#Great-winged Petrel

[rwking01stuff-blog]

Antarctica Dream Adventure 05 - Birds and Bergs en route to South Georgia Island

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#(Arctocephalus pusillus) #(Daption capense) #(Fulmarus glacialoides) #(Macronectes giganteus) #(Megaptera novaeangliae) #(Pachyptila desolata) #(Phoebetria palpebrata) #(Pterodroma macroptera) #(Thalassarche chrysostoma) #(Thalassarche melnophris) #Antarctic Prion #Antarctica Dream Adventure #Bird Mode #birds #Black-browed Albatross #Cape Petrel #Fur Seals #Giant Petrel #Great-winged Petrel #Grey-heded Albatross #Humpback Whale #Icebergs #Light-mantled Albatross #marine mammals #South Atlantic Ocean #South Georgia Island #South Georgia Island and Antarctica Expedition #Southern Fulmar #Viking Octantis

[albatross-lancer]

Greetings and hail, Young Petrel!

...wow, it's weird saying that out loud. Bit surprising I've not crossed paths with any actual Albatross members yet, despite spending most of my pre-Lancer life on Pyxis. Anyways.

Callsign Angel reporting in, Lancer and current employee of MSMC 796th Detachment "Heaven's Fury". (Not that this information matters, I'm not here on any orders. Old habits die hard, I suppose.)

I, ah... I guess I just wanted to say hello and ask how things were going. Despite my current affiliations, I've had a soft spot for the Albatross fleets since I was a kid - grew up a native of IPS-N airspace, maybe I'm slightly biased. Y'all are effectively free advertising for them with as many Nelsons (and Vlads, though those are less common) as your fellow pilots field. Not so long ago I had dreams of joining the fleet myself, but unfortunately I've discovered a predilection towards sniper builds, and those aren't exactly the Albatross' preferred methods of combat. (These days I'm running (flying?) around in a SSC Dusk Wing - much more my style.)

Stay safe out there, Young Petrel. And please, send the rest of the Albatross my highest regards - y'all have saved a lot of lives, both civilian and pilot. Maybe we'll cross paths on friendlier terms someday, who knows. MSMC is a real mixed bag of idiots.

Yours among the stars,

MC Phoenix “Angel” Michaelis-Landers, MSMC-796-3

Greetings and hail to you as well!

I've been doing quite well, thank you! My training is proceeding at pace, and I hope to be selected for a mission or patrol soon. I'm coming up on my 4th (subjective) year since joining the Albatross, and before then, due to circumstances of my upbringing I didn't really have friends or that many strong positive social bonds. I now have several friendships with my fellow petrels and Albatross support staff, and an amazing Loyal Wing I can look up to. Turns out having friends is really great! And I also have all of you, out on the omninet!

Thank you for your kind letter, I'll be sure to pass on your regards. I'm given to understand mercenary work is not always the most morally upstanding, but it is my sincerest hope that one day we may both work to make this galaxy a better place, together.

Yours between the stars,

Young Petrel Argema Kuhnei-4998 of Makteba Erdaf

P.S. Since you mentioned dreams of joining the order, and for anyone else considering- I can honestly say I've never regretted it, but it's quite a commitment. I don't recommend it unless you're certain its what you want, especially if you have people you care about planetside. If its not for you, helping those in need in whatever way you can, however small, is still deeply meaningful.

#lancer #lancer rpg #albatross

[officialweezerelections]

THE FULL FUCKED UP BIRD BRACKET

All birds have been randomized, the seeds mean nothing. Yes pitohui is spelled incorrectly in the bracket image.

GROUP A

Andean Condor VS Loggerhead Shrike

Superb Lyrebird VS Emu

Greater Sage-Grouse VS Common Ostrich

Yellow-Billed Oxpecker VS American Woodcock

Bare-Throated Bellbird VS Giant Petrel

Greater Sooty Owl VS Vampire Ground Finch

Great Eared Nightjar VS Spur-Winged Goose

Common Cuckoo VS Tawny Frogmouth

GROUP B

Great Potoo VS Killdeer

Domestic Chicken VS Oilbird

Tufted Puffin VS Dalmatian Pelican

King Vulture VS Twelve-Wired Bird Of Paradise

Greater Superb Bird Of Paradise VS Perrito

Barn Owl VS Purple Gallinule

Bearded Vulture VS Secretary Bird

Long Wattled Umbrellabird VS Horned Screamer

GROUP C

Oriental Bay Owl VS Anhinga

Pennant Winged Nightjar VS Snowy Sheathbill

Red-Legged Seriema VS Marabou Stork

Argentavis VS Common Loon

Black Skimmer VS Luzon Bleeding-Heart

Southern Cassowary VS Flamingo (all species)

