grrlscientist | August 5, 2008tags: American Avocet, Recurvirostra americana, birds, nature, Image of the Day
American Avocets, Recurvirostra americana, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 December 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s f/8.0 at 500.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 5, 2008tags: white-tailed sea eagle, behavior, fetch, streaming video
This streaming video shows a man playing fetch with Evie, his white-tailed sea eagle. This is a fun game if you enjoy having a 14-pound bird with an eight foot wing-span fetching a tennis ball -- and sometimes puncturing your hands or arms with her sharp talons so badly that you need to visit the local hospital [2:26]
grrlscientist | August 5, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, begging calls, brood parasitism, coevolution, learning, social shaping, ornithology, Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo, Chalcites basalis, Chrysococcyx basalis
Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo, Chalcites (Chrysococcyx) basalis,
Capertee Valley, NSW, Australia, September 2003.
Image: Aviceda [larger view].
Brood parasites are birds, fish or insects that deceive unrelated animals of the same species or different species to care for their offspring. By doing so, the parasitic parent is relieved of the energetic demands of constructing a nest and raising its young to…
grrlscientist | August 5, 2008tags: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, movie posters, poster teasers
Which Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince poster is your favorite? After you've seen them all (I've found ten so far), I am going to ask you to vote for your favorite!
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince;
Poster 1 (also includes trailer number one and interview with the characters).
Poster 2.
Poster 3.
Poster 4.
Poster 5.
Poster 6.
Poster 7.
Poster 8.
grrlscientist | August 4, 2008tags: West 66th street/Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers.
Artist: Nancy Spero, 1999. Installed 2004.
West 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway tile mosaic art #28
as seen at NYC's Lincoln Center stop at Broadway for the uptown (northbound) 1 train.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Glass mosaic murals depicting scenes of theater, dance, and orchestra-related subjects are scattered throughout this station.
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway…
grrlscientist | August 4, 2008Here's a few blog carnivals for you to read;
Carnival of the Blue, number 15. This is a new blog carnival that focuses on the ocean, including ocean life asn well as non-oceanic life that is dependent upon the sea.
All Things Eco, issue eleven. This blog carnival focuses on living lightly on the earth.
Carnival of Family Life, 4 August 2008 issue. This blog focuses on all aspects of family life, from education to health and wellness.
grrlscientist | August 4, 2008tags: Shorebird, bird identification quiz, birds, nature, Image of the Day
A lovely mystery shorebird for you to identify.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 July 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 4, 2008ScienceBlog's reader meet-up is in the process of being changed because of a very real and present threat of rain. An outdoors-only venue is definitely not a good idea if those who show up have to huddle under umbrellas or get soaked down to their underwear! The time and date remain unchanged but the location has been changed;
The new location: Social bar and lounge -- look for us in the back room.
Date: Saturday, 9 August 2008
Time: 2-4pm
Seed Media is buying the first round of drinks so don't be late!
grrlscientist | August 4, 2008tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Brown Lory, also known as the Duyvenbode's Lory, Chalcopsitta duivenbodei. This species is endemic to the island of New Guinea.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
Birds in Science News
One of the challenges facing those who believe that evolution cannot create new species is explaining the problem of "ring species." Ring species are a group of geographically connected populations that can interbreed with nearby populations, but cannot breed with those populations that exist at each end of the cline. These populations…
grrlscientist | August 4, 2008tags: researchblogging.org, Macaw Wasting Disease, myenteric ganglioneuritis, proventricular dilatation disease, Bornaviridae, avian bornavirus, negative strand RNA viruses, pan-viral microarray, ViroChip
One pair of the Little Blue (Spix's) Macaw, Cyanopsitta spixii.
This species is extinct in the wild and its captive population consists of roughly 70 to 100 individuals.
Image: Fundação Parque Zoológico de São Paulo (São Paulo Zoo), Brasil.
