This Blog contains Wildlife, Plants and Bird Photos from Walks, Safaris, Birding Trips and Vacations. Most of the pictures have been taken with my Nikon P900 and P950X cameras. Just click on any image for a larger picture. On the right column under the Blog Archive are the entries by date. Below that under Animal categories all the diffent species of Animals, Birds, Insects and Plants contained in the website are listed. Clicking on any entry will show all the entries for that species.
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Monday, 15 August 2022
Sunday, 14 August 2022
14-8-2022 MEANDROS VALLEY , TURKEY - BULL THISTLE (Cirsium vulgare)
Cirsium vulgare, the spear thistle, bull thistle, or common thistle, is a species of the Asteraceae genus Cirsium, native throughout most of Europe (north to 66°N, locally 68°N), Western Asia (east to the Yenisei Valley), and northwestern Africa (Atlas Mountains). It is also naturalised in North America, Africa, and Australia and is an invasive weed in some areas. It is the national flower of Scotland.
The plant provides a great deal of nectar for pollinators. It was rated in the top 10 for most nectar production (nectar per unit cover per year) in a UK plants survey conducted by the AgriLand project which is supported by the UK Insect Pollinators Initiative.[9] Marsh thistle, Cirsium palustre, was ranked in first place while this thistle was ranked in sixth place. It also was a top producer of nectar sugar in another study in Britain, ranked third with a production per floral unit of (2300 ± 400 μg).
Saturday, 13 August 2022
Wednesday, 10 August 2022
Monday, 8 August 2022
Friday, 5 August 2022
Thursday, 4 August 2022
4-8-2022 VOLOS, GREECE - SOUTHERN SKIMMER DRAGONFLY (Orthetrum brunneum)
Orthetrum brunneum, the southern skimmer, is a species of 'skimmers' belonging to the family Libellulidae.
Subspecies
Subspecies include:
Orthetrum brunneum var. brunneum (Fonscolombe, 1837) (Palearctic realm)
Orthetrum brunneum var. cycnos (Sélys, 1848) (Corsica and Sardinia)
Distribution
This 'skimmer' is present in most of Europe and the range extends to Mongolia and North Africa.
It occurs in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia; Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine.
This species mainly prefers small streams, canals and ditches, with shallow, fast warming water.
The adults grow up to 40–45 millimetres (1.6–1.8 in) long. Their dimensions on average are larger than in Orthetrum coerulescens.
The thorax and the abdomen are pale blue in males, yellowish-brown or greyish-brown in females. Young males are brownish. The abdomen is relatively flattened and shows a thin middorsal black line and distinct points on each segment. The wings are hyaline, with yellow or pale brown pterostigma. The wingspan reaches 66–70 millimetres (2.6–2.8 in).
Adults can be encountered from mid June through late August in the immediate vicinity of quiet rivers or close to stagnant and shallow waters, lying on a well sunny ground. Sexually mature males defend a 'territory' on the waterfront by making short inspection flights, in order to chase away other males.
These skimmers commonly mate at rest, usually on the ground. Female lays the eggs on the surface of shallow water, touching it only with her abdomen while flying, sometimes accompanied by the male, that keeps other males at a distance.
The larvae are ferocious predators. They live buried in fine soil material (fine sand, silt, etc.), in unshaded places in shallow water. They overwinter and develop in two or three years.
Wednesday, 3 August 2022
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