Green Heron VS Great Hornbill

African Jacana VS California Condor

GROUP D

Hamerkop VS Capuchinbird

Shoebill Stork VS American White Pelican

Roseate Spoonbill VS Hoatzin

Terror Bird VS Elephant Bird

Great Egret VS Magnificent Frigatebird

Guinean Cock-Of-The-Rock VS Hooded Pitohui

White-Throated Rail VS Spur-Winged Plover

White Bellbird VS Kiwi

Polls will be tagged with their BRACKET (example: #bracket a) and #tournament poll

MAY THE WORST BIRD WIN

#information #all of these matchups fucking suck /lovingly #these are literally just all bad bitches being pitted against each other #BRUTAL AS HELLLLLL #mod gf #birdbracket

[chromatic-lamina]

Heart Pirates Week 2024: Day 9: April 14: Law: Tattoos/ Fantasy AU

The plump seal sun-baked on the sea ice, a mound of snow nearby. Doc Q and Stronger flew past, circled a few times through the crisp Arctic air, and then went back the way they came. The mound of snow moved. Amazing that the lopsided horse could keep in the sky, Bepo thought. He seemed on death's door with every flap of his moulting wings. A few giant petrels trailed after the horse and Blackbeard physician.

Speaking of moulting,  the fur and skin of the animal next to him dissolved gradually, revealing inked flesh unique to  Trafalgar Law. The hands, the forearms, the upper arms, the chest, the back, the fingers. Some correlated to the spots of his baby pelt. He  let people see the designs, but he didn’t let many know what they were, but he showed them all the same because he did not want to forget where and who he came from.

The World Government, Doflamingo, could wipe out his people, but what Law carried with him went with him. He disguised the markings on occasion—like fleeing from an Emperor of the Four seas—for inverse reasons, like now. It'd be better if Blackbeard didn't notice him.

Sea water, draining him of every power, meant the devil-fruit user couldn’t safely take largha seal form that often, but Law never lost the skill to transform. It was safer for Bepo to carry him in human form at the moment, though. Flippers didn’t have a great grip on fur, despite the nails. Not when Law was exhausted, but the blubber would protect him from the cold, and the ability to hold his breath for a longer period of time was an advantage. Bepo would make sure they alternated forms.

Fortunately, Doc Q and Blackbeard were not the brightest bunch of that crew, and the brightest hardly seemed to care, so hopefully another shiny ship (well away from their crew) would catch Blackbeard's attention, and Law and Bepo and the Hearts could regroup.

Jean Bart had wished for the good health of the Hearts, and it’d take some time to regain it, but they would. Bepo slipped another Sulong rumble ball down his throat. He knew he couldn’t overextend—Chopper had warned against it, and they weren't sure of the side effects—but Elbaf wasn’t far, and he didn’t think Blackbeard had any alliance with the giants. Maybe they’d find refuge. They’d been lucky so far.

@heart-pirates-week AO3 Link: The AO3 link will probably not be live until about 8 hours after the tumblr publication.

Day 1: Tumblr: AO3, Day 2: Tumblr: AO3:, Day 3: Tumblr: AO3 Day 4: Tumblr: AO3: Day 5: Tumblr: AO3 Day 6: Tumblr: AO3: 7: Tumblr: AO3, Day 8: Tumblr: AO3 Day 9: You are here: AO3

#one piece #trafalgar law #heart pirates #one piece bepo #heart pirates week 2024 #one piece manga spoilers #one piece fanfiction #one piece fanfic #opfanfic #op fanfic #chromalami #chromafic #chromafics #national geographic hearts #it’s 1:40 am here on April 14 #so gonna post this one a little early #sorry Cal! #thanks for hosting a fabulous week! #lon g post

[cheapsweets]

The garrulous Slagzogg

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge from @maniculum

A little rough this week, but wanted to get it out there (perfect is the enemy of good :p).

