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Laxey Bay
Laxey Bay ( gv, Baie Laksaa) is a coastal feature and Marine Nature Reserve on the east coast of the Isle of Man in the north Irish Sea. Geographically it is bounded by Laxey Head ( gv, Kione Laksaa) to the north and Clay Head ( gv, Kione ny Cleigh) to the south. Marine nature reserves Laxey Bay was first protected as a "Fisheries Restricted Area" in 2009 to facilitate king scallop ranching, whereby the areas could be seeded with scallops, protected from fishing and then harvested at a later date. The bay was seeded with young scallops, however subsequent surveys indicated that densities remained very low (among the lowest of sites surveyed in Manx waters), likely owing to limited good scallop habitat within the bay. A Bangor University survey in 2016 surveyed the habitats within the bay. On the basis of the presence of habitats of conservation importance, including maerl and eelgrass (''Zostera marina''), the survey recommended that they bay remain closed to mobile fishing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marine Nature Reserve
Marine nature reserve (MNR) is a conservation designation officially awarded by a government to a marine reserve of national significance. Republic of Ireland Lough Hyne, a marine lake off of County Cork, is Ireland's only marine nature reserve. United Kingdom Marine nature reserves were introduced in the UK by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and were designed to conserve marine life and geological or physiographical features of special interest. They have similar status and protection to national nature reserves, but were specifically concerned with a marine environment, including both the sea and seabed. In the UK, there are only three statutory MNRs: Lundy Marine Nature Reserve at Lundy Island (Bristol Channel), Skomer Marine Nature Reserve (Pembrokeshire) and Strangford Lough (County Down). There is a non-statutory voluntary MNR at St Abbs Head, Berwickshire. Marine conservation zones Schedule 12 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 allows the conversion the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thornback Ray
The thornback ray (''Raja clavata''), or thornback skate, is a species of ray fish in the family Rajidae. Distribution The Thornback ray is found in the Atlantic coastal waters of Europe and western Africa. It is also present from south Africa to the southwestern Indian Ocean and in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It is native possibly as far south as Namibia and South Africa. Its natural habitats are open large seas and shallow seas. It is sometimes seen trapped in large estuarine pools at low tide. The thornback ray is probably one of the most common rays encountered by divers. Habitat The thornback ray is usually found on sedimentary seabeds such as mud, sand or gravel at depths between 10-60m. Juvenile fish feed on small crustaceans, particularly amphipods and bottom-living shrimps; adults feed on crabs, shrimps and small fish. Description Like all rays, the thornback ray has a flattened body with broad, wing-like pectoral fins. The body is kite-shaped wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Heron
The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water or stalking its prey through the shallows. Standing up to tall, adults weigh from . They have a white head and neck with a broad black stripe that extends from the eye to the black crest. The body and wings are grey above and the underparts are greyish-white, with some black on the flanks. The long, sharply pointed beak is pinkish-yellow and the legs are brown. The birds breed colonially in spring in "heronries", usually building their nests high in trees. A clutch of usually three to five bluish-gree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Cormorant
The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds. The genus name is Latinised Ancient Greek, from φαλακρός (''phalakros'', "bald") and κόραξ (''korax'', "raven"), and ''carbo'' is Latin for "charcoal". It breeds in much of the Old World, Australia, and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of North America. Taxonomy and etymology The long white-breasted cormorant ''P. c. lucidus'' found in sub-Saharan Africa, has a white neck and breast. It is often treated as a full species, ''Phalacrocorax lucidus'' (e.g. , ). In addition to the Australasian and African forms, ''Phalacrocorax carbo novaehollandiae'' and ''P. c. lucidus'' mentioned above, other geographically distinct subspecies are recognised, including ''P. c. sinensis' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Curlew
The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred to just as the "curlew", and in Scotland known as the "whaup" in Scots. Taxonomy The Eurasian curlew was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Scolopax arquata''. It is now placed with eight other curlews in the genus '' Numenius'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The genus name ''Numenius'' is from Ancient Greek νουμήνιος, ''noumēnios'', a bird mentioned by Hesychius. It is associated with the curlew because it appears to be derived from ''neos'', "new" and ''mene'' "moon", referring to the crescent-shaped bill. The species name ''arquata'' is the Medieval Latin name for this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Oystercatcher
