George is a naturalist, photographer, and experienced destination lecturer who has informed and entertained thousands with his passion for science, nature and culture... presented with a twist of wry humor.
In Australia, we're off to the home of the Superb Lyrebird -- one of the most amazing vocalists and mimics on our planet.
Photo by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos CC BY-NC
Anastasia Dalziell, from the ANU's Research School of Biology, says the skill does not come naturally, but is the result of years of practice.
"The young [lyrebirds] are incredibly vocal but don't mimic at all,"
she says. It was possible to "get an idea of what they are doing about
the age of five", but it was not until they were adults - around age
seven - that they had perfected the skill.
One of the most famous clips of David Attenborough is this one covering the Lyrebird:
Here's another short clip to give some idea of the sounds this remarkable bird can reproduce:
Now we're off to the Blue Mountains near Sydney Australia. In a few days we join the Amsterdam on a segment of the Grand World cruise from Sydney to Singapore, via Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
On our recent transatlantic cruise on board the Maasdam, I was lecturing about the ecology, culture and geology of the Canary Islands. I presented a clip from the following excellent UNESCO video on the unique and amazing "Whistled Language of Gomera"
UNESCO: Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity - 2009: Visit the UNESCO website to learn more: http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/RL/... Description:
The whistled language of La Gomera Island in the Canaries, the Silbo
Gomero, replicates the islanders habitual language (Castilian Spanish)
with whistling. Handed down over centuries from master to pupil, it is
the only whistled language in the world that is fully developed and
practised by a large community (more than 22,000 inhabitants). The
whistled language replaces each vowel or consonant with a whistling
sound: two distinct whistles replace the five Spanish vowels, and there
are four whistles for consonants. The whistles can be distinguished
according to pitch and whether they are interrupted or continuous. With
practice, whistlers can convey any message. Some local variations even
point to their origin.
Taught in schools since 1999, the Silbo Gomero is
understood by almost all islanders and practised by the vast majority,
particularly the elderly and the young. It is also used during
festivities and ceremonies, including religious occasions. To prevent it
from disappearing like the other whistled languages of the Canary
Islands, it is important to do more for its transmission and promote the
Silbo Gomero as intangible cultural heritage cherished by the
inhabitants of La Gomera and the Canary Islands as a whole.
Here's a short video clip I've prepared showing some of my wildlife photos from South Africa.
This is one of the clips I will be showing during our upcoming voyage with Holland America on the ms Maasdam. I will be lecturing from Fort Lauderdale to Rome (Civitavecchia) on the Atlantic Adventure October 31 - November 21. Hope to see you onboard!
Thirty-three things to eat, drink, see, and do before
climate change ruins them.
Part bucket list, part illustrated guide to global eventualities and painful realities, Kurt McRobert and Rich Petrucci’s rundown of the wonders threatened by climate change is at once entertaining, sobering, and a very practical way to
prioritize your travel plans. (thanks to www.QZ.com for this link...)
