Monday in Nature Jan. 18, 2016

[Laura Weishaupt]

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<p><strong>Basic Guidelines</strong>: Nature based subject matter. Please, declare captive subjects. Keep your image at/under 700 pixels on the long axis for in-line viewing and try to keep file size under 300kb. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site at Flicker, Photobucket, your own site, etc. Feel free to link your image to a larger version. <strong><em>In the strictest sense, nature photography should not include hand of man elements. Please refrain from images with obvious buildings or large man made structures like roads, fences, walls. Minimize man made features and keep the focus on nature. </em></strong><br>

<strong><em> </em></strong><br>

<strong><em>Are you new to this thread? We post one image per week. For more <a href="/nature-photography-forum/00cgtY">details on guidelines please read this</a> helpful information. </em></strong></p>

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<p>Good Morning,<br>

Have you got your coffee? We have ever changing relationships with nature, whether they are personal or cultural. It seems like nature has always been here, and it has, but how we look at it and understand it has always been in a state of flux. There are a few events that have anniversaries this week. A couple of people have birthdays. None of them are earth shaking as single events, but all had consequences, and helped change the way we see nature. So, what happened this week in a given year?</p>

<p>Captain James Cook "discovered" the island chain he named the Sandwich Islands. We know them as the Hawaiian Islands. Also this week in an different year he was the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. Cook got around, and traveled incredible distances in uncharted waters. He left his mark on the maps of his making of those lands and seas unknown to Europeans. One of those marks was at a place called Botany Bay thanks to the work of botanist Joseph Banks. No, not Khan.</p>

<p>Back in1803, Thomas Jefferson sent a request to Congress. He requested money to fund the Corps of Discovery, aka, the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The journey had many layers of purpose, and the land they covered was populated and nature was understood by Native Americans. They mapped the river systems and mountains on their travels, describing animals and plants along the way. They certainly would have used a camera.</p>

<p>Birthdays? Benjamin Franklin, you know, the guy with the kite, a key, and a thunderstorm? He had a interest in nature, as well as just about everything else. Leonhard Fuchs, German born back in 1501, he was an important physician and botanist. Last, there is Scottish born geologist Sir James Hall, who did important work on the composition of rocks. All of these people built on the knowledge of nature in their time, just as their successors have done.</p>

<p>Imagine any of these people having photography at their disposal. Fortunately we don't have to imagine a single day in nature without a camera, and especially not Monday in Nature. The opener is <em>Calostoma lutescens</em>, one of the most unmushroomy of all fungi. It's always hard to imagine fresh fungi growing in this area in mid January, but there it was, right next to the trail.</p><div></div>

[Rick Bortnick]

<p>Ice abstractions along the Appalachian Trail </p><div></div>

[Bill J Boyd]

<p><strong>Ruby-Crowned Kinglet</strong> found at Pedernales Falls SP in central Texas.</p><div></div>

[sallymack]

<p>High tide and rain out at the wetlands. It doesn't get any better!</p><div></div>

[User_2019667]

Attempting to send a photo from my Ipad

[johnfarrar]

<p>Cold winter morning at a local lake.</p><div></div>

[User_6667263]

<p>Prairie falcon.</p><div></div>

[jpalmer57]

<p>Sycamore leaf on the trail.</p><div></div>

[RickDB]

<p>Despite recent reports of some "little brown mushrooms" discovered on an island off the Antarctic Peninsula I did not manage to find any for all the mycophiles at MiN. DNA analysis revealed that they were <em>Galerina antarctica</em>, a fairly common but extremely poisonous mushroom. However, there are about 20-odd species of macro-fungi that have been reported to exist in the Antarctic, according to the British Antarctic Survey. In addition, there are about 100 species of mosses, 25 species of liverworts and upwards of 400 species of lichen. So, for your delectation, here are some colorful examples I found on Deception Island - I've no idea what they are or whether they should be there!</p><div></div>

[bnelson]

<p>From Bodega Head last week</p><div></div>

[thadley]

<p><img src="/photo/18162244" alt="" />Mine is a leaf in Candiac Quebec.</p><div></div>

