iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Better make up for my last cheeky #BirdOfTheDay post with some proper #Black&Red ,quite a #LongBeak too 😊 Common Tern seen in the #Shetlands late spring 2026 Canon R5 500mm f7.1 1:8000s ISO800 #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Birds #UKBirding #EastCoastKin #ArtYear

Common Tern flying against a backdrop of a grey sky but with sun definitely breaking through somewhere as it is bathed in sunlight. its brilliant white plumage contrasts with its jet black cap and bright red beak tipped with black

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

"Thanks for providing me with a tree full of Sparrows!" Sorry Alan doesn't really fit with your themes but it's DEFINITELY my #BirdOfTheDay! taken in the garden close to the house, initially through the kitchen window but then peeping through the back door 🤩 #Birds #UKBirding #raptors #Sheffield

Sparrowhawk sitting on a sawn off stump of a willow tree amongst the new branches growing from the old trunk. It has the partly eaten remains of a small bird under its talons. Taken through the kitchen window. Our feeders are near the tree and the boundary hawthorn hedge which normally gives the sparrows safe haven from the neighbours cats but clearly hasn't saved one from this skilful predator!

The same sparrow hawk having finished its sparrow lunch sitting on the sawn off trunk of the willow tree and glaring at me for having the temerity to open the back door for a better shot. A sideways view if this beautiful hawk but with its head turned towards the camera showing off it's brown wings , barred throat and chest and piercing yellow eyes. Glad I'm not a Sparrow!

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Reposted by Janet Roch

Aj d'Wit (Audrey) @audjde.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Australian researchers Isabel Joy Bear & Richard Grenfell Thomas came up with the term/word 'petrichor'. It is a great word, been trying to use it in a verse for a while. That was my task today. #Verse #Prose #Petrichor #ECK #PoetryCommunity #DroughtBreakingRain #Australiana #Poetry

The image accompanying this piece is of grey and greenish storm clouds.

Text:

Petrichor Intoxication

Earth’s surface lay cracked,
like a shattered window,
crevices widening in
the desiccated air,
the colour green
evaporated long since,
replaced by tanned clay

Clouds of puffed up white,
floated by, unable to change
the thirsting landscape below,
earth slowed its rhythm,
survival mode activated

Woven within the heated air the
Raven’s funereal hymn echoed over
paddocks of shimmering mirages,
the mighty Spotted Gum shed limbs,
deep roots exhausted

night, day, night, day, night, day, night, day

earth’s rotation count lost, as nature waited

With a crack, and a baritone rumble
slate grey-green clouds rolled heavily,
slowly, from the previously vacant sky,
winds teased the clouds,
shaking them from side to side,
demanding a release

One, then another, liquid tears fell,
exploded in puffs of powdered dust,
curtains of rain released upon a
begging earth, nature delirious,
intoxicated by petrichor

© Aj d’Wit - 1 October 2026

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Reposted by Janet Roch

Prof Duncan Westbury @duncanwestbury.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Scarifying perennial wildflower strips & meadows every 4-5 yrs is a great way to rejuvenate the sward in the absence of large herbivores. Look how this has encouraged new seedlings whilst retaining much of the original plants. Yes it bounces back!

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Reposted by Janet Roch

Rhonda Howard @1184outdoors.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Barn Swallow making a turn #InFlight #BirdOfTheDay 🪶 #ECK

Small bird with iridescent blue head (and upper parts, not seen in this shot), rusty orange face, rusty wash on underside & black tail with a subterminal row of white dots. Subject has wings outstretched & its tail feathers are flared as it makes a turn in flight. The background is blurred green grass; this bird was one of several hunting insects in the air, flying low over a field.

