grrlscientist | January 27, 2009tags: Mexican Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis lucida, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Mexican Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis lucida)
An estimated 1,000 to 2,000 remain.
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals of the United States that were photographed by the talented Joel Sartore here at National Geographic online. All images appear here by permission of National…
grrlscientist | January 27, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Caspian Tern, Sterna caspia, photographed the Quintana Beach and Jetty area, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 November 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200 1/1250s 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 | January 27, 2009tags: politics, GWBush, satire, humor, funny, streaming video
That scumbag, GW Bush, seeks to comfort the millions of victims of his presidency as they try to make sense of the destruction he caused during the past eight years [2:58]
grrlscientist | January 26, 2009tags: Grand Central Station, 42nd Street, Fast Track and Speedwheels, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Fast Track and Speedwheels, 1990.
Mixed-media sculptures in the passageway between the S and 4, 5, 6 lines in NYC's Grand Central Subway station, detail 4 (left to right).
Artist: Daniel Sinclair.
Image: GrrlScientist, 12 January 2009 [larger view].
Dan Sinclair's Fast Track and Speedwheels are assemblages crafted from bright metallic sections that include wavy aluminum sheets, steel wheels, brass disks, copper springs and wires. Installed within a long passageway…
grrlscientist | January 26, 2009tags: Alabama Beach Mouse, Peromyscus polionotus ammobates, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Alabama Beach Mouse (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates)
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
The Alabama beach mouse ekes out a living on a 14-mile stretch of the state's Fort Morgan Peninsula, where its dune habitat is fragmented by construction and lit up at night. Habitat saved under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) prevented these nocturnal mice from going the way of the dodo.
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog…
grrlscientist | January 26, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Yellow-eyed Junco, Junco phaeonotus, Cave Creek Canyon AZ
Image: Dave Rintoul, June 2008 [larger view].
People Hurting Birds
The Greater Sage-Grouse, a species whose population has declined 93% from historic numbers and that is on the U.S. WatchList of birds of highest conservation concern, is facing a severe decline in the amount of suitable breeding habitat due to energy development. Oil and gas drilling in the region have been booming, driving the birds out of many breeding areas, or leks. In addition, wind farm…
grrlscientist | January 26, 2009tags: Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater, photographed in Falcon State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 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.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 26, 2009tags: ants, hymenoptera, excavating ant city, nature, science, streaming video
This fascinating video details how a scientist learns what an ant colony looks like in the wild -- it's astonishing how big these things can get [3:16]
grrlscientist | January 25, 2009tags: Grand Central Station, 42nd Street, Fast Track and Speedwheels, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Fast Track and Speedwheels, 1990.
Mixed-media sculptures in the passageway between the S and 4, 5, 6 lines in NYC's Grand Central Subway station, detail 4 (left to right).
Artist: Daniel Sinclair.
Image: GrrlScientist, 12 January 2009 [larger view].
Dan Sinclair's Fast Track and Speedwheels are assemblages crafted from bright metallic sections that include wavy aluminum sheets, steel wheels, brass disks, copper springs and wires. Installed within a long passageway…
grrlscientist | January 25, 2009tags: Celebes Rainbowfish, Celebes Sailfish, Telmatherina ladigesi, guest blog essay, brackish water fish
As you might remember, I have been busily writing guest blog articles (and an article for my column in a print magazine published by the Avicultural Society of America), but one of my "guest blog" essays has just been published for all to read at The Reef Tank. Here is a link to the completed essay, an edited version will be republished here in its entirety in one month (now that I see it published, I wanted to change a few things to make it read better, so those changes have been made…
grrlscientist | January 25, 2009tags: California Condor, Gymnogyps californianus, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)
336 (156 wild, 180 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
They survived the Ice Age, but condors barely held out against Homo sapiens. Many of these scavengers were shot or poisoned by fragments of lead left behind by hunters. In 1985 just nine wild birds remained. Captive breeding and reduced use of lead ammunition have brought the species back.
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this…
grrlscientist | January 25, 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 | January 25, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Cactus Wren, Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus, photographed in Starr County Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s 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 | January 24, 2009tags: Grand Central Station, 42nd Street, Fast Track and Speedwheels, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Fast Track and Speedwheels, 1990.
Mixed-media sculptures in the passageway between the S and 4, 5, 6 lines in NYC's Grand Central Subway station, detail 3 (left to right).
Artist: Daniel Sinclair.
Image: GrrlScientist, 12 January 2009 [larger view].
Dan Sinclair's Fast Track and Speedwheels are assemblages crafted from bright metallic sections that include wavy aluminum sheets, steel wheels, brass disks, copper springs and wires. Installed within a long passageway…
grrlscientist | January 24, 2009tags: Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis.
195 animals remaining (Estimated U.S. population is fewer than 100 wild, 95 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
Wild ocelots are gone from all U.S. states except Texas, driven out by human development. The elusive cats still roam the wilds of Central and South America, but there's little reliable data on their true numbers.
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that…
grrlscientist | January 24, 2009tags: Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum, photographed in Attwater Prairie Chicken Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 6 December 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/160s 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 | January 24, 2009tags: GW, George Bush, top ten best GW moments, humor, funny, streaming video
This video shows you the one reason that I'll miss GW: because now that GW is gone, comedians will have to work for a living -- just like the rest of us! [2:12]
grrlscientist | January 23, 2009tags: Grand Central Station, 42nd Street, Fast Track and Speedwheels, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Fast Track and Speedwheels, 1990.
Mixed-media sculptures in the passageway between the S and 4, 5, 6 lines in NYC's Grand Central Subway station, detail 2 (left to right).
Artist: Daniel Sinclair.
Image: GrrlScientist, 12 January 2009 [larger view].
Dan Sinclair's Fast Track and Speedwheels are assemblages crafted from bright metallic sections that include wavy aluminum sheets, steel wheels, brass disks, copper springs and wires. Installed within a long passageway…
grrlscientist | January 23, 2009
Image: Orphaned. Contact me so I can provide proper attribution.
Despite the fact that I am experiencing my typical "post-conference blues", I have managed to remain productive, although this is a minute-by-minute battle. (Hanging out with all my cool and fun peeps reminds me of how lonely and socially isolated I truly am). For example, do you remember the big pile o' tasks that I told you I was working on? Well, it appears I am making progress!
putting the finishing touches on my OpenLab2008 essay and emailing that to the editor. Yes, I am terribly late! Done!
writing six book…
grrlscientist | January 23, 2009tags: Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
Gopher tortoises in the southeastern U.S. often end up as roadkill. Invasive fire ants and armadillos also prey on their eggs and young, while urban expansion, land conversion for pine plantations, and fire mismanagement degrade tortoise habitat, pushing these reptiles closer to the edge.
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you…