Jinhao shark fountain pen with fine, hooded nib, with Monteverde Raven Noir ink, over initial 5.6mm HB pencil sketch.

Process and resoning notes below the cut...

"The Slagzogg marks the watches of the night by its constant cry. No other creature picks up the scent of man as it does.  There are two kinds of Slagzoggs, domestic and wild. Wild Slagzoggs fly high, in a an orderly fashion, signifying those who, far away from earthly things, preserve a rule of virtuous conduct. Domestic Slagzoggs live together in villages, they cackle together all the time and rend each other with their beaks; they signify those who, although they like conventual life, nevertheless find time to gossip and slander. All wild Slagzoggs are grey in colour; I have not seen any that were of mixed colour or white. But among domestic Slagzoggs, there are not only grey but variegated and white ones. Wild Slagzoggs are the colour of ashes, that is to say, those who keep apart from this world wear the modest garb of penitence."

Okay, we know they fly. We know they have beaks. Hence, it's pretty obvious what kind of creature this is...

A pterosaur! Er... Well, there's no mention of feathers (which is probably reasonable...), perhaps I'm just tickled by the thought of medieval domesticated pterosaurs? I probably spent way too much time trying to draw a wattle fence, too. We have a farmer feeding her flock of domesticated miniature azhdarchid pterosaurs, while a few wild slagzoggs fly high overhead, looking down on their cousins below.

I went with azhdarchid pterosaurs since I felt that would be more visually distictive, and fit better in the picture given their more upright and distinctive method of locomotion on the ground. I also love the idea of a slagzogg 'village' cackling (like the one spreading its wings on top of the fence), clacking beaks, preening themselves, and generally making noise!

We also know that 'no other creature picks up the scent of man' as well as the slagzogg... We do know at this point that the bestiary authors love their superlatives almost as much as Pokedex descriptions, but we have no reason to doubt it. So, looking at modern archosaurs with a great sense of smell... Apparently, crocodiles actually have a fairly good sense of smell, but we're looking at birds to work out how best to represent this in a creature with a beak. Now kiwis have nostrils at the end of the beak, vultures also have a great sense of smell (though they completely slipped my mind until I was most of the way through), which left me with petrels... Petrels are diving seabirds with a distinctive 'tubenose' (their nostrils form a tubular nasal passage atop the beak), and use their sense of smell to detect prey (and their colonies) at sea. It's definitely a distinctive look!

What do they use their great sense of smell for (apart from identifying their keepers, one assumes)? Maybe these are truffle hunting pterosaurs? ;)

Actually, my first thought on reading the description was the dog vultures from the Judge Dredd comics (unfortunately I can't find any pictures online), until I re-read the description and noticed the reference to beaks!

This all raises an interesting question about how I (we? I don't want to assume too much) approach these challenges.

I feel like most of the time, I'm trying very hard to approach the prompts with a completely open mind; in many ways, a lot of the fun of these challenges is seeing what designs we come up with compared to the bestiary illustrators, given the same prompts.

Occasionally I'll have a pretty good idea what the creature is meant to be, in which case I will sometimes exercise a form of 'malicious compliance' where I'm either sticking as closely as possible to the description, or more rarely pursuing a parallel direction that I know is not the 'correct' one, in order to avoid drawing anything too close to the animal I believe the prompt is referencing.

Most rarely, I just have a cool idea from the prompt (like the Blisheag) and head off in that direction instead.

Guess which one this is :D

So what I'm also learning here is that I need more practice drawing humans, and drawing pterosaurs!

