teaching
grrlscientist | March 12, 2010tags: African Grey Hornbill, Tockus nasutus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Grey Hornbill, Tockus nasutus, photographed catching a dragonfly at the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300s, 600 mm lens, ISO 640, 1/2500 sec, f/5 0 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
There seemed to be quite a lot of interest in the African Grey Hornbill's bill. Since it was partially obscured…
jstemwedel | March 11, 2010Why is it that it's not until you're right in the middle of a class discussion, one where lots of people are actively engaged, asking good questions and raising important issues, and where you know that you are working against the clock to get all the contributions in, that you discover ...
... that the white board, where you have been tracking key points in the discussion (and which you need to erase to collect the new points that people are raising now), will no longer release the dry erase marker with a dry cloth?
And, at that point, in the absence of a water bottle, what alternative is…
grrlscientist | March 11, 2010tags: Vermilion Flycatcher, Galapagos Flycatcher, Darwin's Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Vermilion Flycatcher, also known as the Galapagos Flycatcher or as Darwin's Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, photographed on the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 November 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.…
grrlscientist | March 10, 2010tags: Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus himantopus mexicanus, Himantopus mexicanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-necked Stilt chick, Himantopus (himantopus) mexicanus, photographed on Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 May 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/1.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 9, 2010tags: Grey Plover, Gray Plover, Silver Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Pluvialis squatarola, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-bellied Plover, also known as the Grey (Gray) Plover and the Silver Plover, Pluvialis squatarola, photographed at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Rodanthe, North Carolina. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Paul Sweet, 3 August 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 8, 2010tags: education, public outreach, BirdNote Radio Program, Bird Note, birding, Bird Watching, birds, nature, environment, conservation, NPR, National Public Radio, Seattle Audubon Society, mp3
Are you trapped on a crowded subway or in a traffic jam of honking, stinking cars? If so, you might be interested to know that you can transport yourself to a different world, a cool green space where you can feel the earth breathe in time to the music of birds. Your personal vehicle is BirdNote, a 2-minute radio program about birds and nature.
"We want to help people connect to the natural world and…
grrlscientist | March 8, 2010tags: Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus, photographed at PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 7, 2010tags: Eastern Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Batis, Batis minor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Black-headed Batis, also known as the Black-headed Batis, Batis minor, photographed at the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300s, 600 mm lens, ISO 1000, 1/160 sec, f/5.6 -0.3 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 6, 2010tags: Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Juvenile Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio, photographed about 5 miles away from the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300 600 mm lens, ISO 400, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1 -1 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Photograph 1:
[Image 1] Juvenile Isabelline Shrike (?), Lanius isabellinus, photographed about 5 miles away from the Pangani River…
grrlscientist | March 5, 2010tags: Beware the Ninja Chemistry Professor, college chemistry, comedy, humor, silly, fucking hilarious, streaming video
This risky and hilarious college prank was done as part of a student's fund raising efforts for a Dance Marathon. The prank is funny, but the chemistry professor's reaction is priceless.
ChemistryBlog says Professor Owen Priest of Northwestern University, is the scary ninja professor taking down that chicken.
grrlscientist | March 5, 2010tags: Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis, photographed at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Anahuac, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 31 July 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 4, 2010tags: Masked Bobwhite, Common Bobwhite, Rufous-bellied Bobwhite, Black-headed Bobwhite, Bobwhite, Northern Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Northern Bobwhite, known by a bevy of common names including Bobwhite, Common Bobwhite, Rufous-bellied Bobwhite, Masked Bobwhite, and Black-headed Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus (thank science for scientific names so we all know what we're talking about!), photographed on the Katy Prairie, Waller County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 29 April 2007 [larger view…
jstemwedel | March 3, 2010The semester must be in full swing, because suddenly I have an abundance of papers to grade. So I'm using a brief pause (between grading one stack of papers and grading another stack of papers) to share a grading-aid I just figured out at the end of last semester.
Typically, by the time the stacks of papers come in, I have all kinds of other pieces of work-in-progress on my desk. I could put those away (and hope that I'll remember where I put them when I'm done with the grading), or try to keep the papers I'm grading restricted to part of the desk. This never works that well, and the…
grrlscientist | March 3, 2010tags: Red Grass Bird, Marsh Sparrow, Swamp Finch, Swamp Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Swamp Sparrow, also known by a wide variety of other names, such as the Marsh Sparrow, Red Grass Bird, Swamp Finch, and the Swamp Song Sparrow, Melospiza georgiana, photographed on the Brazos Bend State Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 December 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least…
jstemwedel | March 2, 2010At Dot Physics, Rhett Allain discusses his philosophy about class meetings:
Here is the point I am trying to make - class is for students. Class is not for me. Students pay for classes, so they should get them.
Here is the other point. If a student chooses not to come to class, that is the student's choice. I am ok with that. Maybe it is not a great idea, but these are adults. There can be a problem. What if the class has attendance as a grade? What if the class will give a pop-bonus-quiz if attendance is low (which is essentially the same thing as attendance for a grade)? Well, I don't do…
grrlscientist | March 2, 2010tags: Dusky Kinglet, Ruby-Crown, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ruby-crowned Kinglet, also known as the Dusky Kinglet and the Ruby-Crown, Regulus calendula, photographed on the Brazos Bend State Park, Needville, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 10 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 1, 2010tags: Pied-Billed Dabchick, Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pied-billed Grebe, also known by a much cuter name, the Pied-Billed Dabchick, Podilymbus podiceps, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 28, 2010tags: Large Flycatcher, African Grey Flycatcher, Bradornis microrhynchus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Grey Flycatcher, also known as the Large Flycatcher, Bradornis microrhynchus, photographed in the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens, ISO 500, 1/320 sec, f/8, Exposure compensation -1.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 27, 2010tags: Taveta Weaver, Taveta Golden Weaver, Ploceus castaneiceps, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Taveta Golden Weaver, also known as the Taveta Weaver, Ploceus castaneiceps, photographed in the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens, ISO 800, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, Exposure compensation 0.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 26, 2010tags: Oriental Dwarf-Kingfisher, Ceyx erithaca, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Oriental Dwarf-Kingfisher, Ceyx erithaca, photographed "somewhere" in Indonesia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: a herpetologist photographed this bird while visiting the islands of Indonesia [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.