paddle around, named the Harvie Passage. The passage allowed for the wave to be dispersed over a set of several smaller rapids while still supplying water to its irrigation district. Altogether, the paddle around cost 18 million dollars and was completed in the spring of 2012. In June of 2013, just a year after the project was completed, Calgary was hit with an epic 100 year flood and all of the Harvie Passage work was destroyed." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_River Since then, more changes have been made, including the construction of River Passage Park which opened in October 2014. It includes this sculpture, designed by Lorna Jordan, a Seattle-based artist. Though people have mixed feelings about this, I thought the area was quite interesting and the 'pile of scattered planks" certainly made me think of the devastation of the power of water, especially in the time of flooding. There is some quite intricate stone work in the walls, too. During our walk almost as far as Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, we were delighted to see a Great Horned Owl twice, the second time, it was being harassed by several Magpies. Though the river at this location is safer now, we still miss seeing the dozens or even hundreds of American White Pelicans that used to congregate at the old Weir. I'll add a previously posted shot of some of these Pelicans in a comment box below. After our walk, we decided to call in at the nearby Blackfoot Truckstop (Diner) for an early supper. Being Easter Sunday, it was fairly empty and quiet and we all enjoyed the good food that this place is well known for. For me, this was a Western Omelette (with green peppers, ham, mushrooms and cheese) and hashbrowns. Perhaps not exactly what one thinks of as Easter dinner, but it was so very enjoyable being there with good friends. Thanks so much, Bernie and Stephen, for leading this walk!