As an aside, this week I discovered this site;

It's basically a giant repository of links to various images and sites relating to medieval life and culture (so for example, I looked up the links for straw hats to get some medieval straw hat references this week...). There's so many links in here that some of them will inevitably have moved or expired, but it's potentially a really good source of references! I was able to find this image (partway through drafting the drawing) that I ended up taking heavy influence from;

#maniculum bestiaryposting #bestiaryposting #my art #pterosaur #azhdarchid #art challenge #slagzogg #Slagzogg

[proton-wobbler]

Masterpost (Round 2)

(Edit: these polls have all concluded)

Bracket: Faves

Pygmy Nuthatch vs Oilbird

Bonin Petrel vs Great Bustard

White-throated Magpie Jay vs African Penguin

Dusky Seaside Sparrow vs Yellow-billed Magpie

Prothonotary Warbler vs Channel-billed Cuckoo

Pallas' Sandgrouse vs American Dipper

Blakiston's Fish Owl vs Pinyon Jay

Common Ground Dove vs Toulouse Goose

Bracket: Pretty Birds

Lady Amherst's Pheasant vs Japanese Paradise Flycatcher

Pink-necked Green Pigeon vs Plumed Whistling Duck

Pink Robin vs Red-cheeked Cordonbleu

Southern Emuwren vs Painted Redstart

Wilson's Bird-of-Paradise vs Bohemian Waxwing

Violet Turaco vs Purple Honeycreeper

Golden Pheasant vs Pompadour Cotinga

Purple-crowned Fairy vs Bluethroat

Bracket: TRUE hipsters

Emerald Starling vs Zigzag Heron

Kaua'i Mole Duck vs Whiskered Auklet

Madagascar Ibis vs Red-crested Turaco

Water Thick-Knee vs Palawan Peacock-pheasant

White-tailed Ptarmigan vs Regent Honeyeater

Invisible Rail vs Cabot's Tragopan

Collared Nightjar vs Kagu

Palau Kingfisher vs Sickle-winged Nightjar

Bracket: FOUR

Bat Hawk vs Hamerkop

Fiery-billed Aracari vs Bell Miner

Ancient Murrelet vs Arabian Babbler

Spotted Forktail vs Groove-billed Ani

Hairy Hermit Hummingbird vs Wedge-tailed Eagle

European Shag vs Short-tailed Pygmy Tyrant

Streaked Weaver vs Oriental Bay-Owl

Bearded Bellbird vs Marvelous Spatuletail

#hipster bird main bracket #bracket: pretty a #bracket: true a #bracket: four a #bracket: fave a #bracket: fave b #bracket: pretty b #bracket: true b #bracket: four b #bird polls #animal polls #information #not polls #masterpost #round 2

[jaketeachesdeath]

Another new skull you say? Well check this one out!

Its a Great Skua!

Unfortunately these took a pretty hard hit in the early stages of Avian Flu presumably from feeding on the carcasses of already deceased birds.

This one came from Scotland, where most of the breeding population resides and they are a fantastic bird! Theyre also known as Bonxie which is thought to be due to thier size and stature. According to Wikipedia they can be compared to Buzzards which isnt much of a surprise given that they are around Herring Gull size, especially since they have impressive white wing markings.

They're bold and brassy and apparently pretty intense, dive bombing anyone who dares to get too close to nests and willingly harasses other birds to steal thier meals. They will eat just about any meat going, lets not forget they're a predatory species so feed on other birds too. Including the unusual feeding on Leach's Petrels at night on St Kilda.

These birds over winter in northwest African and southern Europe. I wonder how many survived to make it there, and how many will make it back.

27/01/23

#vulture culture uk #vulture culture #oddities #taxidermy #bones #skull #skull collecting #animal skull #curiosities #bird skull

[ab0minationn]

more pla wing au but i’m branching out a bit to the other regions lol - this should’ve been done weeks ago, but my old phone was buggy as hell. i got a new one so au time babey

ok so i’ve said in the past that all wings are tied back to the ancient clans of their regions, however i never said which types each region had.

in unova, the clans had wings based on cave swallows and oilbirds. both allowed them to fly and maneuver in tight spaces, and more modern winged tend to have a mix of both in their wings. this adaptation has worked really well with their larger cities like nimbasa!

in sinnoh, the two clans had owl wings, as it would allow them to fly quietly, thus making it easier for them to survive. the pearl clan had snowy owl wings due to their cold climate, and diamond clan gets the blakiston’s fish owl, mostly because they’re the other owl native to hokkaido. modern day sinnoh does have people with a mix of both wings, as evidenced by akari, however due to sinnoh’s more traditional values in some areas, or extreme weather (ie. snowpoint), there are still a decent amount of people with solely snowy or blakinston’s wings. seeing as sinnoh is devoid of massive cities, the owl wings have held up pretty well for them, as they’re good for traversing the longer distances between towns.