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

It's Ok, you're safe and warm in here. Newborn King Penguin chick At Victory Point #FalklandIslands Canon R5 167mm f8 1:1250s ISO800 #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Penguins #Stunday #EastCoastKin #ArtYear #Photohour

Photo of a very young King Penguin chick, born in the last few days, sitting on its parents feet and nestled under a fold of white feathered skin keeping it away from the skuas and the biting wind.It will take over a year to reach the point where it moults its fluffy down and be able to leave for the sea

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Last Of The Summer Nectar 2 Common Carder Bees (I think, but I'd love to know if I'm wrong) looking a bit worse for wear and nearly ready to hang up their wings, feasting on the Sedum this week. #InverteFest #Insects #BugSky #EastCoastKin #BlueSkyArtShow #Summer #Bloomscrolling #ArtYear

Bumblebee, I think a male / worker Common Carder Bee, although it looks a bit sparse on hair I'm putting this down to it being old and worn, resting on the just emerging flowers of the Sedum plant - a great source of food in late summer for insects.
Photo shows the sideways view of a smallish bee with slightly gingerish-brown hairs on the top of its thorax with pale hairs on the sides. Its wings are tatty with the far wing missing nearly half of the wing

Bumblebee, I think a male / worker Common Carder Bee, although it looks a bit sparse on hair I'm putting this down to it being old and worn, sitting on the just emerging flowers of the Sedum plant with its long tongue poking down- a great source of food in late summer for insects.
Photo shows the front top view of a smallish bee with slightly gingerish-brown hairs on the top of its thorax and pale hairs on the sides. Its wings are much less tatty than the other photographed bee and look intact

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

"You can't camouflage a Kingfisher" "Yes you can! I'll just sit on this brick wall here" Juvenile female #kingfisher enjoying the last of #Summer and the #BestOfTheMonth for #SmallBirdSaturday #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #UKBirding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #EastCoastKin #BlueSkyArtShow #PhotoHour #ArtYear

Photo of a Kingfisher, resplendent in its bright orange and turquoise plumage, sitting on a red brick wall. This is almost certainly one of this years brood and a female, as suggested by the orange under its lower bill and the brown front to its otherwise red legs. It is half turned looking at the camera

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Hummingbird Hawk Moth in the garden concentrating hard on finding nectar It may be known for its hovering but I'm more taken by its teddybear eyes (& why isn't it called the shrimp moth - that tail 😂) #InverteFest #moths #Entomology #Insects #BugSky #EastCoastKin #Photohour #Bloomscrolling #ArtYear

A Hummingbird Hawk Moth feeding with its tongue inserted into a composite bloom of white flowers, while hovering. It is a large moth with a grey back and striped segmented abdomen ending in a feathery tail (divided into shrimp like lobes) Its blurred fast moving wings are orange underneath and its legs are dangling ( just like a shrimp....🤷🏻‍♀️ 😂)
They are incredibly fast moving going from flower to flower with rapid jerky movements and a devil to photograph 🙄
Canon R5 500mm f7.1 1:6400s ISO1600

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

#Shetlands 2026. The Common Tern sure had a lot to shout about! Canon R5 500mm f7 1:2500s ISO800 #BirdOfTheDay ##Coastal&River #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Birds #UKBirding #Flyday #EastCoastKin #ArtYear

Photo of a Common Tern taken in the Shetland Isles in may this tear. The slender seabird with long wings is predominantly white with a black cap, red legs and a red bill tipped with black.Here it's standing on a rock with the sea behind it, its wings open and raised above it and its beak wide open showing its bright red gape

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Beautiful Small Copper finding some nectar as the late flowering Sedum starts to bloom. Sedum is fantastic plant in late summer for insects. Canon R5 500mm f9 1:2000s ISO800 #InverteFest #Butterflies #UKButterflies #Entomology #Bugsky #Insects #EastCoastKin #ArtYear #Photohour #Bloomscrolling

Photograph of a Small Copper butterfly. A bright coppery-orange Uk butterfly with a brown border and black spots on its iridescent orange wings. It has large black eyes, tiny black and white stripes on its antennae which end in a black club tipped with a rust colour. Its long tongue is inserted into the pink inner petals of a Sedum just beginning to come into bloom

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Reposted by Janet Roch

Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 25/08/2026

Dolly Parton's family asked that, in lieu of flowers, fans make a donation to the singer's Imagination Library. Here's what the charity does ⬇️ www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

rollingstone.com

Turning Pages: Inside Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Core team of 15 staff and thousands of volunteers and partners help the country-music philanthropist deliver books to kids around the world.

