Did you know some pubs are named for trades that were prominent in the area?There are 37 Bricklayer’s Arms pubs in the U.K. according to pubnames.co.uk. This is one named after that trade.
Bricklayer’s Arms Pub Sign- the Pub
I came across this pub while walking through London. It was 31 Gresse Street which is north of Oxford Street and west of Tottenham Court Road in the Camden section of the city. It is not far from the Tottenham Court Station.
Bricklayer’s Arms Pub Sign
Back long ago a pub being named for a trade may have shown where people could meet others in a similar trade. It might also help them meet people to procure work if they were new in the trade. Brick laying is still an occupation that is active. It is great to see the long time trades honoured through signs like these.
These are two of the three fledglings from the same tree hole in May. This appears to be the day these two left the nest hole. The third was still in the hole and was quite loud.
Owl Fledglings 2024
The two out of the tree hole looked so small for barred owls it was confusing. It did not help they fledged during a dark day where it was raining hard. This is why they look drenched. The one pictured above is on a tree branch on the ground. I called a friend and she came. To not upset the apple cart with the parents, who had to be nearby, we left the baby on the ground in hopes that it would climb a nearby tree. It looked exhausted.
Owl Fledglings 2024 I manipulated this dark photo a lot to try to get it sharper and with less noise.
This is the second fledged owlet. It was on a tree maybe ten feet off the ground. This is the last time I saw the owlets from this tree. I did see the parents hunting nearby several times, so I am thinking they were there somewhere. This year though the screech of the babies asking for food was absent. I have always heard that in the past. This year I only heard the screeching coming while they were inside the tree hole or at the hole. Hopefully the great horned owls coming on their territory did not result in the barred owlets being killed. I am hoping they moved them safely to another area.
Common Moorhens are medium sized water birds. Other names it could be known as are marsh hens, common gallinule (this may be a close relation), or skitty coot. I saw these birds in some of the royal parks in London.
It has long, green-yellowish legs that resemble something more reptilian. It is close in appearance to an American Coot. One of the main differences is the Moorhen has a red and yellow beak while the coot has a white one.
These signs are from two different pubs of the same name in London, The Duke of York. According to pubnames.co.uk there are 52 Pubs named Duke of York.
Duke of York Pub Signs, Mayfair, London
The pub pictured above I believe is in Mayfair, London. One of the more famous Duke of York’s was King Charles brother, James. According to history.nycourts.gov, Charles laid claim for New Netherland by granting James a patent to the colony. James sent a fleet of ships to New Netherland and the Dutch surrendered. The English took over New Netherland and the colony was renamed New York. I am guessing that is who is depicted in the sign, but I could be wrong. Paintings I see of him online do not resemble this sign.
Duke of York Pub Signs – Fitzrovia, London
The pub sign pictured above is at The Duke of York pub in Fitzrovia in central London. According to londonletter.substack.com, Prince Andrew gave permission for his likeness to be used in this sign. They say it is the only pub in the world that has a living member of the Royal family on it. Not sure how I feel about that. The reigning monarch’s image is on the pound notes as well as coins. Some may say having Prince Andrew’s image on a pub sign is controversial.
What do you think? Should a living person be depicted on a pub sign? Have a great rest of your weekend!
This is a white headed duck. I only got off one shot where its head was raised. They seemed to be sleeping with their head in their body. This is another bird I photographed on a body of water near the Thames in London.
White-Headed Duck- appears to be a male
According to eBird, White-Headed Duck males “have a striking white face and black crown that contrasts with their large blue bill and chestnut body.” They are a diving duck with a long tail. Unfortunately I did not get the whole of it’s tail in one picture.
Personally, I would have named it related to it’s blue bill. Have a great Friday!
I believe this is a green winged teal. If I am wrong let me know. This is one of the many birds I saw in London in one of the parks.
Green Winged Teal
The green winged teal is a dabbling duck. According to Ducks Unlimited they visit shallow waters such as flooded fields and marshes. They feed by tipping up rather than diving.
Green Winged Teal
I am still going back to the many bird photos I took in England and trying to identify them. Happy Columbus Day if you are in the U.S. Happy Thanksgiving if you are in Canada!
The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, happens when charged particles from the Sun get captured in Earth’s magnetic fields, and move towards the poles. They interact with Earth’s atmosphere, releasing energy that produces these lights that can appear to shimmer.
Thanks to a friend who let me know about an aurora website for NY and her inviting me to meet at a location, I was able to capture these. This event was even visible this past Thursday for about 20-30 minutes with the naked eye.
Northern Lights
My camera is not good for night images, they recommend other camera models for that. These are better than I expected for my camera. Others arrived at the same location and showed me their phone photos, which were much better.
Northern Lights
The colours changed. It started in one area then appeared in another. The sky seemed filled with colours on the northern half.
Northern Lights
It was so powerful that people saw them from a busy shopping street and many posted images of buildings and bridges that were lit up and the aurora was in the background.
Northern LightsNorthern Lights
Hopefully I will get more chances to see this closer to sunset or sunrise on the weekends. I know, am I asking too much? Word is we may be able to see this from time to time through March.
Northern Lights
In one direction a deep purplish colour was visible for a time, then seemed to switch to a reddish colour.
Northern Lights
Several times we saw green closer to the horizon. Small aircraft were buzzing back and forth. I would like to see the pictures they got from up there.
Northern Lights
I remember my father pointing out the northern lights when I was a child. It was a thrill to be able to see them again with the naked eye. Were you able to see the aurora/ northern lights in your area?
This was another first for me. Owls occupy most of my birding. I saw the glossy ibis at a large wildlife refuge in Central New York during a long weekend vacation trip.
Glossy Ibis Central New York
All of these are quite far away taken with a zoom lens and heavily cropped. The first day I was there they mainly stuck to hiding amongst the plants. They were farther away the first day and luckily someone at the refuge with a powerful spotting scope located and let me view them.
Glossy Ibis
They seemed to stick to the island like areas in the wetlands and occasionally on the second day went in the water. They came closer the second day and these images are from then.
Glossy Ibis – Two
There were two of them. Sometimes they were close together and other times they were near to each other, but not that close.
These images are not that great, but I was happy to see them regardless. Maybe sometime in the future I can witness them up closer. Have a great week.
I had a long weekend, so I made the trek out to central New York to visit a wildlife refuge. I saw this small water bird that was swimming not too far out from the wildlife drive. It seemed to spend more time underwater then above water, so it was hard to capture.
Water Bird at a Wildlife RefugeWater Bird at a Wildlife Refuge – Is it a Pied Billed Grebe?
To me it is very cute. Can anyone confirm what kind of water bird this is? Is it a pied billed grebe? Have a great week!
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