grrlscientist | November 10, 2008tags: Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, birds, nature, Image of the Day
[Mystery bird] Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, photographed at Hermann Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 March 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/200s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This photo should fill you with a flush of accomplishment: rather than running to the field…
grrlscientist | November 10, 2008tags: pets, cutest kitten in the world, streaming video
This video is a 5 minute amateur documentary about Hawai'i's endangered birds and the causes of their decline. The filmographer writes; "This was somewhat a difficult topic and we suffered from a lack of suitable footage of native birds as most endangered birds are not seen regularly as they used to be decades ago. Could have done better for sure, in fact if I had the chance I'd do it over for the sake of sharing the issues of the human impact on island birds." I think this is a great start for a conservation filmographer! [5:14]
grrlscientist | November 9, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street, The Revelers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
The Revelers (2007).
Artist: Jane Dickson. Photographed in the passageway at 42nd Street/Times Square traveling east between the 8th Avenue/Port Authority Bus Terminal A, C, & E trains) and the 7th Avenue/Broadway (1, 2, & 3 trains) platforms.
I watched the workmen install these mosaics (I wish I had photographed the process to share with you) and photographed them all after the adhesive had dried.
Image: GrrlScientist 9 September 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed glass tile…
grrlscientist | November 9, 2008tags: tree of fire, UWS, Upper West Side, Manhattan, NYC, image of the day
Tree of Fire.
West 83rd between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues, Manhattan, NYC.
Image: GrrlScientist, 6 November 2008 [larger view].
grrlscientist | November 9, 2008Just in time for Sunday, the day where people who should be resting up for a week of kissing their boss's ass, they instead are indulging their overactive fantasy lives by worshiping Lord Voldemort The Authority god, we have the Carnival of the Godless, issue 104 -- now re-named as the Carnival of the Chimbley, issue number one.
Ah, and here's another blog carnival, one that I'd forgotten I'd ever contributed to is the Molecular and Cell Biology Carnival, issue 4. This blog carnival focuses on what molecular and cell biology can reveal to us.
The fourth edition of the Book Review carnival,…
grrlscientist | November 9, 2008tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and enjoyment. Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by which lists…
grrlscientist | November 9, 2008tags: Superb Starling, Lamprotornis superbus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Superb Starling, Lamprotornis superbus (sometimes known as the "Spreo" starling because its scientific name was Spreo superbus once), endemic to thornbush and acacia country in Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and East Africa. Photographed at London Zoo's African Bird Safari. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: GrrlScientist, 2 September 2008 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Based on the fact that this bird is endemic to many parts…
grrlscientist | November 9, 2008tags: pets, silly cat, streaming video
This video proves that Japanese cats can be just as .. erm, "furry" as American cats. Oh, yeah, and they can be just as silly as American cats, too. In fact, with a cat like this as a pet, who needs a TV? [1:32].
grrlscientist | November 8, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street, The Revelers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
The Revelers (2007).
Artist: Jane Dickson. Photographed in the passageway at 42nd Street/Times Square traveling east between the 8th Avenue/Port Authority Bus Terminal A, C, & E trains) and the 7th Avenue/Broadway (1, 2, & 3 trains) platforms.
I watched the workmen install these mosaics (I wish I had photographed the process to share with you) and photographed them all after the adhesive had dried.
Image: GrrlScientist 9 September 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed glass tile…
grrlscientist | November 8, 2008Even though I mostly eat food provided by the local food bank and food pantry, I actually purchase food for my parrots (alas, food banks/pantries don't provide pet foods). So I went shopping today at my local 99 cent store (which should be renamed the local $2.50 store) looking for frozen fruits and vegetables for my birds but instead, found a real treat for me: canned Jack Mackerel and canned Sardines, and frozen Alaskan Pollock fillets and frozen Tilapia fillets. Being a seafood lover who has not had the pleasure of eating seafood in a long, long, long time, I couldn't resist the promise of…
grrlscientist | November 8, 2008tags: Central Park Lake reflection, NYC, NYC reflection at night, image of the day
New York City Reflected in Central Park Lake.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George,
November 2, 2008 6:15PM [larger view].
grrlscientist | November 8, 2008Here's the latest carnivalia for you to enjoy;
Linnaeus's Legacy, which celebrates biodiversity.
