Sep

30

Revealing Times

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Shot of the Month – September 2013

Fall Foliage, Vermont-USA (3420)In my current state of being (geographic, not metaphysic), Vermont, September is the month when the trees explode with color.  I found this scene during a short walk down the mountain road that we live on.   I like how there is a spiral of color on the outside that guides you to the forest within that seems intent on resisting the change of seasons.

Revealing Times-spiral

How and why do leaves change their color?  I forgot long ago.  As a service to all those who also forgot their 5th-grade science here is a simplified summary:

Leaves create the food trees need to survive by converting light energy into chemical energy that is used to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates (sugars).  These sugars are the fuel for a plant’s growth and maintenance.

Leaves contain several pigments, chlorophyll, and carotenoids, to absorb different wavelengths of light to facilitate photosynthesis. Chlorophyll captures red and blue wavelength light but reflects green light — that is why most plants are green.  Carotenoids (also found in corn, carrots, and bananas) increase the efficiency of photosynthesis by expanding the spectrum of light captured by the leaf. Carotenoids capture blue and green light and reflect back yellow and orange.  Leaves always contain yellow and orange pigments but we can’t see them in the summer due to the dominance of chlorophyll.

In the fall trees begin to produce less chlorophyll as they begin to shut down food production.  As the green chlorophyll fades from the leaves the carotenoids are finally revealed in all their glory.

Ok, so we have covered the different shades of yellow and orange found in the autumn palette, but what about the reds?  Ahh yes, the glorious reds.

The red pigment (including pinks and purples) in leaves is produced by anthocyanins (also found in cranberries, cherries, strawberries, and plums).  This pigment is not present in leaves until the fall and the production of this pigment varies greatly depending on the weather.  Surprisingly (at least to me) scientists are not exactly sure of the role of anthocyanins — the leading theory is that the red pigment protects the leaves from the sun giving them extra time to transfer nutrients from the leaves into the twigs and roots before the arrival of winter.

Yellow, gold, and orange colors remain constant from year to year as carotenoids are always present in leaves and the amount does not change in response to weather.  The intensity of red can vary greatly from one year to the next.  The best autumn colors are produced when there is a:

  1. Warm, wet spring; plus
  2. A summer that is not too hot or dry; plus
  3. A fall with plenty of warm sunny days and cool nights (below 45 F but above freezing)

 

Who knew chemistry could be so beautiful?

 

 

Want to learn more?

Why are plants green? (a nice video)

Light absorption for photosynthesis (geeky physics with colorful graphs)

 

 

Aug

31

Crowned Crane

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Shot of the Month – August 2013

Grey Crowned Crane, Masai Mara NP -Kenya (066)This month a look at the Grey Crowned Crane (aka, the Crested Crane),  the seemingly dandelion-inspired, dancing dandy of the avian world.Dandelion

Dandelion:  The golden crown on top is a sight to behold, especially when the sun hits it just right, and gives the bird a slightly crazed, mad hatter look.  Gaze closely and you will see that each feather of the crown is dipped in black.

Dancing:  When breeding the Crowned Cranes can put on quite a display called a “nuptial dance.”  Their dance includes much bobbing, bowing, spreading of wings, and jumping to great effect.  Here is a not-great-but-best-I-could-find video that gives you a sense of what the bird looks like when s/he busts a move.

Dandy:  The Crowned Crane is a looker — she can stand three feet tall adorned in a lovely pearl grey body suit while the wings are mostly white but can include brown and golden feathers.  The head is a stunning mix of white, red, and black.

Other Fun Grey Crowned Crane (GCC) Facts:

1. GCCs are the official bird of Uganda and can be found on the national flag.  Its plumage contains the three colors of the Ugandan flag.  Black identifies Uganda as a black nation in Africa.  Yellow represents the abundant sunshine Uganda enjoys being situated on the equator.  Red represents Uganda’s brotherhood with the rest of Africa and the world. (source)

flag

2.  As you may have gathered, GCCs are found in Africa.  Two subspecies exist: the East African Crowned Crane and the South African Crowned Crane.  The eastern lot can be found in Uganda, Kenya to Northern Zimbabwe.  The southern crew can be found in Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.

3.  There are 15 species of cranes in the world — only 2 of those species can roost in trees.  The GCC has long hind toes that give it the grip to be part of that elite group. (The Black Crowned Crane is the other)

4.  GCCs do not migrate.

5. GCCs can live up to 22 years in the wild they seem to mate with the same partner for life.

6.  While the population of GCCs is still fairly robust, the trend is dire.  In the last 20 years, the population has dropped in half due to loss of habitat and the increased use of pesticides.  In 2012 the GCC’s conservation status was downgraded from Vulnerable to Endangered (only 2 steps away from extinction)

Here’s hoping for a continued long reign for the crowned crane…

 

 

Jul

31

Abstractly Nature

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Shot of the Month – July 2013

Fallen Tree, Vermont-USA (1411)

When I first gazed upon this scene I was baffled.  I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.  I could see only chaos.  Well, the pile of sticks seemed familiar. Yeah, ok, that could be a bird’s nest.  But the rest of it?  No idea.   I looked and I looked.  I looked some more.  Tilting of the head.  Squinting of the eyes. Tilt to the other side.

Nothin’.

Finally, our guide gave me the orientation I needed to make sense of it all.

She explained that we were looking at a tree that had fallen over in this small bog.  The main trunk of the tree can be seen in the water to the right.

