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Kempton Park Reservoirs
Kempton Park Reservoirs are a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the London Borough of Hounslow and Kempton Park in Surrey. It is owned by Thames Water. It is part of South West London Waterbodies Ramsar site and Special Protection Area Kempton Park East reservoir is also a local nature reserve. History The facilities at Kempton Park were established in 1897 by the New River Company, which was incorporated into the Metropolitan Water Board in 1903. Kempton Park East and Kempton Park West Reservoirs were completed in 1907. A third smaller reservoir, Red House Reservoir, was also constructed, being supplied by the Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct which passed south of the other reservoirs transporting water to Hampton Water Treatment Works. The pumping station was opened in 1929. The two triple expansion steam engines were designed and manufactured by Worthington-Simpson. They are thought to have been the second largest such engines in the world. They continued to be used until 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater London
Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian bank *Greater Media, an American media company See also * * {{Disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northern Lapwing
The northern lapwing (''Vanellus vanellus''), also known as the peewit or pewit, tuit or tew-it, green plover, or (in Ireland and Britain) pyewipe or just lapwing, is a bird in the lapwing subfamily. It is common through temperate Eurosiberia. Behaviour It is highly migratory over most of its extensive range, wintering further south as far as North Africa, northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and parts of China. It migrates mainly by day, often in large flocks. Lowland breeders in westernmost areas of Europe are resident. It occasionally is a vagrant to North America, especially after storms, as in the Canadian sightings after storms in December 1927 and in January 1966. It is a wader that breeds on cultivated land and other short vegetation habitats. 3–4 eggs are laid in a ground scrape. The nest and young are defended noisily and aggressively against all intruders, up to and including horses and cattle. In winter, it forms huge flocks on open land, particularly arable land a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pipistrelle
''Pipistrellus'' is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae and subfamily Vespertilioninae. The name of the genus is derived from the Italian language, Italian word , meaning "bat" (from Latin "bird of evening, bat"). The size of the genus has been considerably reduced as a result of work during the 1990s and 2000s, with genera such as ''Arielulus'', ''Hypsugo'', ''Falsistrellus'', ''Neoromicia'', ''Parastrellus'', ''Perimyotis'', ''Scotozous'', and ''Vespadelus'' being split off. Still, Molecular phylogenetics, molecular evidence suggests the genus is not monophyletic. Several other genera in the subfamily Vespertilioninae have also been merged with ''Pipistrellus'' in previous classifications. Species in the genus may be referred to as "pipistrelles" or "pipistrelle bats", though these terms are also used for species now placed in other genera, such as the western pipistrelle (''Parastrellus hesperus'') and eastern pipistrelle (''Perimyotis subflavus'') of North Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daubenton's Bat
Daubenton's bat or Daubenton's myotis (''Myotis daubentonii'') is a Eurasian bat with rather short ears. It ranges from Ireland to Japan (Hokkaido) and is considered to be increasing its numbers in many areas. This bat was first described in 1817 by Heinrich Kuhl, who named it in honour of French naturalist Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton. Description Daubenton's bat is a medium-sized to small species. The bat's fluffy fur is brownish-grey on the back and silvery-grey on the underside. Juveniles have darker fur than adults. The bats have reddish-pink faces and noses, but the area around the eyes is bare. When the bat is agitated, the ears are held at right angles. The wings and tail membrane are dark brown. Daubenton's bat is typically 45 to 55 mm long, with an average wingspan of 240 to 275 mm, and weighs between 7 and 15 g. Lifespan Daubenton's bats can live for up to 22 years. Habitat Daubenton's bat is found throughout Ireland and Europe, and as far as Japan and Kor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serotine
The serotine bat (''Eptesicus serotinus''), also known as the common serotine bat, big brown bat, or silky bat, is a fairly large Eurasian bat with quite large ears. It has a wingspan of around and often hunts in woodland. It sometimes roosts in buildings, hanging upside down, in small groups or individually. The name serotine is derived from the Latin ''serotinus'', which means 'evening', while the generic name derives from Greek ἔπιεν and οίκος, which means 'house flyer'. Taxonomy The following subspecies have been recognised. *''Eptesicus serotinus boscai'': southern Iberia and Morocco *''Eptesicus serotinus pashtonus'': Pakistan and Afghanistan *''Eptesicus serotinus serotinus'': northern and eastern Europe and western Asia *''Eptesicus serotinus turcomanus'': central Asia and Xinjiang The Oriental serotine (''E. pachyomus'') and its constituent subspecies were formerly considered a subspecies of ''E. serotinus'', comprising its eastern populations, and is st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Noctule
The common noctule (''Nyctalus noctula'') is a species of insectivorous bat common throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Description The common noctule's short fur is dark brown after moulting in June (males) or July/August (females); later it changes to red-brown before the onset of winter.Braun M. & Dieterlen F. 2003 When awake, the body temperature is but it decreases significantly during inactivity. The body mass of adult common noctule is and they have a wingspan of . The species forages with a rapid flying speed of , sometimes up to . Because of temporally limited availability of insect prey, they have short daily activity periods before sunrise and after sunset of in total one hour or less and so must cope with up to twenty-three hours of fasting a day. Distribution Most parts of Europe, central Russia, across the Ural mountain, Caucasus, Turkey, the Near East, to southwestern parts of Siberia, the Himalayas, China, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan. In Bulgaria, it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-necked Phalarope
