The Flickr Xalotofwater Image Generatr

A UNESCO World Heritage Site

From Wikipedia:

The snowy egret (Egretta thula) is a small white heron. The genus name comes from Provençal French for the little egret, aigrette, which is a diminutive of aigron, 'heron'. The species name thula is the Araucano term for the black-necked swan, applied to this species in error by Chilean naturalist Juan Ignacio Molina in 1782.

The snowy egret is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World little egret, which has become established in the Bahamas. At one time, the plumes of the snowy egret were in great demand as decorations for women's hats. They were hunted for these plumes and this reduced the population of the species to dangerously low levels. Now protected in the United States by law, under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, this bird's population has rebounded.

The snowy egret is native to North, Central and South America. It is present all year round in South America, ranging as far south as Chile and Argentina. It also occurs throughout the year in the West Indies, Florida and coastal regions of North and Central America. Elsewhere, in the southern part of the United States, it is migratory, breeding in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. It is found in wetlands of many types; marshes, riverbanks, lakesides, pools, salt marshes and estuaries. It is not found at high altitudes nor generally on the coast. The snowy egret has occurred as a vagrant in Europe, in Iceland, Scotland and the Azores. It has also been recorded in South Africa.

The birds eat fish, crustaceans (such as crabs, shrimp and crayfish), insects, small reptiles (such as lizards and snakes),[11] snails, frogs, toads and worms (especially earthworms and other annelids). They stalk prey in shallow water, often running or shuffling their feet, flushing prey into view by swaying their heads, flicking their wings or vibrating their bills. They may also hover, or "dip-fish" by flying with their feet just above the water surface. Snowy egrets may also stand still and wait to ambush prey, or hunt for insects stirred up by domestic animals in open fields. They sometimes forage in mixed species groups.

Snowy egrets breed in mixed colonies, which may include great egrets, night herons, tricolored herons, little blue herons, cattle egrets, glossy ibises and roseate spoonbills. The male establishes a territory and starts building the nest in a tree, vines or thick undergrowth. He then attracts a mate with an elaborate courtship display which includes dipping up and down, bill raising, aerial displays, diving, tumbling and calling. The immediate vicinity of the nest is defended from other birds and the female finishes the construction of the nest with materials brought by the male. It is constructed from twigs, rushes, sedges, grasses, Spanish moss and similar materials and may be 15 in (38 cm) across. Up to six pale bluish-green eggs are laid which hatch after about 24 days. The young are altricial and covered with white down when first hatched. They leave the nest after about 22 days.

In Explore April 19, 2024.

Yellows in the foreground are willows; aspens on the mountainside.

The bridge crosses the Neshaminy Creek above Hartsville. It is the only remaining eight-arch bridge in Pennsylvania. The bridge, on an abandoned spur of Old York Road, spans the Neshaminy Creek at Bridge Valley in Warwick Township. In its early days it carried the Stage Coach between New York and Philadelphia.

Bucks County’s oldest standing structure of public architecture.

From Wikipedia:

Bridge Valley Bridge, also known as Pettit's Bridge and Eight-Arch Bridge, is an historic stone arch bridge located in Warwick Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It crosses Neshaminy Creek. It is eight spans, each 27 feet long, and was constructed in 1804. It is constructed of ashlar stone with rubble and dirt infill. It remained in vehicular use until 1970.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

The bright orange color is lichen.

May 27, 2023: Chosen as group cover photo for “Earth Nature” Group.

Aptly named, Honeymoon Bay is a beautiful, tiny, secluded little bay inside the Freycinet National Park.

Popular for snorkeling, swimming, sunset viewing, and picnics, this little bay is loved by visitors and locals alike.

A UNESCO site.

From Wikipedia:

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture.

Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, but completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall, the building was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973 after a gestation beginning with Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The Government of New South Wales, led by the premier, Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction. The government's decision to build Utzon's design is often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns as well as the architect's ultimate resignation.

The building and its surrounds occupy the whole of Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbour, between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove, adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens, and near to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

From Wikipedia:

The Eleanor Schonell Bridge, better known as the Green Bridge, is a 390-metre (1,280 ft)-long cable-stayed bridge which crosses the Brisbane River between Dutton Park and the University of Queensland's St Lucia campus, connecting the UQ Lakes and Dutton Park Place busway stations. Its deck is 185 metres long, 20 metres wide and about 18 metres above the river's surface. The bridge was opened on 17 December 2006, and is the first bridge in Australia exclusively designed for buses, cyclists and pedestrians. The bridge cost $55.5 million to construct.