moving on to regions i haven’t mentioned before - hoenn! the clans would have been for groudon and kyogre, with rayquaza being the overarching “god” in their eyes. kyogre’s clan would’ve had wings resembling kingfishers! this would have enabled the clanspeople to easily dive down into the water to collect anything they needed underwater. they would use spears to catch food as they dived, not unlike actual kingfishers with their beaks. for groudon’s clan, they’d have wings more like terrestrial birds like roadrunners. they aren’t amazing fliers, however they were very fast in their element, which was great for escaping wild pokémon. in modern days, there are definitely a better mix of the two wings, however due to how specialized they are, there is definitely still quite a large population with one wing type or the other!

alola would have more slight variants of wings between the different islands, however the majority of the types would be split between types of seabirds. personally, i would go for albatross and petrel, however there’s many sea birds native to hawaii that would work. maybe some of the smaller islands could have a few people with more tropical bird’s wings, however due to the fact that they’re less useful for the region, especially in the past, they’re still relatively rare even in modern day. for the seabirds, like hoenn, there’s a lot of water around them, so having wings suited for that would be beneficial. their wings would allow for them to easily cross great distances of water, and the thick layers of feathers and waterproofing would mean that they can take breaks in the water if necessary.

i may write more on these + do the other regions at a later point, but for now that’s all i got lol

#pokémon legends arceus #pokémon #wing au #reigonal wing au #akari #hisui region #sinnoh region #unova #alola #hoenn #just some thoughts

[arrivisting]

Silm Remix 2022 has revealed authors!

So I can now claim this story I wrote for @undercat-overdog‘s fantastic story This Year’s Words Belong To Next Year’s Language, which I have long loved: next year’s words await another voice (Elros/his wife; Elrond/Celebrian, gen). 

But more importantly! I can rec the lovely remix @idrilsscribe wrote for @tolkienremix, wings of white and silver-grey, which is a fantastic response to my story void junk, answering the question of what happens when Earendil and Elwing have brought Maedhros back from the Void? (Now I gotta be responsible for this water bottle this kinslayer in Aman?)

Elwing, in @idrilsscribe‘s story, gives him a job. Which I love, especially because void junk’s idea was about the idea of necessary (if unpleasant) work. Go read it:

The Isle of Seabirds was a castle of green-draped rock jutting from the northern sea, and Elwing’s tower a white spire perched high upon its cliffs. Here all seabirds flocked to her - a whirl of white wings spiralling on the thermals about the tower, swooping from the cliffs, skimming over the waves that crashed against the rocks below. Terns and gulls, gannets and wide-winged albatrosses flown in from the farthest reaches of Middle-earth, puffins and petrels and Manwë’s great sea-eagles.

This house was her place of peace, where she healed herself after her world ended, and Elwing took solace there even now. She stood facing the Sea, her back to the kinslayer, and watched the light break on white cliffs and grey waves, the colours soft and subtle as the shimmer inside an opal: shell-pink and the tender grey-blue of a sea bird's egg. Sunlight cut between the scudding clouds, casting rays of citrine and gold down to the crashing waves.

The very presence of her childhood nightmare violated her home like a bloodstain, and yet Maedhros Fëanorion looked absurd, wildly out of place like those nonsensical apparitions from Mortal dreams.

#fic rec #elveselveselves #tolkienremix

[random-cryptid]

will i ever finish the other drawing of winnie? yes! i will! i just keep getting distracted

mostly by this now

local angry bird terrorizes town of salem along with her sisters, more at 11 ahsjjsjdnd

i looked up storm petrel and theyre so cute?? hello??? i have found another bird for me to obsess over (along with peregrine falcons and starlings) also, i havent figure out how to do her feather patterns yet. i think a lot of her feathers would be like a storm petrel's but her tail feathers as well as the feathers by her eyes and maybe her neck and chest would be more like a peacock's

on the one hand, i was gonna draw her without the dress to show off her feathers, but i decided against it purely cuz idk how feathers on a body work (can barely understand how wings work rip). i do like the idea of her dress having a dpace in the back so her tail feathers can stick out and make it more comfortable for her. also, idk whats gonna kill me first, drawing her talons or drawing her tail

OHHHHH SHE LOOKS SO SO GOOD 😩

Hmmm I think your idea sounds good actually!!! And perhaps they can sort of transition to the storm petrel's type of feather so it looks consistent!

