Janet Roch

😂🥰

and they can hop up something that's the height of their chin!!!

Thanks - they were fun to watch, you could hear their feet go splat when they landed 😂

Thank you 😊

Thanks Den😊

Thanks Rob 😊

They're flightless, but they will flap their wings to help them run faster. It's described in the books that there are 2 sub species flighted & flightless but it's now been shown that their genetics are the same and there is simply a difference in wing size that means some can take off (a bit 😆)

photo of a Southern Rockhopper Penguin in mid air having just jumped off a small ledge which is on the path from the sea to the colony which is at the top of the cliff it is almost front on showing its white front , large pink feet and flippers (wings) which are out to the side to steady it it is looking down its black face and red eyes a study of concentration. The penguins exited the sea on a shelf, climbed up a steepish path to wash under a fresh water stream then came along an up and down path where I was sitting , completely unfazed to have a human nearby then climbed a second steep path to the colony at the top Canon R5 254mm f/7.1 1:3200s ISO 800

#SteppingOut .....or perhaps more like launching off with gay abandon 🤷‍♀️
Southern Rockhopper #Penguin coming back from the sea on its way back to the colony.

#BirdOfTheDay #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #FalklandIslands #EastCoastKin #ArtYear #coloraday #BWfri (well the penguin is black and white)

Thanks Chris.

Thanks Ben. The pale eyes do add to the overall horror effect 😂

I don't know. You would think it might but we weren't warned of any reports of bird flu amongst the giant petrels that I am aware of and our hosts were very open and very concerned about any signs of disease anywhere on the islands

If you ever get the opportunity to visit the Welsh St. David's do! It is a most beautiful place bordered by the rugged cliffs of Pembrokeshire.

😂

Photo of a king penguin, right side of photo, walking passed a Gentoo penguin chick, to the left of the photo. The king penguin has a more black back and flippers than the usual grey and looks rather tatty because it is in the middle of moulting. Moulting proceeds in a general top down distribution so the head and neck of the bird are smoother with the more characteristic grey on the neck. The cheek patch is much more yellow than orange which may suggest that this is a younger pre-breeding bird (ref Polar Biology 31, 56-61 (2007). The Gentoo chick looks as if its white front feathers have got wet with recent rain, it is standing nearly face on. The foreground is sand while the background is the blurred green foliage and orange flowers of the Sea Cabbage

Excuse me sir. If I eat my greens will I get to be as tall as you?

Even a moulting King Penguin looks rather superior next to a young Gentoo chick.
Canon R5 363mm f/9 1:500s ISO640

#BirdOfTheDay #MixedPairs #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #FalklandIslands #EastCoastKin #ArtYear #naturephotography

Photograph of a male Adder, also known as Common European Viper Vipera berus, sitting amongst some dead orange-brown Bracken and grass. The snake has the characteristic black zig-zag along the top of its pale brown body. The head is side on showing the dark red eye and nostril pits.

Spring has reached the Peak District! Saw my first butterflies, Brimstone and Peacock, Bumblebee and Adder today.
A male, not yet had its first shed, basking in the weak sun.

Canon R5 500mm f/11 1:1000s ISO1600

#Herps #PeakDistrict #Derbyshire #Sheffield #UKWildlife #Snakes #Reptiles #nature

A marching Falklands steamer duck on the main beach at Sea Lion Island in the Falklands
#ducks #falklandssteamerduck #flightlessbirds #birds #sealionisland #falklandislands #nature #wildlife #remote #islands #falklandislands #southatlantic #sealionisland

The trees that are awaiting Spring’s touch of greenery are transparently duplicated in the morning calm of the river. Through them the hills are seen along with the blues of the morning sky.

Nature took a deep breath as the morning settled in 📷🕊️ …

Photo of a Southern Giant Petrel in early take off striding along a beach wings raised, large webbed feet pushing against the sand white eye looking almost menacing. The most striking thing is that its chest is covered in blood and there are flecks of blood on its bill Background While bird flu had decimated some of the Falklands Gentoo penguin colonies in previous years this year it was confined to only a few islands and only one, Pebble Island, that we visited. We didn't go to the Gentoo colonies on this island but one walk crossed a beach where they came and went. We kept to the water line, walking just in the sea, keeping well away from any live birds but higher up the beach we could see several dead penguins some of which were being scavenged by a group of Southern Giant Petrels who mainly tear open the birds and eat the stomach contents and soft insides. This one had obviously eaten a freshly dead penguin and having had its fill, was leaving the scene. Canon R5 343mm f/8 1:5000s ISO800

#FalklandIslands 2026
Southern Giant petrel in vampire mode
see Alt for story.

#BirdOfTheDay #PerfectLighting #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #EastCoastKin #ArtYear #Nature #TidesoutTuesday

Lovely photo and story Alan - brings back memories of childhood family singsongs, although we're welsh it's a universal sone to learn and sing 💙

Jealous? Me? noooo...... 🤥

Thanks 😊 I do love our garden frogs 💚

I couldn't get enough of them. Luckily we were there for 3 weeks and saw at least one species every day 😊

They were so bolshy, walking to wards me with swagger like out of our way human 😂

Thank you 😊

Me neither. There are only 2 species and both are white and live in the far southern hemisphere.

They were. Not aggressive like the gulls but very persistent in getting to any food. They quite harrassed the newborn sealions despite their comparative size.

Thanks Rob 😊

Thanks Alan - you'd love it here, and not a kingfisher in sight 😂

Thanks Alan - I took far too many photos but just couldn't resist them 😂

Thanks F the penguin Chicks were soooo funny 😊