BajaNomad - Enjoying his Shadow

Enjoying his Shadow

DianaT - 11-19-2011 at 10:21 PM

wessongroup - 11-19-2011 at 11:04 PM

Nice find... pretty cool... thanks...

paranewbi - 11-20-2011 at 05:54 AM

Amazing how life mimicks art! Thanks Diana T!

mcfez - 11-20-2011 at 06:35 AM

Great shot....sort of looks like a Phoenix

DianaT - 11-20-2011 at 09:33 AM

Thanks for the nice comments. :yes:

While it is the wrong species of bird, it still reminded me of Edgar Allan Poe and some people I know. :lol:

[Edited on 11-20-2011 by DianaT]

David K - 11-20-2011 at 09:35 AM

Nice!

bufeo - 11-20-2011 at 11:42 AM

Nice bronze sculpture, Diana. Oh wait! It's real. (j/k)

That's a great shot. Good timing.

Allen R

with a flap an' a peck at "Westside Story"

Mulegena - 11-20-2011 at 04:02 PM

I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
I feel pretty and witty and gay!
And I pity
Any bird who isn't me today!

I feel charming
Oh so charming
It's alarming how charming I feel!
And so pretty
That I hardly can believe I'm real!

See the zopalote on that cactus there!
Who can that attractive bird be?
Such a pretty head
Such a pretty beak
Such a pretty wing
Such a pretty me!

I feel hungry
Feel like flying
Feel like circling
around in the sky!
For below is a
stinky rotten cow with no eyes!

I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
That the dump should feed me for free!
A committee
Should be organized to honour me!

See the zopalote on that carcass there!
(What carcass? Where?)
Who can that attractive bird be?
(Who? What? Where?)
Such a pretty head
Such a pretty beak
Such a pretty wing
Such a pretty me!

I feel hungry
Oh, so hungry
Oh, so hungry
I'm flying on high!
'Cause I smell
something dead that is covered in flies!

[Edited on 11-21-2011 by Mulegena]

Skipjack Joe - 11-20-2011 at 10:40 PM

Diane,

What is he doing?

It looks like a buzzard that's cooling off but (a) he's on a beach and (b) it's cool at Asuncion to start out with.

DianaT - 11-21-2011 at 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
Diane,

What is he doing?

It looks like a buzzard that's cooling off but (a) he's on a beach and (b) it's cool at Asuncion to start out with.

Yes, it is cool in Asuncion, but they still stand around like this at times. Just a mile inland, we will see them like this on telephone poles, etc, especially in the mornings. I thought they were drying their wings---I really don't know.

Usually when I see them with their wings spread by the beach, they are along the cliff waiting for a dead sea lion to ripen to perfection. And they don't keep the wings spread for too long. Maybe it is a drying thing but at times, it can be quite warm right there and really cool on the beach. But certainly not warm like the desert.

I don't know what this guy was doing. I was on the cliff looking down and there he was. There was a dead sea lion not too far away and after he posed, he went to eat dinner.

Is it cooling or is it drying?

bufeo - 11-21-2011 at 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DianaT...Yes, it is cool in Asuncion, but they still stand around like this at times. Just a mile inland, we will see them like this on telephone poles, etc, especially in the mornings. I thought they were drying their wings---I really don't know......Is it cooling or is it drying?

My first guess, based on reading I've done about this habit of wing-spreading (cormorants, pelicans, vultures, et al) is that it's a form of thermoregulation, especially when you mention that it was cool.

I thought it to be exclusively drying when watching the diving birds exhibit this posture, but that didn't make sense with vultures.

One bird book I like to keep handy is The Birder's Handbook, Ehrlich, Dobkin, and Wheye. It's not a guidebook for birds, e.g. it doesn't attempt to offer the criteria needed for identifying birds. The sub-title for the book is "The Essential Companion to Your Identification Guide", and that it is. We find it chock-a-block full of helpful information.

Allen R

bacquito - 11-21-2011 at 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mulegena
I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
I feel pretty and witty and gay!
And I pity
Any bird who isn't me today!

I feel charming
Oh so charming
It's alarming how charming I feel!
And so pretty
That I hardly can believe I'm real!

See the zopalote on that cactus there!
Who can that attractive bird be?
Such a pretty head
Such a pretty beak
Such a pretty wing
Such a pretty me!

I feel hungry
Feel like flying
Feel like circling
around in the sky!
For below is a
stinky rotten cow with no eyes!

I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
That the dump should feed me for free!
A committee
Should be organized to honour me!

See the zopalote on that carcass there!
(What carcass? Where?)
Who can that attractive bird be?
(Who? What? Where?)
Such a pretty head
Such a pretty beak
Such a pretty wing
Such a pretty me!

I feel hungry
Oh, so hungry
Oh, so hungry
I'm flying on high!
'Cause I smell
something dead that is covered in flies!

[Edited on 11-21-2011 by Mulegena]

GREAT, a good play on a favorite song anvd movie!

Skipjack Joe - 11-21-2011 at 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DianaT

Usually when I see them with their wings spread by the beach, they are along the cliff waiting for a dead sea lion to ripen to perfection.

It's strange you bring that up. My first thought was that scene from "Silence of the Lambs" where the jailer is left hanging from the cage, arms spread out like wings.

Now I know why I made that connection.

DianaT - 11-21-2011 at 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Skipjack Joe

Quote:

Originally posted by DianaT

Usually when I see them with their wings spread by the beach, they are along the cliff waiting for a dead sea lion to ripen to perfection.

That is one of the two movies that still haunts me and I sometimes wish I had never seen. The other one is Psycho which I saw at a very young age!.