Among Friends

[just bee]

[Snicks1]

Mid-afternoon yesterday my hip on right side started hurting, it got to the point I began to wonder if I had some small bone broken or something. Finally took some ibuprofen and a heating pad and it started to feel somewhat better. Still hurts a little this morning, so I guess I need to take a break today. So it would appear that today will be jigsaw puzzle, reading, relaxing for me today. I do have a big tub of photos I could start going through, but for some reason, I just don't want to, lol.
It's 1 degree here this morning, so I won't be going outside, lol.

[viva923]

hello all

really nothing much today

we got about 2 inch snowfall from last night storm

now we get the nasty cold air-

when is this lousy winter going to be over.

did get morn walk in

that is about all for now later guys

[Bird mama]

Good Afternoon, the bird of the day is the American Cliff Swallow.

The current conservation status is LC - least concerned.  Population trend is increasing.

The cliff swallow's average body length is 13 cm (5.1 in), and they have short legs and small bills with relatively long pointed wings. Adult cliff swallows have an overall dark brownish plumage covering both their back and wings, and they have a characteristic white forehead, rich red-coloured cheeks with a dark throat, basic white underparts and a buffy-coloured rump. In good lighting conditions, their crowns and mantle feathers are iridescent.

The male and female have identical plumage.  Juvenile cliff swallows have an overall similar body plumage colouring to the adults, with paler tones. The juveniles lack the iridescent adult plumages, and their foreheads and throats appear speckled white.

Throughout history the cliff swallows concentrated their nesting colonies along mountain cliffs, primarily by the western North American coast. Today, with the development of highways, concrete bridges and buildings this adaptable bird species is rapidly adjusting their common nesting sites, with populations expanding further east and building their mud nests on these concrete infrastructures. The majority of nesting colonies are situated in close proximity to fields, ponds and other ecosystems that would hold a large variety of flying insect populations to sustain their energy requirements during the breeding season.

The cliff swallows feed on a diet consisting of flying insects, particularly swarming species such as: flies, bees, lacewings, mayflies, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, and damselflies. The birds forage high (usually 50 meters or higher) over fields or marshes and tend to rely on bodies of water like ponds during bad weather with high winds.  Foraging behaviors related closely to their reproduction cycle; when the birds first arrive at the nesting site they will forage as far as 10 miles from the colony, in the hopes of increasing body fat reserves to prepare for cold-windy days and their energy extensive egg-laying stage. When the swallows return to the nesting site at dusk, they often fly in a tightly coordinated flock overhead, in such close synchronization that they may appear as one large organism. These large group formations are called creches.

Each bird pair will have about 3–4 nestlings per brood; a clutch size of 4 has been identified as the most common and most successful.

Nests 

[mousiegirl]

---

@Snicks1 wrote:
Mid-afternoon yesterday my hip on right side started hurting, it got to the point I began to wonder if I had some small bone broken or something. Finally took some ibuprofen and a heating pad and it started to feel somewhat better. Still hurts a little this morning, so I guess I need to take a break today. So it would appear that today will be jigsaw puzzle, reading, relaxing for me today. I do have a big tub of photos I could start going through, but for some reason, I just don't want to, lol.
It's 1 degree here this morning, so I won't be going outside, lol.

---

@Snicks1   Maybe you strained your hip, I do periodically such as lately.  I use SportsGel, Ibuprofen is pain is bad, and rest.

[just bee]

[Snicks1]

Much better today, not much going on here, but whatever I decide to do, you can place bets it will be inside the house...it's -6 out there, b'rrr.

[Bird mama]

It's pretty cold here and I'm waiting for the wind to ramp up, making it worse, lol.  At least the sun is shining.

[Bird mama]

The bird of the day is the American Coot.  Current conservation status is LC - least concern.  Population trend is decreasing.

The American Coot is a bird commonly mistaken for ducks. It is only distantly related to ducks and belongs to a separate order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. Coots live near water in groups that are called covers or rafts.  Here's a photograph of their cool feet.

Walking on land is hard for them because of their feet.  They run across the water in order to get a headstart when they fly. 

Adults American coots have a short, thick, white bill and white frontal shield, which usually has a reddish-brown spot near the top of the bill between the eyes. Males and females look alike, but females are smaller. Juvenile birds have olive-brown crowns and gray bodies. They become adult-colored around 4 months of age.

American coots are diurnal (daytime) social birds that live in flocks and are the only rail family members to live in groups. These birds can make a wide range of noises, from clucking to grunting, to communicate with each other and also to threaten predators.

On two occasions a coot will splash: in the mating season for the purpose of attracting attention, and also to discourage predators. Ospreys (a type of hawk) are their main predator. Since this species is more adapted to living on water than other birds, it is not possible for them to take off from a "dead start" like other birds, which can take flight when startled. Instead, in order to become airborne, they need to take a running start over the water. American coots are migratory, and they migrate as a flock, but their migration is weather-based and therefore is highly irregular.

American coots are omnivorous. They eat invertebrates, algae, plants, and small vertebrates such as fish and tadpoles, occasionally, eggs of other marsh birds, also sometimes stealing food from ducks.

American coots are monogamous and pairs stay together for life. The mating process starts with a great show. Male and female both start off displaying in front of each other and calling to one another, while they splash about. The mating process starts on the water and finishes on the land. Breeding occurs around May and June. Both adults construct a nest of about 35 cm (13 3/4 inches) across. Nests are at the edge of the reed cover at the pond’s edge. They have a ramp leading into the water for easier access for the young. 8 to 10 pink eggs with brown spots are laid at a time. Both parents incubate the eggs, for around 21 to 25 days. They share the tasks of feeding and teaching the young, dividing the hatchlings between them. After a month, the young can dive for food, and when they are 5 to 6 weeks old they can fly, becoming fully independent at about 2 months.

Coot nest

Parent and baby coots

[just bee]

Lizard feet!