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Lovely Queen Of Spain Fritillary seen today in Hampshire 💙 Canon R5 500mm f10 1:2000 ISO800 #InverteFest #Butterflies #UKButterflies #Entomology #Bugsky #Insects #EastCoastKin #ArtYear #Photohour

Sideways view photo of a Queen Of Spain Fritillary, a medium size butterfly, sitting on pale dead grass. It has its wings nearly closed showing the beautiful large white and smaller oscillated spots on the underside of its top wing, the orange colour with black spots can just be seen on the small amount of the top of the far wing that's showing. its head has iridescent green on the top. its eyes are spotted and the clubs at the ends of its antennae are tipped with orange

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

What a lunchtime treat! At a friends house, in Hampshire, yesterday. Their garden backs onto a small waterway and the local #kingfisher occasionally uses a provided perch Canon R5 500mm f7.1 1:640s ISO1600 #BirdOfTheDay #RecentGardenBirds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Birds #EastCoastKin #ColorADay #BueTue

Photo of a kingfisher, a brightly coloured bird with a blue head back and wings, a white throat and an orange chest and belly, sitting on a dead branch provided as a perch, in the sunshine. there is a spiders web hanging from the bottom of the perch

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Hide, little ladybird, and maybe she'll only notice the ant. Willow Warbler having a feast on the apple tree, captured in a friends garden, in Hampshire, yesterday #birdOfTheDay #RecentGardenBirds #Birds #UKBirding #EastCoastKin #ArtYear

Photo of a Willow Warbler, a small bird with a brown back and yellow-buff belly. This one, being caught in bright sunshine shows the yellow very brightly. It has a darker brown eye stripe with a long yellow supercillium above.
The bird is perched on the leaf of an apple tree, one wing out stretched looking up at an ant on a different leaf stem, or maybe just at the many black-flies covering the leaves. At the very top of the picture is a ladybird, half hidden on the top leaf

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

You don't get many #ThinPerches in the #FalklandIslands only grass, and very few birds light enough to perch on it except the aptly named Grass Wren, here having a good look-out. CanonR5 500mm f7.1 1:2000s ISO800 #BirdOfTheDay #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Birds #EastCoastKin #ArtYear

Photo of a Grass Wren. A little streaky brown and buff bird with a perked up tail, holding onto a single upright strand of grass with a blurred gree grass background

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

#Chaos of blurred lines and cameras moving back as the Saw-scaled viper showed its speed before deciding we weren't interesting and settling back down to taste the air for more suitable prey #BlueSkyArtShow #EastCoastKin #Herps

Photo taken at night of a Saw-scaled viper, a medium sized brown-orange snake with transverse black and white markings. The snake is blurred from movement artefact as it rapidly changed position before settling down again on the hard brown mud.

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Throwback to #Brazil #Pantanal 2022 for today's #BirdOfTheDay , a Scarlet-headed Blackbird singing it's heart out. Canon R5 f7.1 1:1600s ISO800 #ColourfulCharacters #Birds #EastCoastKin #ColorADay #GreenSat #SmallBirdSaturday

Portrait Photo of a Scarlet-headed Blackbird, taken in Brazil.This two tone bird with an all black body, and bright red head and neck, is perched on the single flower stem of thick grass. Its beak is open as it sings loudly, we heard it firs and then found it with our eyes.

