Saturday, February 1, 2014

WELCOME FEBRUARY! A CELEBRATING THE TEXAS TURKEY BUZZARD MIGRATION PHOTO BLOG)

Hi Everybody!!
The last leaf of Winter is still hanging on as the last days of January are now gone. Welcome February! This will be the last month of the Texas Turkey Buzzard Migration at my place. They will begin to leave in small groups throughout the month and not return until November. Many people ask me where they go? I have no idea as I have never gone with them. Breaking News: Space Tracker has been installed on the International Space Station and will track birds throughout their lifetime as part of the Icarus Project. (link below). Soon we will know where they all go! I am happy to be part of these exciting times where surprises are around every corner. One thing that February brings: The Hope of Spring. Enjoy!

********News Link:
http://newsofbird.com/2014/01/20/astronauts-to-install-tracker-on-international-space-station-to-monitor-mass-migrations-that-could-give-warning-of-natural-disasters/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February

February

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

February (ⁱ/ˈfɛbjuːˌɛri/ or /ˈfɛbruːˌɛri/ feb-ew-err-ee or feb-roo-err-ee) is the second month of theyear in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the shortest month and the only month with fewer than 30 days. The month has 28 days in common years or 29 days in leap years.

February is the third month of meteorological winter in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, February is the seasonal equivalent of August in the Northern Hemisphere (which is the third month of summer), in meteorological reckoning.

February starts on the same day of the week as March and November in common years, and on the same day of the week as August in leap years. February ends on the same day of the week as October every year and on the same day of the week as January in common years only. In leap years, it is the only month that ends on the same weekday it begins.

History[edit]

February, from the Très riches heures du Duc de Berry

February, Leandro Bassano

Chocolates for St. Valentine's Day

The Roman month Februarius was named after the Latin term februum, which meanspurification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman calendar. January and February were the last two months to be added to the Roman calendar, since the Romans originally considered winter a monthless period. They were added by Numa Pompilius about 713 BC. February remained the last month of the calendar year until the time of the decemvirs (c. 450 BC), when it became the second month. At certain intervals February was truncated to 23 or 24 days, and a 27-day intercalary month, Intercalaris, was inserted immediately after February to realign the year with the seasons.

Under the reforms that instituted the Julian calendar, Intercalaris was abolished, leap years occurred regularly every fourth year, and in leap years February gained a 29th day. Thereafter, it remained the second month of the calendar year, meaning the order that months are displayed (January, February, March, ..., December) within a year-at-a-glance calendar. Even during the Middle Ages, when the numbered Anno Domini year began on March 25 or December 25, the second month was February whenever all twelve months were displayed in order. The Gregorian calendar reforms made slight changes to the system for determining which years were leap years and thus contained a 29-day February.

Historical names for February include the Old English terms Solmonath (mud month) and Kale-monath (named for cabbage) as well as Charlemagne's designation Hornung. InFinnish, the month is called helmikuu, meaning "month of the pearl"; when snow melts on tree branches, it forms droplets, and as these freeze again, they are like pearls of ice. InPolish and Ukrainian, respectively, the month is called luty or лютий, meaning the month of ice or hard frost. In Macedonian the month is sechko (сечко), meaning month of cutting [wood]. In Czech, it is called únor, meaning month of submerging [of river ice]. Croatianscall the month veljača, whose meaning is unknown but may come from the word for "greater," a possible reference to the days increasing in length.

In Slovene, February is traditionally called svečan, related to icicles or Candlemas.^[1] This name originates from sičan,^[2] written as svičan in the New Carniolan Almanac from 1775 and changed to its final form by Franc Metelko in his New Almanac from 1824.^[1] The name was also spelled sečan, meaning "the month of cutting down of trees".^[1] In 1848, a proposal was put forward in Kmetijske in rokodelske novice by the Slovene Society of Ljubljana to call this month talnik (related to ice melting), but it did not stick. The idea was proposed by the priest and patriot Blaž Potočnik.^[3] Another name of February in Slovene was vesnar, after the mythological character Vesna.^[4]

(Please see link for complete article)

**Texas Turkey Buzzard Photostudies:

Turkey Vulture

At Santa Teresa County Park, San Jose, California, US
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)^[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Incertae sedis (disputed)
Family:	Cathartidae
Genus:	Cathartes
Species:	C. aura
Binomial name
*Cathartes aura* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Approximate range map: Summer only range Winter only range