For more than 30 years, a mysterious disease, known as proventricular dilatation disease (PDD), has sent chills of terror down the spines of…
grrlscientist | August 4, 2008tags: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, movie posters, poster teasers
Which Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince poster is your favorite? After you've seen them all (I've found ten so far), I am going to ask you to vote for your favorite!
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince;
Poster 1 (also includes trailer number one and interview with the characters).
Poster 2.
Poster 3.
Poster 4.
Poster 5.
Poster 6.
Poster 7.
Poster 8.
grrlscientist | August 3, 2008Four years ago today, I was facing impending unemployment and an uncertain future along with the loss of my precious career .. basically, I was losing everything I loved and had worked so hard for so I started publishing this blog. I thought writing for the public would help me get out of bed in the mornings despite all the crushing disappointments I suffered, that it would help me remain engaged with the world of science, and that it might also help me build a social network -- yet another of the many sacrifices I'd made in my single-minded pursuit of my career.
I started publishing my blog…
grrlscientist | August 3, 2008tags: West 66th street/Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers.
Artist: Nancy Spero, 1999. Installed 2004.
West 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway tile mosaic art #27
as seen at NYC's Lincoln Center stop at Broadway for the uptown (northbound) 1 train.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Glass mosaic murals depicting scenes of theater, dance, and orchestra-related subjects are scattered throughout this station.
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway…
grrlscientist | August 3, 2008The people at Seed Media Group have designed a survey for the readers of ScienceBlogs in an effort to learn more about what you think we can do to raise science literacy. The survey should take roughly 20 minutes and they anticipate several thousand responses. As a small reward for your time, Seed Media Group is giving away several items in a random drawing; an iPhone 3G, a MacBook Air and a 40GB Apple TV. Of course, I am not eligible, so I am hoping all of the prizes are won by my readers!
grrlscientist | August 3, 2008tags: Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Marbled Godwits, Limosa fedoa, at Bolivar Flats, Texas.
These birds are in various stages of changing their plumages (and beak color) from basic to alternate.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 July 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
grrlscientist | August 3, 2008Here's a couple blog carnivals that you will enjoy;
Carnival of the Godless, 3 August 2008 issue. This blog carnival deals with atheism and the joys of living a rational life.
Carnival of the Vanities, the 2 August 2008 issue. This blog carnival is the original blog carnival that inspired all the other blog carnivals, and it celebrates the best writing in the blogosphere, regardless of topic.
grrlscientist | August 3, 2008tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase.
FEATURED TITLE:
De Roy, Tui, Mark Jones and Julian Fitter. Albatross: Their World, Their Ways. Due out: Sept. 2008. Firefly Books. Hardbound: 240 pages. Price: $49.95 U.S. [Amazon: $32.97]. SUMMARY: A well-illustrated account on…
grrlscientist | August 3, 2008Okay, here's something totally weird: I ran across a site that analyzes your browser history and uses a mathematical algorithm to identify your gender. According to this algorithm, I am male;
Likelihood of you being FEMALE is 6%
Likelihood of you being MALE is 94%
Hrm. Do you suppose this is the reason my email boxes are all jammed with ads to increase my penis size? How about you? Does your browser history predict that you are male or female?
grrlscientist | August 3, 2008tags: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, movie posters, poster teasers
Which Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince poster is your favorite? After you've seen them all (I've found ten so far), I am going to ask you to vote for your favorite!
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince;
Poster 1 (also includes trailer number one and interview with the characters).
Poster 2.
Poster 3.
Poster 4.
Poster 5.
Poster 6.
Poster 7.
Poster 8.
grrlscientist | August 2, 2008tags: West 66th street/Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers.
Artist: Nancy Spero, 1999. Installed 2004.
West 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway tile mosaic art #26
as seen at NYC's Lincoln Center stop at Broadway for the uptown (northbound) 1 train.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Glass mosaic murals depicting scenes of theater, dance, and orchestra-related subjects are scattered throughout this station.
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC subway…