Category: Mundane Musings

Testing Flickr Comment Import plugin

Charu
Charu

Yesterday I hacked a plugin which allows importing of comments from Flickr into a WordPress post, however I am not releasing this iteration of the plugin because

  1. It does not really use the Flickr API but the recent activity RSS feed
  2. It involves the WordPress user entering a custom field called flickr_ID which should have the value of the picture ID on Flickr
  3. It is hooked to the admin_head – which means that comments are imported only when I do something in the WordPress Admin

Thus I am not releasing this version – the next version will try to solve the above three issues and I will release that. Meanwhile if you go to this photo on Flickr and comment, the comment will show up on this post in a while

Black-tailed Godwit at Nagpur in November

Black-talied Godwit

This is a picture I took on 27th Nov 2009 at Ambhazari Lake, Nagpur. The bird with the long beak is a ‘Western’ Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa in it’s winter, non breeding plumage of this bird. These birds migrate from Central Asia (Far East Russia) to India for wintering.

In Nagpur we see them only in April when they are returning and are beginning to assume breeding plumage. However this year for the first time in nearly 8 years of my serious I have spotted them in November…. I hope they stay here throughout winter as it would present a great photo opportunity.

Incidentally the bird is classified as Near Threatened by IUCN

Additional information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-tailed_Godwit

Woh subah kabhi to aayegi!

Woh subah kabhi to aayegi! This was the song which crept into my consciousness when I picked up the papers today morning – all of them predictably filled with news and pictures remembering the 26/11 – It been one year. Read more, watch the video – pay attention to the lyrics

Kentish Plovers do breed in Nagpur

Kentish plovers breed in Nagpur
Adult Kentish plover in breeeding plumage

The Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus, is a small wader in the plover bird family. Despite its name, this species no longer breeds in Kent, or even Great Britain. This beautiful specimen in breeding plumage was found in the wading ground of Wena Lake about 15km from Nagpur. See more pictures and read some details

Viper rescue!

Russell's Viper
Russell's Viper

We were returning after celebrating Aasim birthday party – as we rounded a corner we saw a Tata Sumo parked in middle of the road and a few people gathered around as Swati cautiously steered around – We saw a glimpse of a snake Swati slowed and I recognized it immediately. It was a Russell’s Viper! I was out of the car even before the car halted. Continue reading Viper rescue!

Do I know that smell?!?

I know that smell!! Explored.
Tiger in Flehmen pose

Tigers to identify his territory, the male marks trees by spraying of urine and anal gland secretions, as well as marking trails with scat. Males show what is called called the Flehmen response. In the Flehmen response, animals draw back their lips in a manner that makes them appear to be “grimacing”. The action, which is adopted when examining scents left by other animals either of the same species or of prey, helps expose the vomeronasal organ and draws scent molecules back toward it. This behavior allows animals to detect scents, for example from urine, of other members of their species or clues to the presence of prey. Flehming allows the animals to determine several factors, including the presence or absence of estrus, the physiological state of the animal, and how long ago the animal passed by. Read more in the embedded book Amur Tiger

Flash: The shoe fits!

She coughed! This was desperate attempt to make the royal messenger notice that there was another in the house. The stepsisters scoffed and sneered but the royal guards intervened and Cinderella finally got her chance. The royal messenger eagerly but with no less pompousness carried the shoe towards Cindy! Last night started flashing past her eyes… Oh! How she had danced and the prince had been so charming… her lips still burned… and then at midnight she had to run! Smart as she was she had left her shoe behind, she dared not do anything more! So read what happened next!

Marsh dart damselflies

Damsels in love ;-)
Coromandel Marsh Darts mating

Marsh darts are slender and small damselflies with varied coloration. These non-iridescent damselflies rest with wings closed over their body. The wings are transparent and rounded at the tip. The long and slender abdomen is slightly longer than the hind wing. Some of the smallest damselflies like the Golden Dartlet (Ischnura aurora) is from this family. Marsh Darts are found throughout the world. World over, this family is represented by about 1147 species. Within Indian limits, 65 species are known and in peninsular India 25 species are recorded. The marsh darts breed in a variety of aquatic habitats like ponds, marshes, streams and rivers. Though most of the species are closely associated with aquatic habitats, some species like the Common Marsh Dart (Ceriagrion coromandelianum) can be found far away from any aquatic habitat.

If you are interested you can download the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Peninsular India – A Field Guide. An excellent book which has been released under a Creative Commons license by the Indian Academy of Sciences

P.S. I know about the book because it has some pictures taken by ‘Yours truly’ – including the one depicted above

One-spot Grass Yellow Butterfly (Eurema andersonii)

Yellow on yellow!
One-spot Grass Yellow Butterfly

The article on One-spot Grass Yellow on Wikipedia is sadly just a stub – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurema_andersonii. Expand it if you have the knowledge

Getting on to Flickr Explore

Explored #1 on 7th Oct 2009
#1 on Explore

Yesterday I got a pleasant surprise when a flickr contact told me that my picture of Crimson Marsh Glider had made it to #1 position on Flickr Explore for 7th Oct 2009. Some friends asked how or what I did because it is well known that making it to explore is based on a complex secret algorithm and it is not just the quality of your photograph that counts. Read what did I do!