birding
grrlscientist | September 8, 2009tags: Speckled Pigeon, Columba guinea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Speckled Pigeon, Columba guinea, photographed drinking at the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge swimming pool, in Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 8 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, Nikon 200-400 VR lens at 400. ISO 800. F/4.5 1/160.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 8, 2009tags: nature, birds, gannet, Morus serrator, technology, BBC, streaming video
Steve Leonard and a group of conservationists attach tiny gadgets to the feathers of a Gannet, Morus serrator, to learn how they eat and fly out in the deep oceans. Great short video from BBC wildlife show Animal Camera.
grrlscientist | September 7, 2009tags: Wilson's Plover, Charadrius wilsonia, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Wilson's Plover, Charadrius wilsonia, photographed at Brazoria Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 31 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/200s 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 | September 6, 2009tags: Double-barred Finch, Owl Finch, Bicheno, Taeniopygia bichenovii, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Double-barred (Owl) Finch, Taeniopygia bichenovii, also known as the Bicheno, photographed at Grafton, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 15 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 1/2000 sec, f/4, iso 200.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes;
Double-barred Finches, aka Owl Finches or Bichenos, are frequently observed in small…
grrlscientist | September 5, 2009tags: Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Killdeer, Charadrius vociferus, photographed at Anahuac Wildlife Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 14 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
grrlscientist | September 4, 2009tags: Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Great-tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus, photographed at Bolivar Flats, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 14 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with 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 | September 3, 2009tags: Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, with baby aboard, photographed on Lake Constance, Kontanz, Germany. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joe Byrnes, 14 June 2009 [larger view].
Several people have sent me photographs of birds recently, including one person who sent a penguin mystery bird! The penguin image has mysteriously disappeared, so please do re-send that image. This mystery bird (which is on my life list, thanks to the many pairs I saw in Finland) is the…
grrlscientist | September 2, 2009tags: Cut-throat Finch, Ribbon Finch, Amadina fasciata, Kenya Canary, Yellow-crowned Canary, Serinus flavivertex, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Yellow-crowned (Kenya) Canary, Serinus flavivertex (left), Cut-throat (Ribbon) Finch, Amadina fasciata (right), photographed in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 7 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm VR lens at 310 mm. ISO 400 f/5 1/500 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds…
grrlscientist | September 1, 2009tags: Green Winged Pytilia, Melba Finch, Melba Waxbill, Pytilia melba, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Green Winged Pytilia, also known as the Melba Finch or Melba Waxbill, Pytilia melba, photographed in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 31 August 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, Nikon 200-400 VR lens at 400 mm. ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/180 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 31, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Sandwich Tern, Sterna sandvicensis, photographed at the Bolivar Ferry, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 August 2009 [larger view].
Birds and Technology
Rather than searching for weird weather or enemy missiles, some satellites are helping researchers to track -- and predict -- the spread of deadly diseases. With the pandemic spread of H1N1 swine flu and the continued advance of the H5N1 avian flu, scientists are anxious to better predict the spread of infectious diseases and are looking for new tools wherever they…
grrlscientist | August 31, 2009tags: Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus, photographed at High Island, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 19 May 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with 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 | August 30, 2009tags: Yellow-crowned Night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Yellow-crowned Night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus, photographed at Bolivar Flats, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 24 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/750s 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 | August 29, 2009tags: Common Bulbul, Pycnonotus barbatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Common Bulbul, also known as the Pepperbird among other names, Pycnonotus barbatus, photographed in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 7 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 VR lens at 400 mm. ISO 400. 1/250 f/5.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 28, 2009tags: Ross's Goose, Chen rossii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ross's Goose, Chen rossii, photographed at Tom Bass Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
[Mystery bird] Ross's Goose, Chen rossii, photographed at Tom Bass Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 August 2009 [larger view…
grrlscientist | August 27, 2009tags: Grey Crowned-crane, Balearica regulorum, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Grey Crowned-crane, Balearica regulorum, photographed in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 4 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm VR lens at 280 mm. ISO 100 f/4 1/500.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 26, 2009tags: Carolina Chickadee, Poecile carolinensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Carolina Chickadee, Poecile carolinensis, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with 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 | August 25, 2009tags: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Moulting adult female Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris, photographed in Brandon, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 12 August 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 24, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Black-crowned Night-Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, photographed at Brazos Bend State Park, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 7 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/180s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Birds in Science
Brainy male birds are more sexually attractive to female birds, scientists have discovered. Researchers gave male bowerbirds a set of cognitive tests to evaluate their problem solving ability. Bowerbirds that performed well in the tests also mated with the most…
grrlscientist | August 24, 2009tags: White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher,, Melaenornis fischeri, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Melaenornis fischeri, photographed in Nakuru National Park, Kenya, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 29 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 VR lens at 310 mm ISO 160, f/4.5, 1/160 sec.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | August 23, 2009tags: Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, photographed at Galveston's East Beach, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 14 July 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 ,Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
[Mystery bird] Black Tern, Chlidonias niger, photographed at Galveston's East Beach, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48…