Norway, Sirdal. The first snow of the season. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
Winter is a mixed joy here on the west coast of Norway, with weather conditions that can vary from hour to hour. Down at sea level there is normally the rain that dominates. In order to find snow and go on skiing trips one will have to visit higher elevations.
US, New York City. View from the Empire State Building observation deck towards Central Park. Stitched panorama. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
Not that there is any lack of vantage points in New York, but one of the best must undoubtedly be from the top of the Empire State Building. The queues here can be very long in the high season, so a good tip should be to come here when the number of tourists is at its lowest. If you come in the tourist season, try to be here early in the morning or in the afternoon. Out of season you can also risk encountering queues, but usually the wait is much shorter.
US, Florida, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Black Point Wildlife Drive. Roseate Spoonbill. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
The Roseate Spoonbill belong to the same family as the Ibis, and can be found both in South and North America, mostly in shallow fresh or coastal waters. It’s closest relative is the Yellow Spoonbill. it is a rather large bird with 120–133 cm wingspan and a body mass of 1.2–1.8 kg.
John F. Kennedy Space Center. F-1 engines on a Saturn V at the Apollo/Saturn V Center, 2013. Stitched panorama using 6 images. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
The first time I visited Kennedy Space Center in Florida was back in 1987. Since then the world has changed a lot, at least when it comes to politics and technology. The cold war space race is a thing of the past, and you should think we have moved further out in space as well. But to many people’s frustration we are still stuck in low earth orbit.
Petra is Jordan’s most visited tourist attraction. Al Khazneh, The Treasury, seen from the end of the gorge. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
Petra became an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Also known as the “rose red city, half as old as time”, it is not difficult to understand why it has become Jordan’s largest tourist attraction. Some say this is partly because of Steven Spielberg’s movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” from 1986, but no doubt this site would could have become famous anyway sooner or later. It was also chosen as one of the controversial “New Seven Wonders of the World” in 2007.
The Common Ringed Plover is a small plover. At Revtangen on Jaeren, south west Norway. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
Winter is coming. At Revtangen bird observatory south of Stavanger that means time for action, but fortunately of a peaceful nature. Autumn is high season for bird ringing when it comes to migratory species like waders.
A flock of Sanderling’s taking to the air. At Revtangen on Jaeren, south west Norway. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
The first building at the observatory was built in 1937, and it was officially opened in November the same year. The observatory is run by Stavanger Museum, and the main task is catching and ringing of wading birds and passerines. Stavanger Museum is also organizing all other scientific bird ringing in Norway.
Indonesia, Sumatra. Samosir. A Batak house is built on stilts, made of wood (without nails) and roofed with sugar palm fibre, or unfortunately today more often rusting corrugated iron. The style vary from region to region, but the basics are the same. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
The North Sumatra Triangle — a paradise for budget tourists. “Unity in Diversity” is the national motto of Indonesia. There are over 300 tribal-ethnic groups living on 6,000 islands. The remaining 11,000 islands are uninhabited. The larger islands are Java, Sumatra, Irian Jaya and Kalimantan. Kalimantan comprises two-thirds of the island of Borneo, the other one-third being East Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah) and the Sultanate of Brunei.
United States, California. Muir Woods National Monument, a cathedral of trees. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
It’s hard to visit a redwood forest without beeing in awe of the size and age of these prehistoric but fortunately still living giants, some can be as high as 115m and as old as 3.500 years. Their lineage can be followed back to the time of dinosaurs, when the redwood species of that time were the dominant trees in the forests of North America.
United States, California, Death Valley. From Dantes View 5,500 feet (1,700 m) above sea level. Great view of central part of Death Valley. (Photo Bjorn Grotting
Don’t let the name scare you, Death Valley is far from a dead valley. Located in the Mojave Desert in eastern California the valley makes up most of the Death Valley National Park, one of the largest national parks in the United States. It is home to a large variety of plant and animal species, and for geologists it’s an open book presenting a number of geological eras.
Bali, Gianyar. Some of the many large statues in this area. Close to the center of Gianyar city. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
Traditionally Gianyar has been the richest district on Bali, today about half the population here works in the tourist industry. Gianyar city is the administrative center of the district, while Ubud is the cultural capital and has the largest population. Gianyar city is located about 23 km from Denpasar, and is a junction for north and east bound traffic. Around Bedulu, between the Petanu and Pakrisan rivers, is a 10 km long belt of land known as “the land between the rivers”.
The Roseate Spoonbill belong to the same family as the Ibis, and can be found both in South and Nort…
Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. Ther…
Not that there is any lack of vantage points in New York, but one of the best must undoubtedly be fr…
Petra became an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Also known as the “rose red city, half as …
Winter is a mixed joy here on the west coast of Norway, with weather conditions that can vary from h…