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Nothing like a freshwater shower after a hard day's fishing for the family. Sunny AND wet shall I go for #RainyDayBirds or #SunnyDayBirds 🤷‍♀️ Canon R5 200mm f8 1:2000 ISO800 #Birdoftheday #Birds #Penguin #BirdsSeenIn2026 #FalklandIslands #EastCoastKin #ArtYear #ColorADay #BWFri

Photograph of a Rockhopper Penguin standing under an overhang with a small stream running over it providing a freshwater shower. The black and white bird has just a hint of yellow on its head where its bedraggled eyebrow feathers are stuck down with the water and has its chin up pointing its red beak up to the droplets coming down.
The penguin shower was halfway up the cliff leading from the sea to the colony and the returning birds would line up to take their turns for a splash and a drink. It was enchanting to watch 💚

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Are You looking at me? Short-eared Owl contempolating the nights hunting in the dying suns rays #FalklandIslands Canon R5 500mm f7.1 1:1000s ISO800 #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #Owls #Raptors #BirdsSeenIn2026 #EastCoastKin #ColorADay #YellowThu #ShowHeart

portrait photo of a Short-eared Owl, head slightly tilted down, yellow eyes looking up and staring directly into the camera. Perched on top of a blurred wooden pergola it is bathed in the warm orange light of the late sun which is so low it is causing a red reflex in the owl's right pupil.
I wouldn't fancy being a local small bird!

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

What on earth are you two doing there? You're far too big to a #BirdInABush, you should be flying high like the others. No wonder you look embarrassed. Turkey Vultures #FalklandIslands Canon R5 500mm f8 1:640s ISO800 #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #ColorADay #RedWed #EastCoastKin

Photo of 2 turkey Vultures siting at the top of a large bush with dead branches at the bottom and green foliage at the top. Both birds have their bodies facing into the bush, their black backs and wings facing the camera. The head of each bird is turned facing away from each other and half towards the camera showing off their bright red bald head and faces and powerful pale beak. I think they both look rather sheepish😂

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

No bush for these two. A couple of Turkey Vultures flying high above the #clouds in the #FalklandIslands CanonR5 151mm f8 1:4000s ISO800 #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #SensoryArt #EastCoastKin #ArtYear

Photo of 2 Turkey Vultures soaring in the blue sky with a few clous at the bottom of the picture. The sun is highlighting the black body and paler underwings, and catching the red of their bald heads

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Is this account a bot? The reply to my post was a bit weird so I checked their profile and they post a reply to different people ~every minute all of which could sound as if AI generated

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

"So we have to get this lot over to that bit of reef, I'll take the lead while you make sure Greg doesn't get lost....Will you concentrate and stop eyeing up that oystercatcher!" Kelp Goose #Mothers are just as stunning as the white male #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #FalklandIslands #ECK

Photo of a family of Kelp Geese standing on a shoreline of orange lichen covered rocks with sea and tussoc grass in the background.
The female goose is at far left. She is a very handsome bird with a dark head and back with a golden crown and a chest and belly of well defined narrow black and white stripes. The male behind her is pure white. Behind them are at least 8 chicks that are no longer babies but do still have most of their down with a few black and white adult feathers showing through on their sides (juvenile Kelp geese look like the female). The mother os sideways on looking out to sea while the male has his head turned looking backwards. Between the geese and the tussock grass is a blackish oystercatcher with its bright red long beak.
Canon R5 230mm f13 1:1600s ISO1600

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

What do you mean "Oystercatchers are kinda crazy" Magellanic Oystercatcher, #FalklandIslands strutting its stuff on the beach CanonR5 128mm f11 1:2500s ISO800 #BirdOfTHeDay #StrikeAPose #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #EastCoastKin #ArtYear

Photo of a Magellanic Oystercatcher standing on a beach of pale sand, sparsely littered with bits of seaweed and driftwood. Magellanic oystercatchers are black and white birds with long bright orange beaks, yellow eye surrounds and pink legs, they display to each other by striking odd poses and funny walks. This one has its head and body bent down, its black wings slightly open and its tail up, trying to impress a female / rival who was close to it on the beach.