The standing fan of “branches” was actually the root system of the fallen tree!  Bam.  It all snapped into place.  The pile of sticks on top was an abandoned osprey nest.  Well, at least I got that part right.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the visual disarray.  It seemed like abstract art. I have tweaked this image in that vein to bring out the “art” even more.  I have boosted the colors to make the green on the main vertical root really pop out.  And I have blurred the edges of the photo to allow the eyes to be naturally drawn into the “canvas.”

Is it just me or do you also see a screaming face in the main vertical root? It’s mouth is agape as if caught in an eternal scream. A pointy nose and two furrowed brows filled with rage just above the black gob.  Two root arms spread out in opposite directions as if appealing to the gods.  Seems like the tree is unfurling its outrage over the injustice that has befallen it.

I love how something so real,  a tree (you know, brown, stands straight, has some green stuff on it), has been transported into the realm of the abstract where lines and shapes no longer follow the rules and new meanings and realities blur from one into the next.

Perhaps this is Mother Nature’s version of the Rorschach test?  If yes, I  don’t think that I want to know how I did.

Something to ponder over your morning coffee:  If there is no one in the forest to hear a tree scream, does it make a sound?

Until next month….

Jun

30

The Bold and (not so) Beautiful

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Shot of the Month – June 2013

Helmeted Guineafowl, Botswana (5017)I love this shot.  The image is r-a-z-o-r sharp, which is the holy grail for photographers (or at least a major component of said grail).  I can see every freakin hair on this fella’s neck.  The background is nicely blurred so the subject, a Helmeted Guineafowl (HG), really pops.  I find the image to be a fascinating yet hard-to-categorize mix of textures, shapes, and colors.  The spiky neck feathers add a nice ruff flair.  The crazy colors (did he tie-dye that neck?); the red head, the jazzy dual-hued, yet color-coordinated, wattle things.  The aforementioned neck hairs.  The dramatic head crown doodad.   The red stuff on the nose.  Wow.  Put it all together and the image stops you in your tracks. It certainly makes for compelling viewing, albeit, perhaps not for a long time.  Warm and cuddly he ain’t.

Helmeted Guineafowl are naturally found in Sub-Saharan Africa though domesticated versions can be found in the US, England, and just about anywhere people can raise chickens.  Wild varieties of the helmeted Guinea fowl have been introduced into the West Indies, Brazil, Australia, and southern France.

HG are members of the order Galliformes; the same order that includes turkeys, grouse, chicken, quail, ptarmigan, partridge, pheasant, and Cracidae.

Accordingly, HG spend much of their time scratching around on the ground in flocks of up to 25 birds looking for food rather, well, chicken-like.  They can walk 6 miles or more a day.  HG are similar in size to grouse or partridges, and like them,  typically fly for only short distances and glide for most of the time in the air after the initial burst from cover.  When in danger their preferred escape strategy is to run for it and only take flight if absolutely necessary. However, HG do roost in trees at night and during the heat of the day.

There are about 7 species of Guineafowl but only the Helmeted variety has the horn-like casque on top.

The Helmeted Guineafowl, I tip my hat to your bold if not totally beautiful style.

 

 

May

30

Rowdy Plague…

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Shot of the Month – May 2013

Common Grackle, Vermont - USA (7840)

Ever been at your favorite watering hole or dining establishment when a boisterous crowd rolls in and takes over the place?  They talk too loudly.  They, generally, make too much noise.  You get jostled, perhaps spilling your drink, as they tumble into your space with their horseplay.   They ravage through the snack bowls leaving you soggy and hungry.

In Bird World (great rides but I always leave feeling a bit peckish…) a similar scene often plays out at the local bird feeder with a group of Common Grackles, like the one shown here, playing the role of roughneck.  Grackles will often intimidate other birds at feeders and push them aside to eat first.

Common Grackles are large, noisy, and gregarious birds that often hang out together in large numbers.  Their song is particularly harsh and when multiplied by thousands it can get to rock concert levels of cacophony.

Common Grackles are omnivores and very resourceful foragers and can eat insects, minnows, frogs, eggs, berries, small birds, and mice, and well, it would be easier to list what they don’t eat.   Grackles sometimes follow plows to catch invertebrates and mice, wade into water to catch small fish, pick leeches off the legs of turtles, steal worms from the American Robin, or hang out at outdoor eating areas and feed on food dropped by humans.  That partial list gives you a sense of the diverse range of strategies these crafty birds deploy to find food.  During the summer up to one-quarter of a grackle’s diet may be animals.  (source)

That being said, Grackles are especially fond of seeds and grains and are considered the number one threat to corn crops in the US!?  (I guess we need more “Scaregrackles” and fewer Scarecrows.)    They forage together in large flocks and typically descend on corn fields in large numbers causing millions of dollars of damage each year.  Perhaps an irate farmer came up with the common name for a group of grackles:  a plague.

Unlike many birds, Common Grackles are very successful in and near human landscapes due to their opportunistic and adaptable nature.  Grackles prefer open and semi-open areas across North America east of the Rocky Mountains.  The range of these birds was more “easterly’ but expanded west as settlers cleared the forests.

Despite their uncouth nature, the Common Grackle can be quite the sharp dresser.  Catch the light right and their heads display a stunning green or blue iridescence, while their body plumage shimmers with a bronze hue.

The Common Grackle, the wily ruffian of the bird world.