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.
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.
United States, California, Joshua Tree National Park. Skull Rock. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
The fascinating Joshua Tree National Park in California represents three different ecosystems; the Mojave Desert to the north, the Colorado Desert which occupies the eastern and southern parts and finally The Little San Bernardino Mountains. As the name suggests the park can offer large habitats with the characteristic Joshua tree, mostly found in the western parts of the park. Similarly fascinating is the geologic formations found here, almost like somebody has been sculpting them.
Sweden, Värmland. Fire in the sky. Colourful sunset at a small lake in Värmland, not far from the Norwegian border. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
Värmland is maybe one of the most scenic landscapes in Sweden, and has inspired painters, writers and musicians for centuries, like Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlöf, many of her novels take place in Värmland. Värmland is both the name of a landscape and county. Landscapes no longer serve any administrative functions in Sweden, but often has the same borders as a county.
The county has 10512 lakes, including Lake Vänern which is the largest inland lake in Western Europe. Other large lakes are Fryken, Glafsfjorden and Värmeln. The Klarälven river is very important, 460km long from it’s sources in Norway, ending in Lake Vänern.
Norway, Trondelag, Stokksund. Winter colours. An ice and snow covered landscape at sunset. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
It’s always fun to look through old photos. I captured this scene more than ten years ago. It got me a price in a photo contest held by Trondheim’s largest newspaper. This was back in the “old” days, while film based cameras were more common than the digital wonders we use today. Most of us who shot film know the feeling; you think you have a nice shot, but will not know the result for several days, or weeks in worst case.
The Moon at full perigee, the coinciding of full moon and shortest distance to the earth. Also known as the Supermoon. (Photo Bjorn Grotting)
These days there is a lot of fuzz in the media regarding the so-called Supermoon, some even believe this is the end of the world as we know it…
Fear not, this is the rare occasion when the Moon is at it’s closest to the earth, or perigee, coinciding with a full Moon. It makes the Moon look slightly bigger and brighter, but only by approximately 12%, so in reality you wouldn’t really know, as it is already quite small on the sky. If it’s close to the horizon it will however look bigger due to an optical illusion. Super or not, it doesn’t really matter, just enjoy the view! The above image was taken yestaerday, with the Supermoon as seen from my home in Stavanger, Norway.
The Roseate Spoonbill belong to the same family as the Ibis, and can be found both in South and Nort…
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Petra became an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Also known as the “rose red city, half as …
Värmland is maybe one of the most scenic landscapes in Sweden, and has inspired painters, writers a…