The most recent edition of Brain Blogging, 41st edition. This edition discusses the likelihood of bipolar children becoming bipolar adults, problems with learning during multi-tasking, how magnets can improve your mood (ahem, where's the skeptics in the crowd?), and more.
grrlscientist | November 8, 2008tags: Eurasian Wigeon, Anas penelope, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eurasian Wigeon, Anas penelope (also known simply as the Wigeon in Europe), photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2004 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2004:12:11 10:29:27
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 11.00
ISO: 320
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Starting at the rear of this handsome duck, we find a long, pointed tail and white-edged…
grrlscientist | November 8, 2008tags: kiiking, Finnish entertainment, crazy Finns, streaming video
When you were a kid, did you ever try to swing so high that you could touch the sky? Well, this video is a wee demonstration of one of the activities that my host in Helsinki is planning on doing while I am there to show me how the Finns entertain themselves -- impressive! I hope he doesn't eat anything before he does that, or he might end up wearing it [1:51].
grrlscientist | November 8, 2008tags: Lepidodactylus buleli, new species discovered, Vanuatu gecko, reptiles, Ivan Ineich, Natural History Museum Paris France
French scientist, Ivan Ineich, displays a never-before-seen species of gecko at France's Natural History Museum in Paris. This gecko, formally described with the Latin name, Lepidodactylus buleli, was born in Paris from an egg that was removed from the rainforest canopy on the west coast of Espiritu Santo, one of the larger islands of the Vanuatu Archipelago, east of Australia in the South Pacific Ocean.
IMAGE: Francois Mori (AP Photo) [larger view].
According…
grrlscientist | November 7, 2008tags: Times Square, 42nd street, The Revelers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
The Revelers (2007).
Artist: Jane Dickson. Photographed in the passageway at 42nd Street/Times Square traveling east between the 8th Avenue/Port Authority Bus Terminal A, C, & E trains) and the 7th Avenue/Broadway (1, 2, & 3 trains) platforms.
I watched the workmen install these mosaics (I wish I had photographed the process to share with you) and photographed them all after the adhesive had dried.
Image: GrrlScientist 9 September 2008 [larger view].
I have photographed glass tile…
grrlscientist | November 7, 2008tags: turtle pond Central Park, NYC, Turtle Pond Reflection, image of the day
Turtle Pond, Central Park, Reflection.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George, November 2, 2008 [larger view].
The photographer writes:
The reflection of these particular Westside buildings in Turtle Pond is a favorite photographic subject of mine especially in the Fall. It's not just the colors that attract me. The fallen leaves floating on the water give the image an added texture.
grrlscientist | November 7, 2008The latest carnivalia is now available for you to enjoy;
Carnival of the Blue, issue #18. This blog carnival focuses on marine life.
Carnival of Economics, 14 October 2008 edition. This carnival included something I wrote -- about birds! To read what birds can teach us about human economics, along with mountains of other interesting essays about economics, you have to read this blog carnival.
The blogosphere's answer to Friday Cat Blogging is the Friday Ark, a collection of links to images of animals and animals only.
And the most recent edition of the Carnival of Travelers, November…
grrlscientist | November 7, 2008tags: Anne Loftus playground, Inwood, Manhattan, NYC, NYC through my eye, photography, Autumn in NYC
Image: GrrlScientist 6 November 2008 [larger view].
As I've already mentioned, I am having a rough time right now, but I love photography, so I decided that I should view NYC through a shutter as a way to deal with my labile mood state. So as I walked down the street, I decided that I would photograph a rather colorful park that was nearby. Even though I've passed by it many times, I've never visited the Anne Loftus playground, so I spontaneously decided to photograph it.
I took this…
grrlscientist | November 7, 2008tags: Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Orchard Oriole, Icterus spurius, photographed at Sabine Woods and Sabine Pass area, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 28 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Like many North American birders, I grew up where "the oriole problem" was a trivial…