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Reposted by Janet Roch

Paul ward @rickybirdman.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Amazing morning on #arran #scotland. A female otter ate a large crab just offshore. Even a passing dog walker didn't worry her! She had a groom, cleaned her fur, scent marked the rock and went back to hunting. Nature that brings a real smile to your face! #otter #mammals #ukmammals #canon

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Young Striated Caracara, known locally as Johnny Rook, on a mission! Researchers were studying and ringing the near treatened birds while we were in #FalklandIslands Canon R5 238mm f10 1:1000s ISO800 #BirdOfTheDay #BestFootForward #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #StunDay #coloraday #OrangeSun #EastCoastKin

Side view photo of a Striated Caracara marching with intent across the grass (there was a bit of a dead sheep just out of focus that this and other birds were grabbing bits off and taking them a little way off to try and eat in peace). This streaked brown large bird of prey has one foot forward off the ground showing off its impressive pale talons the back leg has an easily readable ring on it. it has a focused look in its eye and a fierce-some hooked beak. the feathers on its back are being blown up by the ever present wind. In the background is a species of sorrel Rumex acetosella which is present over much of the landscape growing much shorter than the eurasian Common Sorrel , presumably as an adaptation to the harsh winds

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

We had visitors in the night! We've had fox poo in the garden recently and also had a hole appear in the rockery that just didn't look like fox so we put some fresh roadkill and a trail cam out...... 😍😍 #Mammals #Nature #GardenWildlife #UKwildlife #EastCoastKin

Trail Cam photo showing a young badger sideways on in a garden

Trail Cam photo showing a young badger walking towards the camera in a garden

Trail Cam photo showing a fox part turned with its back closest to the camera in a garden

Trail cam photo taken at night showing 2 badgers one behind the other, sideways on facing opposite ways in a garden

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

"I say if we cover our tummies in mud, when the parents get home they won't be able to see us" #Small but definitely up to no good 😂 Southern Rockhopper Penguin chicks #FalklandIslands Canon R5 135mm f7.1 1:1600s ISO800 #BirdOfTheDay #DownyFeathers #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Birds #SensoryArt #EastCoastKin

Photo showing a trio of Rockhopper penguin chicks with more in the background. The 2 on either side are standing half turned to each other while the middle one is lying down squashed between them. the left hand chick has its beak open as if it is saying g something into the ear of the right hand chick. All the chicks are covered in down and are uniformly brown except for their white chests and bellies. Any white tummies that can be seen are dirty. They are standing / lying on bare mud which is currently dry but with even the smallest amount of rain becomes a dirty quagmire. The chicks are still quite small with no signs of moulting yet, but are now old enough to be left by themselves while their parents go fishing, they gather together in groups and are like preadolescents sometimes pushing and shoving, chasing each other and arguing.

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Very little and very brown, a Cobbs Wren being friendly on Sealion Island in the #FalklandIslands Canon R5 f7.1 1:1250s ISO800 #BirdOfTheDay #LittleBrownBird #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Flyday #SensoryArt #Small #EastCoastKin

Photograph of a Cobbs Wren. A rather uniformly brown little bird with a slightly downturned beak giving it a grumpy look. It is sitting on a large smooth pebble behind dried up kelp roots that littered all the beaches in the Falklands. A ground nesting bird, nesting in the cracks between rocks and pebbles above the high tide line, it is only fouond on tose islands that are predator free. Totally disdainful and unbothered by humans wielding cameras.

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Bit of a gruesome post for #RedOrDead but at least nothing dead - see Alt for story Sealion Island #FalklandIslands. A Southern Giant Petrel and a Dolphin Gull having a very fresh meal. Canon R5 300mm f8 1:800s ISO 3200 #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Nature #EastCoastKin #ColorADay #RedWed

The Sea-lions give birth in the Falklands in January on rocky beaches at the bottom of cliffs where they are protected from the elements and humans. Arriving at the top of the cliff we must have missed this female giving birth by minutes as the pup was already busy suckling but the placenta was still very fresh and next to the mother when we got there. The scavengers were just arriving, first the dolphin gull and a Sheathbill (out of picture) then the giant petrels. As we watched the petrel grabbed the placenta and pulled it up the beach, taking a little time to eat it, getting covered in blood down its front as it did so. The gull was left with the blood, a few bits that tore off and picking at the females opening. The whole process was quick - by the time we left there was no solid expelled flesh and very little blood, an efficient way of getting rid of anything that could rot and attract pathogens.