Also you can always try and do some bird studies!!! Studies are great for when you can't figure out how something (or someone) works!!! Draw a bunch of birds and try and figure out how their wings work!

Oh yeah that sounds good!!! And also godspeed soldier I believe in you 🫡

#asking the ghost #no but fr she looks so so good so far!!! I suck at drawing birds (or any kind of animal ngl)

[ornithological]

still processing yesterday tbh. like manx shearwaters, a european storm petrel, two great skuas, a peregrine, a golden eagle & a black-winged pratincole (third irish record) all in one day??? plus some other nice sightings like golden plover & whooper swan?? it's fucking nuts man /pos

the pratincole was a cutie, i saw a collared pratincole in portugal but not a black-winged so that's a lifer for me! it was sitting nicely with the lapwing & curlew, before flying off into the evening - got to see its black underwings! according to another birder it hadn't done anything for the previous, like, two hours. goals <3

skuas & peregrine were great too!! skuas were a little bit away but could still see their brown feathers & nice white wing flashes! peregrine was a juvenile & it had fun mock diving at the gulls & crows

eagle gets its own post because i have a lot to say <3

#contact call

[helicoptersandcrocodilesegwells]

Wings

There are so many different types of birds with different wings adapted to different ways of flying. 

Elliptical Wings

Elliptical wings are found on bats and the smallest forest dwelling birds like robins and sparrows, this type of wing allows for a high degree of control and manoeuvrability in small spaces and minimise drag to allow rapid ascent and descent. The wing beats for this type of wing are usually rapid, the wings are highly slotted between the primary feathers to prevent stalling during sharp turns, slow flight and frequent landing and take off. 

Hovering Wings

Hovering wings are small and quick, along with the wing’s shape the nerves in the bird are specially adapted for incredibly fast movement . These wings belong to birds like the Humming bird whose wings flap so fast it looks like they are floating . Hovering is a behaviour associated with feeding and hunting , they beat their wings so fast they have the tie to stay in the same place while in flight . Some birds that have this wing shape are the American Kestrel, the Marsh Hawk and the Hummingbird.

High-Speed Wings

High-speed wings are long and thin , birds with this type of wing shape are among the fastest species on the planet being able to maintain that speed for a while, they are aerodynamically sound for long stretches in the air which allows for feeding . These wings belong to birds like ducks, swifts, falcons, terns and sandpipers.

Active Soaring Wings

Active soaring wings are longer than high-speed wings but are still narrow allowing birds to soar without needing to flap their wings and spend a great deal of energy, however these wings mean the bird is more reliant on wind currents and also don’t have great manoeuvrability. You will typically find birds with these wings around water like the albatross, seagull, petrels and gannets.

Passive Soaring Wings

Passive soaring wings have long primary feathers that spread out creating slots that allow the bird to catch columns of hot air and rise higher in the air. You can identify birds on the wing by how they are flying . Birds like pelicans soar high overhead moving slowly in small groups, and you can pick out a vulture from a hawk from it’s V shaped flying pattern . Birds with these wings include eagles , most hawks, and storks.

[wintbm]

