bird watching
grrlscientist | May 7, 2008tags: Red-crested Turaco, Tauraco erythrolophus, birds, Image of the Day
Third in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer.
Red-crested Turaco, Tauraco erythrolophus.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which translates as "banana-eaters". Musophagidae also include the plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. Musophagidae are medium-sized arboreal birds that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. They live in forests, woodland and savanna. They have weak flight but run quickly through the tree canopy. Musophagidae are…
grrlscientist | May 7, 2008tags: Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, nature, field guide, NYC, Leslie Day, Mark Klingler, book review
What do you think of when you heard the words, "New York City"? Money? Skyscrapers? Broadway plays? Restaurants? Millions of people living in tiny apartments? Fire hydrants spurting water on hot muggy days? Rotting garbage on the sidewalks? How about birds: do any of you think of birds and other wildlife? Most people don't. Many people, especially visitors, are unaware of the wealth of green spaces and parks in NYC, along with their resident and migratory wildlife. However…
grrlscientist | May 6, 2008tags: White-Cheeked Turaco, Tauraco leucotis, birds, Image of the Day
Second in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer.
A portrait of a White-Cheeked Turaco, Tauraco leucotis.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which translates as "banana-eaters". Musophagidae also include the plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. Musophagidae are medium-sized arboreal birds that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. They live in forests, woodland and savanna. They have weak flight but run quickly through the tree canopy. Musophagidae…
grrlscientist | May 5, 2008tags: Purple-Crested Turaco, Tauraco porphyreolophus, birds, Image of the Day
First in a series of non-passerine images by this photographer.
Purple-Crested Turaco, Tauraco porphyreolophus.
Image: John Del Rio [larger view].
The turacos are classified into the bird family Musophagidae, which translates as "banana-eaters". Musophagidae also include the plantain-eaters and go-away-birds. Musophagidae are medium-sized arboreal birds that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. They live in forests, woodland and savanna. They have weak flight but run quickly through the tree canopy. Musophagidae…
grrlscientist | April 30, 2008tags: Yellow-Throated Laughing Thrush, Garrulax galbanus, birds, Image of the Day
This is the third in a series of passerine images by this photographer.
Yellow-Throated Laughing Thrush, Garrulax galbanus.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 29, 2008tags: Melba Waxbill, Pytilia melba, birds, Image of the Day
This is the second image in a series of passerine images by this photographer.
Melba Finch, Pytilia melba, also known as the Melba Waxbill or the Green-winged Pytilia.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 28, 2008tags: Turquoise Tanager, Tangara mexicana, birds, Image of the Day
This is the first in a series of passerine images by this photographer.
Turquoise Tanager, Tangara mexicana.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 27, 2008tags: spring, nature, Image of the Day
Spring, 2.
This is the Canada goose family (slightly increased in size) in College Park that you saw earlier.
Image: Karen Davis [larger].
grrlscientist | April 24, 2008tags: Common Pochard, Aythya ferina, birds, Image of the Day
Common Pochard, Aythya ferina (Hiroshima, Japan).
Image: Bardiac [larger].
grrlscientist | April 23, 2008tags: Japanese White-Eye, Zosterops japonicus, birds, Image of the Day
Japanese White-Eye, Zosterops japonicus (Osaka Prefecture, Japan).
Image: Bardiac [larger].
grrlscientist | April 22, 2008tags: Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea, birds, Image of the Day
Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea (Kumamoto, Japan).
Image: Bardiac [larger].
grrlscientist | April 20, 2008tags: Flights Against the Sunset, short stories, memoir, birding, bird watching, Kenn Kaufman, book review
When Kenn Kaufman was sixteen, he left home in pursuit of a dream; to see more species of birds in the United States in one calendar year than had ever been seen before. Instead of preventing him from trying to achieve this dream as most people would have done, his parents allowed him to go with their blessing. Now, as an adult, a famous birder and field guide who travels the world, we find Kaufman in a nursing facility in Wichita, Kansas, visiting his seriously ill mother after having…
grrlscientist | April 20, 2008tags: birds, Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, ornithology, Image of the Day
Note the paper teabag wrapper in the photo. I think it adds a "New Yorkish touch" to its construction.
Nest of the Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, located in a tree in the traffic circle in front of the Museum's parking garage.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view].
Did you notice the pale blue eggs in the nest?
grrlscientist | April 19, 2008tags: birds, Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, ornithology, Image of the Day
Papa Museum's left eye was unwaveringly fixed on mine.
Male Northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view].
Bob Levy writes:
A sure sign that "spring hath sprunged" is the appearance of songbird nests. I found my first one this season in an unexpected fashion but then I have come to expect the unexpected when bird-watching. For several minutes I had been standing beside a wrought iron fence where the sight and sound of a singing male House Finch mesmerized…
grrlscientist | April 18, 2008tags: mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides, birds, Image of the Day
Female mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides.
This bird surprised birders in Washington state by visiting Bainbridge Island this past weekend.
Image: Eva Gerdts, April 2008. [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 17, 2008tags: mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides, birds, Image of the Day
Male mountain bluebird, Sialia currucoides.
This bird surprised birders in Washington state by visiting Bainbridge Island this past weekend.
Image: Eva Gerdts, April 2008 [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 15, 2008tags: Harlequin Duck, Histrionicus histrionicus, birds, Image of the Day
Last in a series of duck images by this photographer. Stay tuned: there are plenty more images by John that will appear soon!
ABSTRACT: Male Harlequin Duck, Histrionicus histrionicus.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | April 14, 2008tags: Long-tailed Duck, Clangula hyemalis, birds, Image of the Day
Next-to-last in a series of duck images by this photographer. But there are plenty more images by John that will appear soon!
Long-tailed Duck (formerly: Oldsquaw), Clangula hyemalis.
Image: John Del Rio. [larger view].
grrlscientist | March 28, 2008tags: LBJ Journal, avian life: literary arts, nature, poetry, birds, birding
I have no connection whatsoever to this new journal, but my friend, professor of poetry at KSU, Elizabeth Dodd, told me about it last night, and I am very very excited about it.
There is a new biannual journal that is dedicated to birds and creative writing, The LBJ: Avian Life, Literary Arts. Those of you who are birders will recognize the title of this new journal, LBJ, as the birders' acronym for "little brown job" -- a name applied to that group of small brown birds that move quickly and are difficult to…
grrlscientist | March 27, 2008
Portrait of a male Greater Prairie-Chicken, Tympanuchus cupido.
Image: Dave Rintoul, KSU. 2007.
This morning, I had the great privilege to watch male Greater Prairie-chickens, Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus, perform on a lek site located on the Konza Prairie in Kansas, along with Dave Rintoul's ornithology class. Not only was this the first time I'd seen lekking behavior for this species, but this was the first time I'd ever seen this species in the wild.
To do this, I crawled out of bed at 430am, so I had enough time to comb the tangles out of my hair (I learned that all hair conditioners…