Photo shows a female sea-lion lying on a rocky shore with her back to the photographer, her head is raised up and her upper flipper is waving presumably because the gull at her tail end is annoying her. The back of a pup can be seen behind the mother in a position to suggest it is suckling. At the back of the adult is the bloody mess of the expelled placenta and the gull standing next to it has blood covering its beak. Closer to the foreground a large Giant Petrel is approaching the placenta. to the left foreground is the head and neck of another adult Sea-lion sitting up

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Todays #BirdOfTheDay was a no brainer for me (see Alt) A Knot in summer plumage truly is one of the most #FabulousWaders May '26 in the #Shetlands with @shetlandwildlife.bsky.social Canon R5 500mm f7.1 1:1000s ISO800 #Birds #UKBirding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #EastCoastKin #TidesOutTuesday #ArtYear

Living in Sheffield (UK) I've only ever seen Knot in winter plumage before, still attractive birds with their streaky markings but grey.....only grey. Who knew that when they finally get to showing off their breeding colours they are such a vibrant russet-orange. Some of these birds stop of in Shetland on the way to their breeding grounds in the artic and with no time to waste once they get there some of them were already "Dressed to Kill" in their summer finery. What a treat!
Photo shows a medium size wader with a brown black and white streaked head, back and wings, green legs, black beak and a beautiful orange chest, standing on one leg, on seaweed at the edge of the sea.

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

#GoodMorningBeautifulWorld ITS RAINED! and it looks like it might rain again. What could be more beautiful than that😍🤩😍 📷 #FairPhone 5 #PeakDistrict #Sheffield #TheOutDoorCity #Derbyshire #SnakePass #EastCoastKin #TheStormHour

Photo of the Peak District taken from the roadworks traffic lights on the Snake Pass, Derbyshire, UK. The view is of hills either side of a valley which is a mixture of grass and trees with Moreland at the top of the hills. Most importantly the sky is heavy with dark grey cloud promising rain to a land that has been dry for weeks.

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Thanks @atlanticbirding.bsky.social for another excuse to go back to the archives and my first DSLR My first Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill seen in #Kenya in 2005. I was suitably impressed. Canon 20D 220mm f5 1:125sec ISO 400 #BirdOfTHeDay #Firsts #Birds #Africa #EastCoastKin #ECK #ArtYear

Photograph of an Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill. An impressively large bird found in EasternAfrica. It has black and white plumage beautifully demonstrated here by it opening its wings to help it balance on a thin branch in a spikey tree (could it have been an acacia?)
its bright orange-yellow bill is heavy and down-curved, and do i detect a look of alarm in its wide open eye as it topples forward?

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

#BirdOfTheDay is #OverTheRainbow and what better bird to post looking up than a #Kingfisher. Another one from the hard drive archives - I'm going to spend more time there😊 Canon 20Df6.3 1:320s ISO400 #Birds #SmallBirdSaturday #EastCoastKin #ECK #ArtYear

Photograph of a Eurasian Kingfisher, a beautifully coloured small bird with a bright orange belly and iridescent turquoise crown back and wings.It is sitting on a bare branch its head slightly tilted upwards with the sun on the top of its dagger like beak. Blurred foliage in the background

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

What's this funny thing mum? Thank You, Alan! for this trip down memory lane. For #YourChoice I thought I'd delve into my hard drive...see Alt. The mammals may dominate but the joy rediscovering these photos meant it had to be my choice #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #Mammals #ECK #sensoryArt #heavy

