grrlscientist | February 25, 2009tags: Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Probable Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, photographed in Seattle, Washington. "[T]his [bird] has almost a yellow stripe from behind the eyes, down the side of the head and down the back. [A]lso the same yellow appears on about the center of the outer wing. It is much smaller than the Anna's that usually come [to the hummingbird feeder]", writes the photographer.
Image: Julie, 23 February 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery…
grrlscientist | February 25, 2009tags: breakdancing fingers, humor, silliness, streaming video
There are lots of breakdancers in NYC. Recently, one group, who breakdances on subway trains while they are running, were documented on the news. But this amusing video documents another unusual technique: breakdancing fingers [1:02]
grrlscientist | February 24, 2009tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Map of the World, detail (Wallacea).
Stone and glass floor mosaic at Park Place entrance, which connects to this station via a tunnel; also there are hundreds of stone mosaic on walls throughout Chambers Street station complex (A & C trains).
Artists: Andrew Ginzel & Kristin Jones.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 January 2009 [larger view].
Oculus is located in passageways under the World Trade Center and was largely untouched by the events of 9/11…
grrlscientist | February 24, 2009tags: skiing, Saunalahti, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Walking on Water.
These crazy people are skiing on the frozen saltwater bay, Saunalahti, western Helsinki, Finland [map].
Image: Bob O'Hara, 22 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | February 24, 2009tags: ScienceOnline09, Research Triangle, North Carolina Central University, NCCU, Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise, BRITE
Entrance to BRITE.
Image: GrrlScientist, 16 January 2009 [larger view].
One of the many interesting field trips I went on while speaking at ScienceOnline09 in North Carolina was my visit to North Carolina Central University's Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE) facilities at North Carolina's famous Research Triangle.
As you can see from my images, the building is lovely -- it is a modern all glass-and-…
grrlscientist | February 24, 2009tags: White-tailed Kite, Elanus leucurus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White-tailed Kite, Elanus leucurus, photographed in Sacramento, California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: John del Rio, autumn 2007 [larger view].
More images by this photographer can be seen on the front page and in the gallery.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 24, 2009tags: her morning elegance, photographic stop-motion movie, streaming video
This video is an absolutely fascinating photographic stop-motion movie featuring photography by Eyal Landesman and music by Oren Lavie -- who says you must have a video camera to make a movie? [3:36]
H/T: Travelgirl.
grrlscientist | February 23, 2009tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Map of the World, detail 6.
Stone and glass floor mosaic at NYC's Park Place entrance, which connects to the WTC (Chambers Street) station via a tunnel; also there are hundreds of stone mosaic eyes on the walls throughout the Chambers Street station complex (A & C trains).
Artists: Andrew Ginzel & Kristin Jones.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 January 2009 [larger view].
Oculus is located in passageways under the World Trade Center and was largely…
grrlscientist | February 23, 2009tags: Eteläinen Pukkisaari, Saunalahti, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Eteläinen Pukkisaari.
This is a very small rock island as photographed from the larger
island, Läntinen Pukkisaari, in western Helsinki, Finland. The tiny
black specs on the white background are people who are walking
on the frozen saltwater bay, Saunalahti [map].
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | February 23, 2009
Are you an amateur filmmaker? Are you a scientist, or do you enjoy filming scientists? If so, then the Imagine Science Film Festival 2009 is looking for you! ISFF 2009 seeks narrative films with a scientific or technological theme and story line, or films that have a scientist, engineeer or mathematician as a leading character. All submitted films are competing for the right to be publicly screened between in NYC between August 1st and November 30th, 2009. All screened films will also be competing for a $2,500 Scientific Merit Award and a $2,500 People's Choice Award.
I am so excited…
grrlscientist | February 23, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Rock Wren, Salpinctes obsoletus, in Chaco Canyon.
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
Birds in Science
Scientists fitted tags to wood thrushes and purple martins in the north-east of the US before the birds began their journey to central and South America. Data recovered from the devices showed that the birds took much longer to complete the autumnal migration than the return journey north in the spring. "Never before has anyone been able to track songbirds for their entire migratory trip," explained co-…
grrlscientist | February 23, 2009tags: Costa's Hummingbird, Calypte costae, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Costa's Hummingbird, Calypte costae, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 15 May 2008 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2008:05:15 07:47:40
Exposure Time: 1/30
F-Number: 8.00
ISO: 320
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 23, 2009tags: Snow Geese, Chen caerulescens, Skagit Flats, Fir Island, Seattle, streaming video
This streaming video, by Seattle birder, Doug Plummer, documents the hundreds of thousands of migratory Snow Geese, Chen caerulescens, who winter on the Skagit Flats, a floodplain that is located north of my home, Seattle [1:39]
Skagit Snow Geese from Doug Plummer.
grrlscientist | February 22, 2009tags: Chambers Street, Park Place, World Trade Center, Oculus, Andrew Ginzel, Kristin Jones, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Map of the World, detail 5.
Stone and glass floor mosaic at NYC's Park Place entrance, which connects to the WTC (Chambers Street) station via a tunnel; also there are hundreds of stone mosaic eyes on the walls throughout the Chambers Street station complex (A & C trains).
Artists: Andrew Ginzel & Kristin Jones.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 January 2009 [larger view].
Oculus is located in passageways under the World Trade Center and was largely…
grrlscientist | February 22, 2009tags: Seurasaari, nature, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Seurasaaresse ("On Society Island" -- Western Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 22 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | February 22, 2009tags: guest blog essay, fishkeeping, aquariums, Celebes Rainbowfish, Celebes Sailfish, Telmatherina ladigesi, pets
Adult male Celebes Rainbowfish (also known as a Celebes Sailfish), Telmatherina ladigesi.
Image: Orphaned. Please contact me so I can award proper attribution. [larger view].
As most of my readers know, I am an evolutionary biologist and ornithologist by training, and an aviculturist and birder by experience, so imagine my surprise when I was recently asked to write a guest blog essay about fishkeeping for an aquarium hobbyist blog site, The Reef Tank. How the heck did they…
grrlscientist | February 22, 2009tags: 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. Below the fold is this week's issue of The Birdbooker Report which…
grrlscientist | February 22, 2009tags: Juvenile Yellow-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Juvenile Yellow-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus, photographed by Crab Road, Surfside, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 12 February 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/1250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Adult Yellow-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus, photographed by Crab Road, Surfside, Texas.
Image:…
grrlscientist | February 22, 2009tags: frog jesus, religion, animal behavior, streaming video
Just in time for Sunday! This streaming video documents a nostalgic voyage that takes a darker turn, exploring the naiveté of mankind through the eyes of a young boy. [1:17]
grrlscientist | February 21, 2009tags: Helsingin rautatieasema, Helsinki Central railway station, Helsinki Finland, travel, photography
Near Helsingin rautatieasema (Central Railway Station), Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 21 February 2009 [larger view].
I am getting ready to visit the island of Seurasaari, which is filled with wildlife (I am bringing ample amounts of peanuts and sunflower seeds, along with my camera) and will later explore the subways further, to see if I can add more images of Helsinki subway art to my growing collection (if I recall correctly, these images will begin to appear tomorrow night…