grrlscientist | May 30, 2009tags: Tri-Colored Heron, Egretta tricolor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Tri-Colored Heron, Egretta tricolor, photographed at Quintana, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 March 2009 [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 | May 30, 2009tags: religion, atheism, godlessness, god is nonexistent, humor, funny, satire, edward current, streaming video
This video talks about how Our Lord goes to extraordinary lengths to create the illusion that he does nothing. Why? Because he can do anything! [4:20]
grrlscientist | May 29, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Marigold, Tagetes patula, although this is likely a hybrid.
Photographed on Manhattan's Upper West Side
on West 83rd street, across from the post office.
Image: GrrlScientist, 27 May 2009 [larger view].
Marigolds are part of the genus, Tagetes, which comprises 52 species of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae or Compositae). Marigolds are native to the region stretching from southwestern United States to Mexico and south throughout South America.
grrlscientist | May 29, 2009tags: Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 30 January 2005.
Date Time Original: 2005:01:30 07:51:30
Exposure Time: 1/159
F-Number: 8.00
ISO: 400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 28, 2009
[larger view]
The New York Academy of Sciences hosted a symposium yesterday in the World Trade Center that explored the latest findings associated with "swine flu", more correctly known as the A/H1N1 Influenza. This symposium was broadcast live as a "webinar" and is also being made into a podcast and streaming video (both of which will be available next week, and which I will be linking to). This photoessay shows some of the preparations carried out for this event. I am working on more substantive essays and they should be published here beginning next week.
As you can see in the above…
grrlscientist | May 28, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Pansy, Viola hybrid, blue cultivar.
Photographed on Manhattan's Upper West Side
on West 83rd street, across from the post office.
Image: GrrlScientist, 27 May 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | May 28, 2009tags: I and the Bird, blog carnival, birds, birding, bird watching
Welcome to Birds seen on the other side of the Century Mark!
Building Life Lists
This is a short photoessay published by Duncan, sharing some of the wonderful birds in his backyard. My favorite? That very cute little Silvereye.
Liza doesn't need to say much in this contribution: her photographs tell all (and of course, I am extremely jealous of the quality of those images!)
Patrick went out specifically to find a White Ibis, but the first thing you see when you click on this link is a breathtaking picture of a yellow…
grrlscientist | May 28, 2009Because of my affiliation with ScienceBlogs and SEED Media Group, I am attending a symposium hosted by the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS) that focuses on H1N1 Influenza [website].
This symposium will explore the 2009 H1N1 (swine) Influenza outbreak by hosting presentations on the new recombinant virus, epidemiology, treatment, vaccine development and the public health implications of a worldwide pandemic [PDF].
This event is also being held as a live, streaming Webinar and this recording, I am told, will be available for the general public to access sometime next week. I will be taking…
grrlscientist | May 28, 2009tags: Thayer's Gull, Larus thayeri, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Thayer's Gull, Larus thayeri, photographed on the Pacific coastline of San Francisco, California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 December 2008 [larger view]
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 28, 2009tags: TEDTalks, virology, epidemiology, Nathan Wolfe, SARS, Influenza, streaming video
I am very lucky to be attending a New York Academy of Science (NYAS) conference about H1N1 Influenza today, so I thought I'd share this TEDTalk video about viral outbreaks, a talk presented by virus hunter Nathan Wolfe. His goal? Outwitting the next pandemic by staying two steps ahead: discovering new, deadly viruses where they first emerge -- passing from animals to humans among poor subsistence hunters in Africa -- and stopping them before they claim millions of lives. [13:05]
grrlscientist | May 27, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Dahlia, Dahlia hybrid.
Photographed on Manhattan's Upper West Side
on West 81st street as I was walking to the post office.
Image: GrrlScientist, 26 May 2009 [larger view].
Dahlias comprise a genus with at least 36 species of bushy plants that are native to the western regions of Central and South America. There are more than 20,000 named cultivars of these plants in captivity, which are the result of both hybridization and chromosomal duplication: Dahlias are octoploid -- possessing eight copies of each homologous…
grrlscientist | May 27, 2009tags: Wilson's Snipe, Gallinago delicata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Wilson's Snipe, Gallinago delicata, photographed in San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/400s 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 | May 27, 2009
I will be your host for the 101st edition of I and the Bird on 28 May. This blog carnival collects the finest writing, photoessays and photography in the blogosphere about bird watching and wild birds. Please send submissions -- yours or other people's -- to me or to Mike as soon as you can, so I can do the best job possible in assembling this blog carnival for you.
grrlscientist | May 27, 2009tags: photographers, photography, godlessness, birds, humor, funny, comedy, streaming video
Bird photographers: yes, we go to great lengths to get those speshul pictures! This video documents the extreme lengths that some photographers go to for that perfect shot. How far would you go? [1:38]
grrlscientist | May 27, 2009tags: HSUS, Humane Society of the United States, Animal Rights, terrorism, animal shelters, streaming video
This video shows you a little information about the Humane Society of the United States or H$U$ -- is a tax-free corporation that supports terrorist organizations while pretending to the public that they raise funds to provide shelter to homeless animals. Terrorist? What can I possibly mean? Watch this video and find out ... [2:27]
grrlscientist | May 26, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Dahlia, Dahlia hybrid.
Photographed on Manhattan's Upper West Side
on West 81st street as I was walking to the post office.
Image: GrrlScientist, 26 May 2009 [larger view].
Dahlias comprise a genus with at least 36 species of bushy plants that are native to the western regions of Central and South America. There are more than 20,000 named cultivars of these plants in captivity, which are the result of both hybridization and chromosomal duplication: Dahlias are octoploid -- possessing eight copies of each homologous…
grrlscientist | May 26, 2009tags: Greylag Goose, Anser anser, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Greylag Goose, Anser anser, photographed at an RSPB reserve in Strumpshaw, Norfolk, UK. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Brian McFarlane, 2009.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Here's a bit of a change of pace: The ID of this bird is easy, but can you tell me the proper term for what it is doing and explain why it is doing this?
This bird is whiffling; flipping upside down to dump airspeed so it can land [read more about it].
Review all mystery…
grrlscientist | May 26, 2009tags: duckling rescue, birds, cute, streaming video
Bankers have a bad (although, deserved) rap these days, don't they? This BBC video shows banker Joel Armstrong of Spokane, Washington, who was nice enough to initiate an intensive bailout (eviction?) of his neighbors, who could no longer stay in their home. His neighbors: a family of mallards [1:10]
Yes, he did the same thing last year, so the video and the story, which is fresh, might look familiar.
grrlscientist | May 26, 2009tags: birding, bird watching, birds, television, Animal Planet, streaming video
Richard Crossley, a birder who co-author the book, The Shorebird Guide, has been involved in making documentaries on birdwatching, and particularly on birds in cities. But unfortunately, the higher-ups at The Animal Planet network don't believe there is really a market for TV shows about birds and birdwatching. So the people producing bird shows are looking for a strong response from the birding community indicating that there is indeed a niche for such programs [5:28]
Now that you've watched the video,…
grrlscientist | May 25, 2009tags: NYC, Upper West Side, Manhattan, flowers, nature, image of the day
Purple petunia, (Petunia x hybrida).
Photographed while walking to the library along Amsterdam Avenue
on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, NYC.
Sorry, this isn't the best picture I've ever taken.
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 May 2009 [larger view].
Petunias are trumpet-shaped flowers produced by plant species in the genus, Petunia. Petunia species are native to South America. The precise relationships between and among petunias are still not clear, and the entire family, Solanaceae, is reclassified as new information…