The Eurasian oystercatcher (''Haematopus ostralegus'') also known as the common pied oystercatcher, or palaearctic oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurosiberia, Kamchatka, China, and the western coast of Korea. No other oystercatcher occurs within this area. The extinct Canary Islands oystercatcher (''Haematopus meadewaldoi''), formerly considered a distinct species, may have actually been an isolated subspecies or distinct population of the Eurasian oystercatcher. This oystercatcher is the national bird of the Faroe Islands. Taxonomy The Eurasian oystercatcher was listed by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his '' Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Haemotopus ostralegus''. The genus name ''Haematopus'' combines the Ancient Greek ''haima'' αἳμα meani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peregrine Falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae. A large, Corvus (genus), crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest bird in the world, as well as the Fastest animals, fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a ''National Geographic (U.S. TV channel), National Geographic'' TV program, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is . As is typical for avivore, bird-eating raptors, peregrine falcons are Sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males. The peregrine's breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-billed Chough
The red-billed chough, Cornish chough or simply chough ( ; ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), is a bird in the crow family, one of only two species in the genus '' Pyrrhocorax''. Its eight subspecies breed on mountains and coastal cliffs from the western coasts of Ireland and Britain east through southern Europe and North Africa to Central Asia, India and China. This bird has glossy black plumage, a long curved red bill, red legs, and a loud, ringing call. It has a buoyant acrobatic flight with widely spread primaries. The red-billed chough pairs for life and displays fidelity to its breeding site, which is usually a cave or crevice in a cliff face. It builds a wool-lined stick nest and lays three eggs. It feeds, often in flocks, on short grazed grassland, taking mainly invertebrate prey. Although it is subject to predation and parasitism, the main threat to this species is changes in agricultural practices, which have led to population decline, some local extirpation, and range fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesser Black-backed Gull
The lesser black-backed gull (''Larus fuscus'') is a large gull that breeds on the Atlantic coasts of Europe. It is migratory, wintering from the British Isles south to West Africa. It has increased dramatically in North America, most common along the east coast. Formerly just a winter visitor, many birds are now spotted year-round. Some winters they occur in large numbers. Even on the west coast, this species has become an annual winter visitor in California with birds reported around most of the state each winter. They've even been seen in numbers at the Salton Sea. Taxonomy The lesser black-backed gull was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', and it still bears its original name ''Larus fuscus''. The scientific name is from Latin. ''Larus'' appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird, and ''fuscus'' meant black or brown. Subspecies The five recognized subspecies are: *''L. f. graellsii'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Black-backed Gull
The great black-backed gull (''Larus marinus'') is the largest member of the gull family. Described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as "the king of the Atlantic waterfront", it is a very aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger. It breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic and is fairly sedentary, though some move farther south or inland to large lakes or reservoirs. The adult great black-backed gull has a white head, neck and underparts, dark grey wings and back, pink legs and yellow bill. Taxonomy The great black-backed gull was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', and it still bears its original name of ''Larus marinus''. The scientific name is from Latin. ''Larus'' appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird. The specific name ''marinus'' means "marine", or when taken together, "sea gull". This predates Linnean taxonomy, as it had been called ''L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herring Gull
Herring gull is a common name for several birds in the genus ''Larus'', all formerly treated as a single species. Three species are still combined in some taxonomies: * American herring gull (''Larus smithsonianus'') - North America * European herring gull (''Larus argentatus'') - Northern Europe * Vega gull (''Larus vegae'') - East Asia Additional species formerly included within this species include: * Armenian gull (''Larus armenicus'') - Caucasus and Middle East * Caspian gull (''Larus cachinnans'') - Eastern Europe and Central Asia * Yellow-legged gull The yellow-legged gull (''Larus michahellis'') is a large gull found in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, which has only recently achieved wide recognition as a distinct species. It was formerly treated as a subspecies of either the Cas ... (''Larus michahellis'') - Southern Europe, North Africa and Middle East Larus Bird common names {{Animal common name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eurasian Eider
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago and the Russian Far East to the east. The continental landmass is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Africa to the west, the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and by Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Indian Ocean to the south. The division between Europe and Asia as two continents is a historical social construct, as many of their borders are over land; thus, in some parts of the world, Eurasia is recognized as the largest of the six, five, or four continents on Earth. In geology, Eurasia is often considered as a single rigid megablock. However, the rigidity of Eurasia is debated based on paleomagnetic data. Eurasia covers around , or around 36.2% of the Earth's total land area. It is also home to the largest c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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