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Basin Lake
Basin Lake is an endorheic salt lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The lake is in the RM of Three Lakes No. 400 in the Boreal Transition ecoregion and is within an Important Bird Area (IBA) of Canada and part of the Basin and Middle Lakes Bird Sanctuary. There are no communities along the lake's shore and the closest highway is Highway 20. At to the south, Humbolt is the closest city. Description Basin Lake is a salt lake within the Carrot River watershed. It has no overland outflow and water levels are dependent upon spring run-off, intermittent creeks, the water table, and rainfall. As a result, water levels fluctuate greatly and extensive mudflats form near the lake's shoreline. Basin Lake is the end point in the terminal Lenore Lake basin, with lakes such as Lenore Lake, Frog Lake, and Middle Lake upstream. The lake is surrounded by farms and groves of aspen, willow, and white spruce. Until the 1970s, the lake supported a population of whitefish but as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spring (hydrology)
A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh water, especially in arid regions which have relatively little annual rainfall. Springs are driven out onto the surface by various natural forces, such as gravity and hydrostatic pressure. Their yield varies widely from a volumetric flow rate of nearly zero to more than for the biggest springs. Formation Springs are formed when groundwater flows onto the surface. This typically happens when the groundwater table reaches above the surface level. Springs may also be formed as a result of karst topography, aquifers, or volcanic activity. Springs also have been observed on the ocean floor, spewing hot water directly into the ocean. Springs formed as a result of karst topography create karst springs, in which ground water travels through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Tern
The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migratory, wintering in coastal tropical and subtropical regions. Breeding adults have light grey upperparts, white to very light grey underparts, a black cap, orange-red legs, and a narrow pointed bill. Depending on the subspecies, the bill may be mostly red with a black tip or all black. There are several similar species, including the partly sympatric Arctic tern, which can be separated on plumage details, leg and bill colour, or vocalisations. Breeding in a wider range of habitats than any of its relatives, the common tern nests on any flat, poorly vegetated surface close to water, including beaches and islands, and it readily adapts to artificial substrates such as floating rafts. The nest may be a bare scrape in sand or gravel, but it is of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Tern
The black tern (''Chlidonias niger'') is a small tern generally found in or near inland water in Europe, Western Asia and North America. As its name suggests, it has predominantly dark plumage. In some lights it can appear blue in the breeding season, hence the old English name "blue darr". The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''khelidonios'', "swallow-like", from ''khelidon'', "swallow": another old English name for the black tern is "carr (i.e. lake) swallow". The species name is from Latin ''niger'' "shining black". Description Adults are long, with a wingspan , and weigh . They have short dark legs and a short, weak-looking black bill, measuring , nearly as long as the head. The bill is long, slender, and looks slightly decurved. They have a dark grey back, with a white forewing, black head, neck (occasionally suffused with grey in the adult) and belly, black or blackish-brown cap (which unites in color with the ear coverts, forming an almost complete hood), and a light ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California Gull
The California gull (''Larus californicus'') is a medium-sized gull, smaller on average than the herring gull but larger on average than the ring-billed gull, though it may overlap in size greatly with both. Description Adults are similar in appearance to the herring gull, but have a smaller yellow bill with a black ring, yellow legs, brown eyes and a more rounded head. The body is mainly white with grey back and upper wings. They have black primaries with white tips. Immature birds are also similar in appearance to immature herring gulls, with browner plumage than immature ring-billed gulls. Length can range from , the wingspan and body mass can vary from .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . Distribution and habitat Their breeding habitat is lakes and marshes in interior western North America from the Northwest Territories, Canada south to eastern California and Colorado. They nest in colonies, sometimes with other bird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-necked Grebe
The red-necked grebe (''Podiceps grisegena'') is a migratory aquatic bird found in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Its wintering habitat is largely restricted to calm waters just beyond the waves around ocean coasts, although some birds may winter on large lakes. Grebes prefer shallow bodies of fresh water such as lakes, marshes or fish-ponds as breeding sites. The red-necked grebe is a nondescript dusky-grey bird in winter. During the breeding season, it acquires the distinctive red neck plumage, black cap and contrasting pale grey face from which its name was derived. It also has an elaborate courtship display and a variety of loud mating calls. Once paired, it builds a nest from water plants on top of floating vegetation in a shallow lake or bog. Like all grebes, the Red-necked is a good swimmer, a particularly swift diver, and responds to danger by diving rather than flying. The feet are positioned far back on the body, near the tail, which makes the bird ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Grebe
