birding
grrlscientist | May 26, 2009tags: birding, bird watching, birds, television, Animal Planet, streaming video
Richard Crossley, a birder who co-author the book, The Shorebird Guide, has been involved in making documentaries on birdwatching, and particularly on birds in cities. But unfortunately, the higher-ups at The Animal Planet network don't believe there is really a market for TV shows about birds and birdwatching. So the people producing bird shows are looking for a strong response from the birding community indicating that there is indeed a niche for such programs [5:28]
Now that you've watched the video,…
grrlscientist | May 25, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Who's shooting endangered condors?
The shooting of two rare California condors, like this one, set phones ringing at the offices of environmental groups.
Image: [larger view].
Birds in Science
Northern Mockingbirds tend to sing fancier tunes with changing climate, say researchers. The research team from the National Evolutionary Synthesis Centre (NESCent), the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and McGill University showed that species in more variable climes also sing complex tunes. "Survival and reproduction become more…
grrlscientist | May 25, 2009tags: Tufted Titmouse, Parus bicolor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Tufted Titmouse, Parus bicolor, photographed in Manhattan, Kansas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 11 April 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
We find ourselves looking up at a gray bird. The tail is moderately long and somewhat disheveled; the body plumage is lax and fluffy. This one's a poser.
When we can…
grrlscientist | May 24, 2009tags: Inca Dove, Columbina inca, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Inca Dove, Columbina inca, photographed in Paul Rushing Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 3 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
The gentle, big-eyed, small-headed look of this bird should send us in…
grrlscientist | May 23, 2009tags: Lesser Goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Lesser Goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 13 October 2007 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2007:10:13 08:34:51
Exposure Time: 1/639
F-Number: 8.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Here's a tiny, acrobatic bird with a short, deeply notched tail. Even…
grrlscientist | May 22, 2009tags: Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura, photographed at Tom Bass Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 8 April 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/250s 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 | May 21, 2009tags: Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, photographed in Manhattan, Kansas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dave Rintoul, 11 April 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 20, 2009tags: Orange-crowned Warbler, Vermivora celata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Orange-crowned Warbler, Vermivora celata, photographed at the Big Sioux Recreation Area near Brandon, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 10 May 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 19, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Green-winged Teal, Anas carolinensis, photographed at the San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 March 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 | May 18, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Lear's Macaw, Anodorhynchus leari: a great example of a conservation success story.
Image: Andy and Gill Swash, World Wildlife Images.
Birds in Science
A record number of bird species are now listed as threatened with extinction, a global assessment has revealed. The IUCN Red List evaluation considered 1,227, or 12%, of all known bird species to be at risk, with 192 species described as Critically Endangered. The main threats affecting bird numbers continued to be agriculture, logging and invasive species, the…
grrlscientist | May 18, 2009tags: mystery bird, bird ID quiz, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Greater Sand-Plover, Charadrius leschenaultii, photographed near Jacksonville, Florida. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Roger Clark, 14 May 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 17, 2009tags: White Ibis, Eudocimus albus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] White Ibis, Eudocimus albus, photographed the San Bernard Refuge, 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 1/350s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Do you notice the hole in this bird's beak? If so, do you know if this hole will ever be grown over?
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 16, 2009tags: American Pipit, Anthus rubescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Pipit, Anthus rubescens, photographed in Minnehaha County, near Wall lake, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 10 November 2008 [larger view]
Photo taken with a Canon 40D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | May 15, 2009tags: Great Egret, Casmerodius albus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Great Egret, Casmerodius albus, photographed on High Island, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 29 March 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.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This is a big, lanky, long-legged bird with a pointed bill and a…
grrlscientist | May 14, 2009tags: Great-Tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Great-Tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2 January 2006 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2006:01:02 15:42:48
Exposure Time: 1/159
F-Number: 10.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Start at the reeeaaarrr--among the blackish birds of North…
grrlscientist | May 13, 2009tags: Northern Parula, Parula americana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Northern Parula, Parula americana, photographed at Quintana and Beach, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 20 March 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.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
It's easy to be distracted by color in a bird as…
grrlscientist | May 12, 2009tags: White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 23 December 2007 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2007:12:23 09:04:20
Exposure Time: 1/350
F-Number: 10.00
ISO: 400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Quick: what's the most abundant…
grrlscientist | May 11, 2009tags: Birds in the News, BirdNews, ornithology, birds, avian, newsletter
Australia's Superb Parrot, Polytelis swainsonii, is listed as a vulnerable species.
Image: Julian Robinson (Canberra ornithologists group) [larger view].
Birds in Science and Technology
"In the past, people thought birds were stupid," laments the aptly named scientist Christopher Bird. But in fact, some of our feathered friends are far cleverer than we might think. And one group in particular -- the corvids -- has astonished scientists with extraordinary feats of memory, an ability to employ complex social reasoning…
grrlscientist | May 11, 2009tags: Green-winged Teal, Anas carolinensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Green-winged Teal, Anas carolinensis, photographed at San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 8 April 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/350s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
I can't see the toes to know whether they're webbed…
grrlscientist | May 10, 2009tags: Lesser Goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Lesser Goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria, 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 08:07:26
Exposure Time: 1/45
F-Number: 5.60
ISO: 500
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, author of Aimophila Adventures and Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Now comes a teeny, short-tailed, yellowish bird from Arizona. The short tail…