I’m blown away by the great images on this forum. I’ve never ventured into Sunlit Earth before, but it will now become part of my daily visit to Solarchat.
One of the very few positives to come out of lockdown has been working from home and watching the seasons pass by. At the start of 2020 I bought a nice pair of ED 8x42 Hawke binoculars, and even though I live in central London, I’ve been surprised just how many bird species have visited our garden throughout the year. Among the more surprising ones (at least for London) have been:
Lesser redpoll, great spotted woodpecker, blackcap, mistle thrush, dunnock, jay, grey heron (briefly), and a pied wagtail.
And hundreds of ring necked parakeets! One of the bizarre things about London is that the population of these largish green, invasive parakeets has exploded in recent years - they are everywhere, making a terrible racket. And now they are spreading across the rest of the country. There are many theories about how they came to be here. One is that two pet parakeets were freed by Jimi Hendrix when he lives in London during the 1960s. Another is that they escaped from the set of the African Queen, filmed at Ealing Studios in 1951. It remains a complete mystery.
What a talented lot......
Moderator: Montana
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- DeepSolar64
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Re: What a talented lot......
Some cities here in the US have parakeets too. I can remember seeing one here many years ago, probably a bird that had gotten loose or had been released. Our winters may be too cold here in the NC mountains to allow their survival. I am surprised that they can survive as far north as England.
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Re: What a talented lot......
Hi Mark...
Nice to see your pic of the Parakeet, though I have to say I'm surprised they are in the numbers you mention. They are loud for sure! Please share pics of the other birds you mentioned too.
James, though England is further north its weather is moderated significantly by the surrounding water (no big continental landmass that acts like a heat/cold sink)...keeps the winters warmer and summers cooler too. The Gulf Stream carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico north through the Atlantic, past the east coast of North America into the north Atlantic on the west coast of Europe. It's still a big island so the north is colder than the south, LOL.
Recent research discounts the effect of the Gulf Stream and puts more emphasis on wind patterns that keep the island bathed in the relatively warm air over the ocean.
Brian
Nice to see your pic of the Parakeet, though I have to say I'm surprised they are in the numbers you mention. They are loud for sure! Please share pics of the other birds you mentioned too.
James, though England is further north its weather is moderated significantly by the surrounding water (no big continental landmass that acts like a heat/cold sink)...keeps the winters warmer and summers cooler too. The Gulf Stream carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico north through the Atlantic, past the east coast of North America into the north Atlantic on the west coast of Europe. It's still a big island so the north is colder than the south, LOL.
Recent research discounts the effect of the Gulf Stream and puts more emphasis on wind patterns that keep the island bathed in the relatively warm air over the ocean.
Brian
Brian Colville
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Maple Ridge Observatory
Cambray, ON Canada
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/185395281@N08/albums
10'x15 Roll-off Roof Observatory
Takahashi EM400 Mount carrying:
C14 + Lunt 80ED
Deep Sky Work - ASI294MM Pro+EFW 7x36/Canon 60D (Ha mod), ONAG
Planetary Work - SBIG CFW10, ASI462MM
2.2m Diameter Dome
iOptron CEM70G Mount carrying:
Orion EON 130ED, f7 OTA for Day & Night Use
Ha Setup: Lunt LS80PT/LS75FHa/B1200Ha + Home Brew Lunt Double Stack/B1800Ha on the Orion OTA + Daystar Quantum
WL, G-Band & CaK Setup: Lunt Wedge & Lunt B1800CaK, Baader K-Line and Altair 2nm G-Band filter
ASI1600MM, ASI432MM, ASI294MM Pro, ASI174MM, ASI462MM
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Re: What a talented lot......
Excellent Mark, please post pictures of sunsets, sunrises, birds, bees and anything Sunlit!
The new David Attenborough series took me by surprise last week, the opening line was our Sunlit Earth and how everything depends on our Star. This weeks episode is called 'The Sun'. I am sure Stephen would jump for joy to see this.
More Sunsets and nature please! they make us smile
Alexandra
The new David Attenborough series took me by surprise last week, the opening line was our Sunlit Earth and how everything depends on our Star. This weeks episode is called 'The Sun'. I am sure Stephen would jump for joy to see this.
More Sunsets and nature please! they make us smile
Alexandra
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Re: What a talented lot......
Thanks everyone for your comments! The last official count of London parakeets was almost ten years ago, when there were 32,000 recorded. Estimates are that this has grown to a minimum of 50,000 today, and probably a lot more. They seem unconcerned by other large birds like crows and magpies, though rising numbers of sparrow hawks, tawny owls and peregrine falcons in the capitol are thought to be the result of easy parrot lunches.
I’m afraid the photo is the result of me pointing a phone camera at a website. But looking at all the stunning images on this forum I must start taking my own, so thanks for inspiring me.
I’m afraid the photo is the result of me pointing a phone camera at a website. But looking at all the stunning images on this forum I must start taking my own, so thanks for inspiring me.
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Re: What a talented lot......
I started watching the new David Attenbourough series last night. The new Discovery+ streaming channel has it and much more!Montana wrote: ↑Sun Jan 10, 2021 11:51 am Excellent Mark, please post pictures of sunsets, sunrises, birds, bees and anything Sunlit!
The new David Attenborough series took me by surprise last week, the opening line was our Sunlit Earth and how everything depends on our Star. This weeks episode is called 'The Sun'. I am sure Stephen would jump for joy to see this.
More Sunsets and nature please! they make us smile
Alexandra
Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
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Re: What a talented lot......
Yes, that brings the Ireland and the UK all those clouds too!MapleRidge wrote: ↑Sun Jan 10, 2021 12:02 am Hi Mark...
Nice to see your pic of the Parakeet, though I have to say I'm surprised they are in the numbers you mention. They are loud for sure! Please share pics of the other birds you mentioned too.
James, though England is further north its weather is moderated significantly by the surrounding water (no big continental landmass that acts like a heat/cold sink)...keeps the winters warmer and summers cooler too. The Gulf Stream carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico north through the Atlantic, past the east coast of North America into the north Atlantic on the west coast of Europe. It's still a big island so the north is colder than the south, LOL.
Recent research discounts the effect of the Gulf Stream and puts more emphasis on wind patterns that keep the island bathed in the relatively warm air over the ocean.
Brian
Lunt 8x32 SUNoculars
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "
Orion 70mm Solar Telescope
Celestron AstroMaster Alt/Az Mount
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 60 DS
Meade Coronado SolarMax II 90 DS
Meade Coronado AZS Alt/Az Mount
Astro-Tech AT72EDII with Altair solar wedge
Celestron NexStar 102GT with Altair solar wedge
Losmandy AZ8 Alt/Az Mount
Sky-Watcher AZGTI Alt-Az GoTo mount
Cameras: ZWO ASI178MM, PGR Grasshopper, PGR Flea
Lunt, Coronado, TeleVue, Orion and Meade eyepieces
Visual Observer
" Way more fun to see it! "