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Posts Tagged "Earth"

Daffodil Buds

Posted on Feb 27, 2016

Daffodil Buds

I snapped this photo of daffodils emerging in the leaf litter in Connecticut on February 25 as I have seen them coming up in several areas at multiple locations. I recalled that I took a similar photo last year and wondered when, knowing this season’s warmth and last February’s historic cold likely meant it was a couple weeks later. Surprisingly it was a full month later on March 25! If the date wasn’t enough of a shock there was also still snow surrounding them then which is very late indeed for Connecticut. We had a taste of winter recently along with a couple of strong...

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Northern Flicker

Posted on Jan 17, 2016

Northern Flicker

Here is the species that started everything for Roger Tory Peterson – the Northern Flicker. It and all birds came to represent to Roger all the freedom, beauty and vitality of the natural world. This Northern Flicker is a male as you can see by the black mustache. The bird is feeding on the ground, as many flickers do, searching for ants, beetles and other insect life. This winter is a good example of how a warmer than usual stretch of weather can impact a certain species as these strongly migratory birds might not have to fly so far to find uncovered, unfrozen earth. Climate change...

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December Sky

Posted on Dec 13, 2015

December Sky

This December sky came at sunset on yet another warm and almost balmy evening…what a time to be alive! Our world is changing all around us as even buds and flowers have started to bloom in these unbelievable weather conditions. Yes, this is El Niño, but it is an El Niño in a period of intense global warming and climate change…all of which will cause possibly more frequent and more severe events going forward. The rate of this temperature change is unprecedented, and if it feels strange to us then imagine how the wildlife and plants throughout our world are feeling. I will be...

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December El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion

Posted on Dec 10, 2015

December El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion

Looking for winter in the east? You might be looking to travel for it! The December El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion that came out today says… Synopsis: El Niño is expected to remain strong through the Northern Hemisphere winter 2015-16, with a transition to ENSO-neutral anticipated during late spring or early summer 2016. “Seasonal outlooks indicate an increased likelihood of above-median precipitation across the southern tier of the United States, and below-median precipitation over the northern tier of the United States. Above-average temperatures are...

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Snow Buntings

Posted on Nov 18, 2015

Snow Buntings

It is early enough in the avian wintering season that both the earth and the birds – in this case, Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) – are brown. We do not have a solid snow cover yet, and it is amazing how well this plumage is designed to help them blend in to the ground. The Snow Bunting camouflage looks like brown grass and, somehow, a rocky, sandy and rough earth, with their wings showing off the darker pattern of what the tundra and short grasslands look like now. Notice how well these birds keep themselves just off the surface even while engaged in feeding, hiding their...

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