Whale watching cape cod

#WHALE WATCHING CAPE COD PLUS#

The several air-conditioned boats of the Dolphin Fleet also lead high-quality whale-watching cruises-on the order of three to four hours long-that come enhanced by onboard naturalist guides.Ĭatch a Glimpse of Cape Cod’s Local Leviathans on a Lighthouse Inn Getaway This Summerįrom humpbacks surging out of the water to spritely white-sided dolphins, you’ve got a great chance of glimpsing some of our local cetaceans (not to mention seals, seabirds, sharks, and other marine life) on a whale-watching cruise this summer. The company’s vessel is the 130-foot-long Whale Watcher. Operating for decades, Hyannis Whale Watcher Cruises advertises a 99% sighting rate on its tours out to Stellwagen Bank. Here are two good options that are easy to reach from the Lighthouse Inn! Stellwagen Bank consistently ranks among the top 10 places on the planet to see whales in their natural habitat. Many whale-watching companies cruise to Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary-recently voted the “Best Place to See Aquatic Life” in a USA Today reader’s-choice survey-which encompasses the submarine plateau and its surrounding depths. Cape Cod is a world-class destination for whale watching because of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, a rich feeding ground just off of Cape Cod that attracts a large percentage of the world's whale population annually. It’s truly incredible to spot the broad gleaming back of a baleen whale or the knifing dorsals of hunting dolphins off Cape Cod, perhaps accompanied above by some of the many seabirds that mass at Stellwagen Bank as well: from great black-backed gulls and common terns to gannets, storm petrels, and shearwaters. Toothed whales also hunt here, including long-finned pilot whales, the occasional orca, and various dolphins: mainly the arrestingly patterned and high-leaping Atlantic right-sided dolphin, but also Risso’s and common dolphins every so often.

#WHALE WATCHING CAPE COD PLUS#

They include the highly visible humpbacks with their wing-like flippers and gulping jaws, the titanic finback whale-second-biggest mammal on Earth after the blue whale-and its much smaller relative the minke, plus the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale. The waters around Cape Cod consistently rank as one of the worlds top 10 whale watching destinations because the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Only a few miles north of Provincetown, an underwater shelf known as Stellwagen Bank draws up nutrient-rich waters and attracts hordes of life, the heftiest forms of which are the great whales. To whet your appetite for some summer safaris out on our local North Atlantic waters, here’s a quick overview of what sorts of whales you might spot and a couple of the local companies that lead whale-watching tours out of Cape Cod. Cape Cod happens to be one of the best places in the country to go whale-watching, and you won’t find better accommodations for the activity than the Lighthouse Inn!

#Whale watching cape cod

[birdstudies]

October 17, 2020 - Great-winged Petrel (Pterodroma macroptera)

Breeding on Tristan da Cunha, Gough, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, and Amsterdam Island, these petrels are found in the Southern Ocean from southern South America to New Zealand. They feed at night, eating mostly cephalopods, fish, and crustaceans, which they capture near the water’s surface. Nesting in loose colonies or alone, they dig burrows, or nest in rock crevices or under tree roots, lining the cavities with leaves and twigs. Females lay a single egg, which both parents incubate. Though they are classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN their population is declining due to invasive predators on their breeding islands.

#great-winged petrel #petrel #pterodroma macroptera #bird #birds #illustration #art #water #birblr art

[outofangband]

Flora, Fauna, and Environment of Nevrast

Originally requested by @polutrope and @echoofthemusic! I wanted to repost this with more information! 

 Flora, Fauna and Environment of Arda

Disclaimer: I used both what we can extrapolate based on descriptions of the landscape and climate as well as my own headcanons and inspirations. I also used Gerald Durrell’s writing on wooded areas and coastal regions (I don’t remember if I’ve talked about it much here but I actually do some work during the spring and summer keeping tabs on our local wetlands and so I have lots of reference books on hand)

I really love working on and researching these! and as always feel free to ask more, even if I’ve already done a place I’d always enjoy going into more detail of tacking a more specific kind of life there

Some overlap with flora will be found with Sirion! 

Nevrast, “Hither shore”, was a region in Western Beleriand by the coast of Belegaer. It was surrounded by the Ered Wethrin (Mountains of Shadow) which divided it from Dor-lómin and Hithlum to the East. It was among the first places the Noldor settled and was the realm of Turgon prior to the foundation of Gondolin. 

Nevrast was forested and covered in wetlands, the most prominent of these being the Marshes of Nevrast that surrounded Lake Linawaen but with salt and coastal marshes closer to the ocean.  The climate was much more mild and humid than Hithlum.  Warm air came from the sea and the region did not have harsh winters. 

Flora here will be primarily divided into two categories for convenience; flora of the salt marshes and closer to the coast and in the freshwater marshes around Linawaen though with some overlap. 

 For both wetland areas, a variety of marsh grasses (cord grasses, manna or sweet-grass, sicklegrass, species in the genus Hymenachne,  and more ) and reeds (common reed and reed canary grass) are found as well as algae and lichens.  

Maritime pine and old world white pines as well as beeches and willow species, river birch, likely made up the forested areas. 