What to choose for Alan's prompt #YourChoice?
It always seems to end up late by the time I have a moment to sit at the laptop so I end up posting from whatever's still on there. The prompt and some of the other great BOTD posts inspired me to connect up to the hard drive but where to start?... So many photos ....so I just opened the oldest folder. The camera my first digital SLR was bought for a family holiday in Kenya in 2005, the first holiday since having the kids that was solely focused on nature and I found not only the wildlife but pictures of my son, now in his 30's, before he was even a teenager, a wonderful trip down memory lane. The megapixels might not be as many as I have to play with now but any softness or lack of quality was definitely down to the photographer and not the camera 😂
The egrets followed the elephants through the swampy ground, catching the insects and amphibians disturbed by the big feet, this one was close to the baby for the entire time often almost hanging onto its tail (I took a lot of photos 😂😂) until the little calf turned round to check out just what it was. Now reminded I can picture the day so well - Thanks Alan 😊
Photo of a very young baby elephant still covered in its brown furry hair standing very close to its mother protectively behind it. The small calf is facing forward and stretching out its trunk to touch the head of a white cattle egret standing next to it in the grass. The mother elehant is sideways on partially cropped out of the photo, her head is turned to show her trunk and tusks
Canon 20D 260mm f5.6 1:320s ISO800

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

#FalklandIslands 2026 The same species on different Islands had different predators, on Pebble the Dolphin Gulls were the main harriers of the Shags, trying to make them vomit their last meals (see ALT) Their #RedBeaks really are this RED! #BirdOfTheDay #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Birds #BlueSkyMonday #ECK

Photograph of a Dolphin Gull, in flight, hovering with the help of the ever present wind over a colony of Imperial Shag. The gull, photographed in the FalklandIslands, has a brilliant white body with very dark grey top and light grey under wings, it has a striking red beak and red legs.
At the bottom of the picture an adult Imperial Shag is showing aggression to a fluffy chick which is presumably not theirs while an even closer chick just next to it has its beak open begging for food. The chicks feed by pushing their heads down the adults throats while the adults regurgitate their stomach contents, the gulls fly overhead and land in the colony ,trying force the chicks to withdraw while the food is coming up or trying to make the chicks themselves vomit up their last meal - delightful! 🤢 Earlier in the season the gulls will stael eggs and newborn chicks.
Canon R5 500mm f/8 1:3200s ISO800

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RK @rodsclicks.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Polystoechotes punctata is the ID suggested, a giant lacewing #Moth Iduno never seen one before. Guess it fits #MothWeek #NationalMothWeek

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Bit of Puffin #SummerLovin , Sule Skerry July '25 I don't know what the plants were but they really were that green! Canon R5 500mm f8 1:3200s ISO800 -0.7EV #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #UKBirding #EastCoastKin #Nature #Photography

Photo shows 2 puffins getting cosy despite the heat of the day standing as close as possible amongst some very green foliage at the back and dried tall grass at the front below them unseen is their burrow. Taken on the Island of Sule Skerry in the North Atlantic in July at this time of year a visit is a feast for the senses. The foliage is this incredible green (slightly toned down in post for this photo as naturally it looks false!) while all around pairs of puffin are calling to each other with their soft rather croaky laughing call which is almost as comical as their clown like appearance. For the nose there is always a hint of guano which gets stronger as you get closer to the gannet colonies, But strictly no touch, in fact no moving off the few paths as the greenery hides a land so riddled with puffin burrows one step would see your foot collapse the fragile earth.

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

#Borneo 2024 The Taylor Birds were happily foraging for insects amongst the foliage until....the local clan of monkeys came to see if the photographers had any tasty handouts. Pandemonium! Canon R5 324mm f10 1:800s ISO800 #BireOfTheDay #OpenBeaks #Birds #EastCoastKin #ECK #Artyear

Photo of a small bird perched on a thin branch amongst foliage in dappled sunlight. It has a brown body and its turned head has a red face, its long thin beak is open as it shouts out an indignant alarm call

