Wednesday, June 17, 2020

View from my balcony

View from my balcony at day five of the fourteen-day mandatory quarantine period after international travel.

I am trying to remain busy by reading, watching movies, plane spotting and bird watching.

Monday, June 15, 2020

Contrails or Chemtrails

I was trying to photograph day time Moon when this passenger plane appeared overhead. These wispy line-shaped clouds are called Contrails (short for "condensation trails") and are formed by engine exhaust at high altitudes. These are mostly water ice and can also help to increase cloudiness in a given area. Conspiracy theorists call them "Chemtrails" and believe that certain chemicals are being sprayed through these trails by the government to control the general public.

Here is another attempt that is marginally better than the above snap. I think this has the potential to be turned into a hobby like birdwatching or trainspotting. One can take snaps and catalogue different types of planes and mark their schedules. 

Update: Aircraft spotting is already an established hobby along with 'Bus spotting' and 'Satellite watching' according to Wikipedia.

Saturday, June 6, 2020

Strawberry Moon

Full Moon, June 5, 2020, Islamabad
In the Anglo-Saxon and Native American cultures, each month's full moon is traditionally given a particular name depending on the season, its crops or animals. In this vein, June's full moon is called a strawberry moon as it is their ripening season. The last month's full moon was a flower moon as it depicts the spring season in the northern hemisphere and so on.

Last night was also the night of a partial lunar eclipse here in Islamabad but thick clouds enveloped the sky and I missed the chance to snap an eclipse photo. 

Friday, June 5, 2020

Purple Sunbird

Purple Sunbird is a little fellow with a rather sharp calling voice. It feeds on flower nectar, sometimes hovering like a hummingbird but it is not directly related to them. It is an example of convergent evolution. The above male is in its colorful breeding plumage, busy singing a high note.