Cattails and species of fern (sensitive fern, royal fern and more) are found in the wetlands around Linawaen as well as St. Johnswort species, winterberry, laurels, nettles, jewel weeds, sedges, 

Needlerush, wall pennywart, thistles, thrifts, pickle weed, sea aster, sea lavender, seaside goldenrod, highbush blueberry, and bayberry are possible herbaceous plants that grow along the coast. 

Closer to and in the water are eel grasses, surfgrass, and seaweeds in the sea and brackish water with water lettuce, duck weed, water hyacinth, peatmoss,  Hydrillia, pond lilies, water starwort, in the lake and other freshwater. 

Linawaen’s name translates in Sindarin to ‘lake of birds’ and the region has a huge variety of species, both on the coast and around the lake and woodlands. 

Coastal birds (I am writing a post also on birds of coastal Beleriand that will have more specifics) include water rails, turnstones, roseate, Caspian and black winged terns, storm petrels, kentish plover, dunlin, least and Western sandpipers, common murre, Sabine and common gulls, ospreys, gannets, and cormorants.  I do wonder if something like the great auk, species of Plotopteridae, dodos, or other extinct birds could live here. 

In the marshes and around Linawaen, the marsh and wood sandpiper, common snipes, marbled teal, common loons, widgeon, pintails, long tailed ducks, shelduck, grebe, crake, glossy ibis, night herons, both great and little egrets, spotted eagles and marsh hawks, gray catbird, marsh wren, common blackbird, dusky thrush, nightingale, brambling, and pine bunting are some examples. 

In the marshes and lake there are pond terrapins, leaf turtles, yellow pond turtles and painted turtles.  Green sea turtles might occasionally come to the shores too. 

Other reptiles and amphibians might include the green lizard, species of rock lizard, rough and shining leaf frogs, other tree frogs, certain species of skink (to elaborate) Eastern and marbled newts. 

On the shores there are likely tide pools, another post I want to make as its own thing but species of forcipulatida starfish, hermit crabs, species of true crabs (striped shore crab, fiddler crabs),  porcelain crabs, cnidarians like anemones, 

As for mammals, red and crab eating foxes, swamp cat, grey and common seals, roe deer, marsh deer,  long eared hedgehog, various shrews, cape hares, squirrels and marmots, 

This is of course only an overview as a full list of species would likely be thousands, even tens of thousands long! But I hope this is ok! These kinds of questions are really fun to research and write, definitely feel free to ask more!

#The Silmarillion #Beleriand #Nevrast #musing and meta #Western Beleriand

[proton-wobbler]

Round 2, Poll 2

Bonin Petrel vs Great Bustard

sources under cut

Bonin Petrel

"Because they made my life VERY difficult for seven months and also they're incredibly adorable. They're found only on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and the Bonin and Volcano Islands off Japan. They nest in burrows, but UNLIKE most other cavity-nesting birds, they just hang out in their sandy holes for MONTHS before actually breeding, making it exceedingly difficult to walk through their colonies for most of a year. If you collapse a burrow you have to dig the bird out, usually while the ungrateful little feather pillow is actively biting you. They make the silliest grumbly groan-y noises. Their Hawaiian name, Nunulu, means 'reverberation' because of the way they fill the sky every evening. They also scuttle around on the ground at night like they're vaguely ashamed to have legs."

Please please please look at their baby pics oh my god they're the fluffiest thing imaginable, please!! (should be tagged under bonin petrel on my blog)

Great Bustard

"they hold the record for heaviest flying bird, and also their name is just SO good. and the males have whiskers"

One of the most sexual dimorphic of all bird species, with males on average weighing about 2.5x more than females.

"In this species, the male has a flamboyant display beginning with the strutting male puffing up his throat to the size of a football. He then tilts forwards and pulls his head in so that the long whiskery chin feathers point upwards and the head is no longer visible. He next cocks his tail flat along his back, exposing the normally hidden bright white plumage then he lowers his wings, with the primary flight feathers folded but with the white secondaries fanning out."

Images: Bonin Petrel (@gettingacquaintedwiththesky); Great Bustard (Marco Valentini)

#hipster bird main bracket #bonin petrel #great bustard #procellariidae #procellariiformes #otididae #round 2 #bracket: fave a