Saturday, March 3, 2012

Tristramit

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As you may have read previously, on Monday my visiting daughter and her toddler and I drove down to the Dead Sea for a scientific conference.

Tuesday I woke to the lovely sight of two birds strolling on the balcony of our hotel suite.
Grab the camera for a Camera Critters photo op.
It was 7:26, the sun was up, and the day quite clear.

By 3:30 it looked like this!
Brown air, hard to breathe. A major dust storm.

Down at the pool the wild wind was toppling everything not bolted down.
In this close-up of the bird on our railing, you can see the wind ruffling his feathers on the left side.
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The bird in the last two photos with the orange tipped wings is a Tristram's Starling (aka Tristram's Grackle).
This species is named after Reverend Henry Baker Tristram, the Englishman who did a lot of exploring of the Dead Sea region between 1858 and 1872.
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12 comments:

  1. Wow, Dina, what a difference in air quality when the wind blows that sand/dust around! The poor birds!
    I would very much like to visit the Dead Sea some day, but that sand in the air is scary. I once got a piece of sand behind my contact lens in a Mexican sand storm. My eye was scratched and the doctor put me on drops for several days and, of course, I had to cover the eye. My depth perception was just awful, not to mention the pain.
    K

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  2. I love your first photo.

    Regards and best wishes

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  3. Wonderful view and bird. It is special with the color.

    Happy evening from nort:-)

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  4. Dust storms can blow up so quickly...Don and I experienced one while "rough" camping in Arizona. A total red dust "black out"! Your Starling/Grackle is hanging on, perhaps he's used to the wind and the dust!

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  5. Take care of your lungs and your health, dear Dina!
    Nice to catch up on your blog today!

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  6. Amazing pictures indeed ! First one quite a piece of art. Thank you for your effort. Please have you all a good Sunday.

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  7. The air is opaque! I hope you go out well protected (if at all possible).

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  8. Oh don't I love this place!!! Spent a few months ar Ein Gedi, and I very often slept outside, away from the kibbutz, to enjoy the total silence. A truly wonderful and unique experience, total silence. I miss it.

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  9. Wow, what a huge difference in the air from the dust storm. You had a lovely view from your room. Thanks for sharing your birds and photos. Happy Sunday!

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  10. Dust storm are not exactly healthy... I like the bird the with orange tipped wings, I guess he is quite comfortable there.

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  11. The düst storm reminds «Louis» of those horrible spring time dust storms in the Panhandle of Texas where he grew up...how well he knows those brown skies!

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  12. The birds are perfectly positioned. Wonderful shot!

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