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

"Excuse me, but why, exactly, are you standing on the rock I usually land on? Blooming humans, no social awareness" Black-browed Albatross combining #FunnyFaces and #UpandDown for #BirdOfTHeDay #Birds #FalklandIslands #Birdseenin2026 #EastCoastKin #ArtYear #birdPhotography

Photograph of a black-browed Albatross standing on a rocky cliff edge with its wings outspread and its neck extended. It has turned its head slightly upwards and sideways to look at the photographer to give it s somewhat quizzical, tho some might say gormless, look. The ground is predominantly earth and rocks with some clumps of green vegetation in the background

Canon R5 100mm f7.1 1:1250s ISO800

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

What can you see Mum? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Crested Duck chick going #quackers , Port Stanley #FalklandIslands Canon R5 500mm f8 1:2000s ISO800 #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #BirdsSeenIn2026 #EastCoastKin #ArtYear

photograph of a mother and chick crested duck swimming close to an outcrop of a concrete wall the mother duck with mottled brown feathers has her head partly submerged with the water just up to her red eye as she forages for food in the shallow sea the chick, a patchwork of brown and tan watches closely there are water droplets on its head

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

At the Buraco das Araras in the Cerrado #Brazil the Macaws were just starting to come in for the night. The two on the end of the branch had already managed to push one rival off and went on to bully the other 3 into leaving. #BirdOfTheDay #LifeInTheBalance #Birds #Stunday #EastCoastKin #Artyear

Photo of a group of blue and Red Macaws fighting over a branch to rest for the night on the right are 2 newcomers, just landed, wings still open pushing forward aggressively. On the left 2 macaws are trying to stand their ground (unsuccessfully) while a third at the back is slipping off its chosen perch and a 4th has already lost the flight and is dropping down with open wings at the bottom of the photo.
It was a feisty argument 😂

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Reposted by Janet Roch

Jarl Graham Kirk. Photo of me 1965 @grawitmik.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Found this one from a couple of weeks ago. Not brill quality, used camera phone. But gives an idea of the hours of calm fun I have just watching nature in my garden.

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

I am not #Rotund I am merely full of Sandeels! Puffin this May in the #ShetlandIslands hiding behind the thrift outside its burrow. Canon R5 270mm f7.1 1:1250s ISO400 -1.0EV #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #UKBirding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #EastCoastKin #ArtYear #ColorADay #GreenSat

Photo of a clown faced Puffin lying on a grassy bank facing the camera but partly hidden by the grass to the side and the front. Its red beak is shining in the sun and, lying down, its body is round.
In the foreground are out of focus pink buds of the thrift plant

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Reposted by Janet Roch

Pam Williams @pamkeenwilliams.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Got 5 pics of this Cardinal cooling-off. I really like them all so here is #1. #birds

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

"It was a bit far from the beach, but there was this little circle of 4 stones & I couldn't pass it up could I?" 2 banded plover taking advantage of the only stones amongst the grass and mud at the goose pond. #FalklandIslands #BirdOfTheDay #BirdsInTheirElement #BirdsSeenIn2026 #Birds #EastCoastKin

Photo of a 2 Banded Plover, a small wader with a chestnut brown head and back and a white front banded with black, sitting on a scrape in a hollow between 4 stones. The nest was a long way from the beach near a large pond mainly inhabited by geese, and on the route travelled each day by the penguins on their way to and from the sea. The bird was well camouflaged and we were nearly on top of it before noticing, it, it however took no notice of us and sat tight in its hollow that would have protected it from most feet
Canon R5 270mm f7.1 1:1250s ISO 800

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Janet Roch @cumberlandjc.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

#Black and bathed in late afternoon sunshine Aptly named Black Vulture in the #Brazil #Pantanal looking magnificant! Canon R5 500mm f8 1:2500s ISO5000 #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #EastCoastKin #ArtYear #ThrowbackThursday

Portrait photo of a Black Vulture taken in the Pantanal in Brazil.
A large Black bird with a bald head and neck and large hooked beak, it is sitting on a dead tree trunk in the orange glow of the late afternoon sunshine

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