The western grebe (''Aechmophorus occidentalis'') is a species in the grebe family of water birds. Folk names include "dabchick", "swan grebe" and "swan-necked grebe". Western grebe fossils from the Late Pleistocene of southwest North America were described as a distinct species, but later ranked as a paleosubspecies ''Aechmophorus occidentalis lucasi''. More recent study found them to fall within the variation now known to exist in today's birds. Description The western grebe is the largest North American grebe. It is long, weighs and measures across the wings.''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), .Burnie D and Wilson DE (Eds.), ''Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife''. DK Adult (2005), It is black-and-white, with a long, slender, swan-like neck and red eyes. It is easily confused with Clark's grebe, which shares similar features, body size, behavior and habitat, and Hybrid (biology), hybrids are known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eared Grebe
The black-necked grebe or eared grebe (''Podiceps nigricollis'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It was described in 1831 by Christian Ludwig Brehm. There are currently three accepted subspecies, including the nominate subspecies. Its breeding plumage features a distinctive ochre-coloured plumage which extends behind its eye and over its ear coverts. The rest of the upper parts, including the head, neck, and breast, are coloured black to blackish brown. The flanks are tawny rufous to maroon-chestnut, and the abdomen is white. When in its non-breeding plumage, this bird has greyish-black upper parts, including the top of the head and a vertical stripe on the back of the neck. The flanks are also greyish-black. The rest of the body is a white or whitish colour. The juvenile has more brown in its darker areas. The subspecies ''californicus'' can be distinguished from the nominate by the former's usually longer bill. The other subspecies, ''P. n. gurneyi'', can be di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horned Grebe
The horned grebe or Slavonian grebe (''Podiceps auritus'') is a relatively small waterbird in the family Podicipedidae. There are two known subspecies: ''P. a. auritus'', which breeds in the Palearctic, and ''P. a. cornutus'', which breeds in North America. The Eurasian subspecies is distributed over most of northern Europe and the Palearctic, breeding from Greenland to western China. The North American subspecies spans most of Canada and some of the United States. The species got its name from large patches of yellowish feathers located behind the eyes, called "horns", that the birds can raise and lower at will. Description Horned grebes can be easily recognised by its red-and-black alternate (breeding) plumage, its black-and-white basic (non-breeding) plumage, and its characteristic "horns". It is 31–38 cm long, has a wingspan 55–74 cm wide and weighs 300–570 g. It has a moderately long neck, flat forehead and a rear crown of black feathers. Its beak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pied-billed Grebe
The pied-billed grebe (''Podilymbus podiceps'') is a species of the grebe family of water birds. Because the Atitlán grebe (''Podilymbus gigas'') has become extinct, the Pied-Billed Grebe is now the sole extant member of the genus ''Podilymbus''. The pied-billed grebe is primarily found in ponds throughout the Americas. Other names of this grebe include American dabchick, rail, dabchick, Carolina grebe, devil-diver, dive-dapper, dipper, hell-diver, pied-billed dabchick, pied-bill, thick-billed grebe, and water witch. Taxonomy and name The pied-billed grebe was described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' in 1758 as ''Colymbus podiceps''. The binomial name is derived from Latin ''Podilymbus'', a contraction of ''podicipes'' ("feet at the buttocks", from ''podici-'', "rump-" + ''pes'', "foot")—the origin of the name of the grebe order—and Ancient Greek ''kolymbos'', "diver", and ''podiceps'', "rump-headed", from ''podici-'' + New Latin ''ceps''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double-crested Cormorant
The double-crested cormorant (''Nannopterum auritum'') is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes, and in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Measuring in length, it is entirely black except for a bare patch of orange-yellow facial skin and some extra plumage that it exhibits in the breeding season, when it grows a double crest in which black feathers are mingled with white. Five subspecies are recognized. It mainly eats fish and hunts by swimming and diving. Its feathers, like those of all cormorants, are not waterproof and it must spend time drying them out after spending time in the water. Once threatened by the use of DDT, the numbers of this bird have increased markedly in recent years. Taxonomy The double-crested cormorant was described by René Primevère Lesson in 1831. It was formerly classified in the genus '' Phalacrocorax'', but a 2014 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American White Pelican
The American white pelican (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos'') is a large aquatic soaring bird from the order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central America and South America, in winter. Taxonomy The American white pelican was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the other pelicans in the genus '' Pelecanus'' and coined the binomial name ''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos''. Gmelin based his description on the "rough-billed pelican" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham. Latham had access to three specimens that had been brought to London from New York and the Hudson Bay area of North America. The scientific name means "red-billed pelican", from the Latin term for a pelican, ''Pelecanus'', and ''erythrorhynchos'', derived from the Ancient Greek words ( ἐρ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_RWD2.jpg "Click for more on -> California Gull")