The opening of the bridge signalled the end of the popular cross-river ferry service between Dutton Park and St Lucia, which had been running since 1967. The two ferries that remained at the cessation of the service, MV Loyalty and MV Vicky Lynn were sold, the Loyalty now being used as a private vessel and the Vicky Lynn as a floating advertisement for the Riverpoint Luxury Apartments in West End.

The "as-built" concept design of the bridge was proposed as an alternative design by Bruce Ramsay. Construction of the bridge has included a new road through Dutton Park, the expansion of Annerley Road, a new bus station for the University of Queensland and the permanent redirection of College Road in St Lucia. The detailed design and the construction was carried out by John Holland Group.

A related transport infrastructure project is the Eastern Busway which links the Eleanor Schonell Bridge with the Queensland Rail City network at Park Road station and to the South East Busway

Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman announced on 28 August 2006 that the Green Bridge would officially be called the Eleanor Schonell Bridge. An independent panel including Brisbane historian and author Helen Gregory, University of Queensland academic Professor Michael Keniger, Architect Bill Corker from Denton Corker Marshall and a representative from the Lord Mayor's Youth Advisory Council Milindee Jeewandara produced a short list of three names to Brisbane's Civic Cabinet from hundreds suggested by the public being: Eleanor Schonell Bridge, Hawken Bridge and University Bridge.

Eleanor Schonell made an internationally recognised contribution to testing for dyslexia and was renowned for her generous and humane approach to life.

Her work with cerebral palsy children led to international recognition and she also contributed substantially to the education of children with intellectual disabilities.

During its conception and construction, the bridge was known as the "Green Bridge" because it was a sustainable transport initiative and since the naming many people have continued to call it the Green Bridge in preference to its official name.

From Wikipedia:

Blue Lake / Warwar is one of four lakes in the extinct volcano complex. Sites of cultural significance to the Boandik people were assigned dual names by the City of Mount Gambier in February 2022, and the renaming included the four lakes in the Bungandidj language. These are as follows:[

Blue Lake / Warwar, meaning "crow country"

Blue Lake is thought to be of an average depth of 72 m (236 ft), but in places reaches 75 m (246 ft) deep (but some unconfirmed values mention a 204 m (669 ft) maximum depth due to a natural cave section). The crater rim measures 1,200 by 824 m (3,937 by 2,703 ft), but the lake itself measures 1,087 by 657 m (3,566 by 2,156 ft). The surface of the lake is 17 m (56 ft) below the level of the main street of the nearby town. The Blue Lake supplies the town with drinking water.

There is a 3.6 km (2.2 mi) road and walking track around the circumference of Blue Lake / Warwar, with an underpass between it and Leg of Mutton Lake / Yatton Loo.

From Wikipedia:

Originally called Eagles Nest Point, the lighthouse was constructed in 1891. For 27 years, three lighthouse keepers worked at this remote location, ensuring the light was operating well and communicating with ships via a number of code systems. The lighthouse still has its original construction with a wonderful staircase and timber fittings. The lantern still operates having had more than three different light sources over its history. The tower was converted to automatic operation in 1919, using acetylene gas to provide the illumination. It was upgraded to electric operation in 1972. The keepers' cottages and stables form an intrinsic part of the lighthouse precinct.

The original British-made Chance Brothers first order Fresnel lens is still in use. However, the factory near Birmingham, England, where the lens was built, was bombed during war-time and the essential formula for making the unique lens crystal was lost, should a replacement ever be needed. The fixed-light lantern still lights the way for thousands of vessels using a combination of lighting colors. Under standard Australian lighthouse convention, red filters would usually be placed to the extreme left and right of the beam (indicating "danger zones" for a passing ship, in-line with the jagged coastline). For reasons unknown, the Split Point Lighthouse operated for a number of years under the opposite system; although this has now been corrected. The Split Point lighthouse is 34 metres tall and stands 66 metres above sea level.

Italia Glacier is a tidewater glacier located in Alberto de Agostini National Park, Chile. It flows down in a southwest direction to its terminus in the Beagle Channel.