air•borne (adjective)
1 : done or being in the air : being off the ground: such as
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- carried through the air (as by an aircraft)
- supported especially by aerodynamic forces or propelled through the air by force // a plane becoming airborne
- transported or carried by the air // airborne allergens
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2 : trained for deployment by air and especially by parachute // airborne troops
We’ve all had enough of airborne 1c lately, at least with respect to viruses, so today, thanks to Merriam Webster, let’s talk about another kind of airborne: supported especially by aerodynamic forces.
In this category, the Big Guy notices aircraft; I notice dragonflies and birds. A trip to White Lake last weekend offered all three but I only got photos of the latter two. That was enough.
Dragonflies are close to hand, but a little skittish. Identifying them is not my long suit.
Possibly a female Canada Darner.
Possibly a Widow Skimmer.
By contrast, ospreys hang out for long periods in huge messy conglomerations of branches at the tippy-top of tall conifers (Look waaay up!) on uninhabited shorelines, accessible only by boat. A gently rocking boat. So, although they stick around for longer than the dragonflies, they present their own photographic challenges.
Definitely two osprey.
The sitting-in-the-deep-nest part isn’t particularly striking but the getting-into-the-nest part can be spectacular, as the osprey transitions from being airborne 1b to being tippy-top-tree-borne. Merriam Webster is silent on this latter adjective but you get the idea.
Airborne creatures — birds, insects, and some humans — must require neurology that is denied the rest of us. Do insects have brains? Not by comparison with human brains, perhaps, but you won’t have a very good survival record if you fly full speed ahead into barn doors. It’s that transition period between fully flying, and settling onto a solid surface, that’s the most challenging. We humans mostly live in a two-dimensional world. Birds and flying insects live in a three-dimensional world. Until they settle.
Jim T
Jim T – I remember one correspondent reporting on barn swallows that were able to navigate a 4-inch gap between two barn doors by turning sideways at the crucial moment. Tricky! As for brain size, I just read this week that a woodpecker has a small brain, which is one of the things that protects it from concussions . . . https://www.sciencealert.com/new-research-challenges-past-ideas-on-why-woodpeckers-don-t-suffer-brain-damage
Nice to see Osprey with a nest in a natural setting, but the platforms often used are a wonderful idea.
(We were at a lake last week by Lyndhurst, the cottage-owners association had build a small nesting “island” for the loons which was in use, and a large platform in a pine tree for bald eagles, but it seemed the osprey used it this year)
Yes – good luck identifying dragonflies!
Jim R – Yes, for photos I prefer the natural platforms but I don’t suppose the ospreys (or eagles) care, so good on Lyndhurst.