[Andrew Gosden]

<p>Some bald eagles are frequenting a small, local, suburban lake. There's a small park on one side of the lake but the other side has townhouses and apartments and there's a nice paved trail around the lake. There's at least a pair of them, some birders said they counted five the day I was there. I am usually content with what I get from my equipment but it would have been nice to have more mm, more megapixels, and better autofocus for this subject.<br>

<img src="https://akgosdenphotos.smugmug.com/Nature/216/Birds/i-3NbTWnC/0/700x700/birds%20Jan16-8399-700x700.jpg" alt="" /><br>

<strong>Canon XSi, Tamron 70-300 vc</strong></p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Waved albatross (<em>Phoebastria irrorata</em>) bill fencing. Espanola Island, Galapagos.<br /> Nikon D750 with 200-500mm/f5.6 lens @ 290mm, f8 for a bit more depth of field.</p><div></div>

[Edwin Barkdoll]

<p>Lugworm castings, Quoddy Head State Park, Maine.</p><div></div>

[roman_p]

<p>Thanks Laura for giving us facts about those great people. They contributed a lot to our history and culture. Well, now we all have our cameras and make our contribution to MiN.<br>

Sunset at Lake George.</p><div></div>

[Laura Weishaupt]

<p>Roman, you're very welcome. Thanks for the beautiful sunset. Winter has finally arrived.</p>

<p>Rick Du. B., very cool! It's interesting that you mention the British Antarctic Survey. I recall reading about fungi, probably imported, slowly growing on R. F. Scott's hut. I'm familiar with the genus Galerina, but not the species you mention. <em>G. marginata (aka autumnalis)</em>, which is pretty common, is quite deadly. I did a little myco investigating. According to <a href="http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/science/contenthandler.cfm?id=2723">this article</a> <em>G.</em> <em>antarctica</em> is 100% DNA match with <em>G. marginata</em>. Take a look at the last paragraph of <a href="http://www.mushroomexpert.com/galerina_marginata.html">this article</a> from Kuo. There's a match with 4 additional species with different names and morphology. Thanks so much for the great botany lesson from down there, and very cool visual to match. </p>

[dcstep]

<p><strong>Amber Eyes</strong><br>

<strong> </strong><br>

<a title="Amber Eyes" href=" data-flickr-embed="true"><img src="https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1562/24346041665_e089f8e9e4_c.jpg" alt="Amber Eyes" width="800" height="534" /></a></p>

[Mary Doo]

<p>Laura, as always, I enjoy your introduction to MIN. Your bautiful "Calostoma lutescens" look like a pair of peeled pipa fruit (loquat), only prettier.</p>

<p>Here is a spotted hyena (probably pregnant). It's also known as the "laughing hyena" for the eerie sounds it makes. I have a fondness for hyenas, especially because they are so unfairly maligned. - Remember "The Lion King", in which hyenas are portrayed as the bad guys? In reality, they are intelligent and highly social. And they work just as hard as anyone for a meal.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[Gup]

<p>This one was taken yesterday in a gentle snowfall. I shot it quickly at 1/320 so the snow is not so apparent.<br>

I was following a Red Fox' trail. The prints can better be seen on the left in the larger version on my monitor.<br>

Overnight and today the temperature plummeted so this open water is likely now ice.<br>

Compliments on the fantastic images here this week. MiN is setting the pace here at P.net every week.</p><div></div>

[colin carron]

<p>As now fully expected - wonderful stuff from everyone with the usual terrigfic breadth and depth of interest and also sensitivity to nature in all guises.<br /> Talking about relationship to nature, here is a shot of a european robin. They are among the easiest birds to photograph as they tend to come close to humans. Gardeners often find them perched on the handles of their gardening forks etc. The reason is of course that the robin feeds on worms and is attracted where they get dug up. In the natural world they can often be found alongside wild boar who, like their human counterparts, also dig up worms.</p><div></div>

[RickDB]

<p>Thanks Laura for the links - it is interesting how DNA sequencing is consolidating species that were once thought to be individual based on morphology. I was just sorry I didn't come across any during my recent visit.</p>