The red-necked phalarope (''Phalaropus lobatus''), also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope, is a small wader. This phalarope breeds in the Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It is migratory, and, unusually for a wader, winters at sea on tropical oceans. Taxonomy In 1743 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration and a description of the red-necked phalarope in the first volume of his ''A Natural History of Uncommon Birds''. He used the English name "The coot-footed tringa". Edwards based his hand-coloured etching on a specimen that had been collected off the coast of Maryland. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''Systema Naturae'' for the tenth edition, he placed the red-necked phalarope with the phalaropes and sandpipers in the genus ''Tringa''. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Tringa lobata'' and cited Edwards' work. The red-necked phalarope is now placed in the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spotted Crake
The spotted crake (''Porzana porzana'') is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae. The scientific name is derived from Venetian terms for small rails. The spotted crake's breeding habitat is marshes and sedge beds across temperate Europe into western Asia. They nest in a dry location in marsh vegetation, laying 6–15 eggs. This species is migratory, wintering in Africa and Pakistan. At length, spotted crakes are slightly smaller than water rails, from which they are readily distinguished by the short straight bill, yellow with a red base. Adults have mainly brown upperparts and blue-grey breast, with dark barring and white spots on the flanks. They have green legs with long toes, and a short tail which is buff underneath. Immature spotted crakes are similar, but the blue-grey is replaced by brown. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails. The only confusion species is the sora, a rare vagrant from North America. However, that species lacks the breast spotting and ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temminck's Stint
Temminck's stint (''Calidris temminckii'') is a small wader. This bird's common name and Latin binomial commemorate the Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. Temminck's stint is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (AEWA) applies. Description These birds are very small waders, at length. They are similar in size to the little stint (''Calidris minuta'') but shorter legged and longer winged. The legs are yellow and the outer tail feathers white, in contrast to little stint's dark legs and grey outer tail feathers. This is a rather drab wader, with mainly plain brown upperparts and head, and underparts white apart from a darker breast. The breeding adult has some brighter rufous mantle feathers to relieve the generally undistinguished appearance. In winter plumage, the genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Garganey
The garganey (''Spatula querquedula'') is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Bangladesh (in the natural reservoirs of Sylhet district) and Australasia during the winter of the Northern hemisphere, where large flocks can occur. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Like other small ducks such as the Eurasian teal, this species rises easily from the water with a fast twisting wader-like flight. Their breeding habitat is grassland adjacent to shallow marshes and steppe lakes. Taxonomy The first formal description of the garganey was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He introduced the binomial name ''Anas querquedula''. A molecular phylogentic study comparing mitochondrial DNA sequences publis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Smew
The smew (''Mergellus albellus'') is a species of duck, and is the only living member of the genus ''Mergellus''. ''Mergellus'' is a diminutive of '' Mergus'' and ''albellus'' is from Latin ''albus'' "white". This genus is closely related to ''Mergus'' and is sometimes included in it, though it might be closer to the goldeneyes (''Bucephala''). The smew has hybridized with the common goldeneye (''B. clangula''). A seaduck fossil from the Middle Miocene shows that birds similar to smew existed up to 13 million years ago. The extant species dates back to the Late Pleistocene. Name The term ''smew'' has been used since the 17th century and is of uncertain origin. It is believed to be related to the Dutch ''smient'' ("wigeon") and the German ''Schmeiente'' or '' Schmünte'', "wild duck." It is probably derived from ''smee'', a dialectal term for a wild duck. Description The drake smew, with its 'cracked ice' or 'panda' appearance, is unmistakable, and looks very black-and- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pied Avocet
The pied avocet (''Recurvirostra avosetta'') is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and across the Palearctic to Central Asia then on to the Russian Far East. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England. The pied avocet is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Taxonomy The pied avocet was one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', where it was given the binomial name of ''Recurvirostra avosetta''. This species gets its English and scientific names from the Venetian word ''avosetta''. It appeared first in Ulisse Aldrovandi's ''Ornithologia'' (1603). While the name may refer to black and white outfits once wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_in_AP_W_IMG_2844.jpg "Click for more on -> Garganey")
