image of the day
grrlscientist | January 28, 2009tags: Mexican Gray Wolf, Canis lupus baileyi, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Mexican Gray Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)
320 (60 wild, 260 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
Still on shaky ground, the Mexican gray wolf, an endangered subspecies, is slowly increasing in number in Arizona and New Mexico thanks to captive breeding.
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…
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 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 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 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 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…
grrlscientist | January 22, 2009tags: Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly, Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis)
4,300 (Estimated 300 wild and 4,000 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic. [larger view].
Wikipedia writes;
The Palos Verdes Blue butterfly is a small endangered butterfly native to the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southwest Los Angeles County, California. As its distribution has been proven to be limited to one single site it has one of the best claims to being the world's rarest…
grrlscientist | January 21, 2009tags: Dusky Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
The world in a jar: Is this the sort of world we wish to leave to our children?
Dusky Seaside Sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens).
Extinct.
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
The photographer writes;
Slipping into extinction almost unnoticed, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow, Ammodramus maritimus nigrescens -- found mainly on Florida's Merritt Island -- declined from roughly 3,000 pairs to none as its salt marsh habitat was sprayed with DDT and taken over for…
grrlscientist | January 9, 2009tags: kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, image of the day
Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, with a freshly caught flatfish.
This species is found in central and southern England, and they are currently increasing in their range in Scotland.
Image: Paul Richards [larger view].
This image is part of a lovely photoessay published recently by The Telegraph.
Read more about this species.
grrlscientist | January 8, 2009tags: kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, image of the day
Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, with a freshly caught flatfish.
This species is found in central and southern England, and they are currently increasing in their range in Scotland.
Image: Paul Richards [larger view].
This image is part of a lovely photoessay published recently by The Telegraph.
Read more about this species.
grrlscientist | January 7, 2009tags: kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, image of the day
Kingfisher, Alcedo atthis, on her favorite fishing perch. This bird is found in central and southern England, and they are currently increasing in their range in Scotland.
Image: Paul Richards [larger view].
This image is part of a lovely photoessay published recently by The Telegraph.
Read more about this species.
grrlscientist | January 6, 2009tags: Central Park, NYC, tufted titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, image of the day
Central Park Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view].
The photographer writes;
A few days after capturing the image of a Tufted Titmouse in midair that appeared on this blog on December 30, 2008 I returned to get more shots of these birds. I had not been delighted with the quality of most of my photos partly because the lighting conditions had been poor and mostly because these tiny creatures don't stay still long enough to keep them in the viewfinder for more…
grrlscientist | January 5, 2009tags: Burrowing Owls, Speotyto cunicularia, wildlife, nature, image of the day
Burrowing Owls, Speotyto cunicularia, Fighting in the Snow.
Image: Rance Rogers [larger view].
Rance Rogers captured this fleeting shot just after a heavy snow in Roswell, New Mexico. A pair of owls exploring outside their burrow were surprised when a third dropped in for a fight. Rogers enjoys photography that gives people a close-up look at nature, "so they can truly appreciate the beauty that surrounds us."
Go here to see more images. This image appears here with the kind permission of my friends at National…
grrlscientist | January 4, 2009tags: Danube River, Austria, Castle, environment, nature, image of the day
Schloss Schönbühel.
Image: Sisse Brimberg and Cotton Coulson [larger view].
Standing guard on a Danube riverbank promontory, Schloss Schönbühel -- a centuries-old castle -- adds manmade beauty to a vista of vast natural charm.
Wachau/Melk Abbey had the highest scores in Traveler's Destination Scorecard of Historic Places.
Go here to see more images. This image appears here with the kind permission of my friends at National Geographic.
grrlscientist | January 3, 2009tags: Iceland, environment, Iceland, nature, image of the day
Iceland.
Image: Orvar Thorgiersson [larger view].
Icelander Orvar Thorgiersson won a Merit Award in the World in Focus competition for this image. He snapped his image just five minutes from his home. "I find this lava-rock cove and old house very interesting," he says. "It was the first time I shot it covered with snow. I like the contrast of the chilled surroundings with the warmth coming from the house windows." An engineer, Thorgiersson says photography gives him a creative outlet.
Go here to see more images. This image…
grrlscientist | January 2, 2009tags: Central Park, NYC, house finch, Carpodacus mexicanus, image of the day
Central Park House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view].
The photographer writes:
I am humbled to be able to present to you exclusive and incontrovertible photographic proof that Central Park House Finches have become involved in the manufacture of Sangria this Holiday Season. These entrepreneurial finches recognized the profit potential in a niche business to which they are, surprising as it may seem to this observer, supremely adept. In this image we find a no…
grrlscientist | January 1, 2009tags: Ranitomeya tolimense, Golden-headed Poison Frog, amphibians, nature, image of the day
Golden-headed Poison Frog, Ranitomeya tolimense.
Image: Alonso Quevedo, Fundacion Proaves [larger view].
The South American country, Colombia, is home to more threatened amphibian species than any other country on earth. In a bid to protect some of them, such as the Golden-headed Poison Frog, Ranitomeya tolimense, conservation groups recently purchased some undisturbed forest and created the Ranita Dorada Amphibian Reserve.
grrlscientist | December 31, 2008tags: sunset, Hawaii, landscape, nature, image of the day
Sunset, Wailea, Maui, 2
Image: John del Rio [larger view].
grrlscientist | December 30, 2008tags: Central Park, NYC, tufted titmouse, image of the day
Central Park Tufted Titmouse.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George [larger view].
The photographer writes;
On first glance you might think this Tufted Titmouse is perched as I did but the image actually captured the bird in mid-air. I cannot remember if it was rising from or descending to my palm though I think it was probably on the way down. If it was in the process of leaving it would most likely have had a piece of peanut clamped firmly in its beak. I had been dispensing a few morsels to a Northern Cardinal acquaintance and…
grrlscientist | December 26, 2008tags: Small World Photography Competition, nanotubules, micrography, image of the day
Carbon Nanotubules 30X.
Paul Marshall, Ottowa, Ontario, Canada. . [larger view].
A forest of nanotubules. The colors result from using a filter that applies different shades of color based on the height of the sample.
Nikon International Small World Competition is held annually to recognize excellent photography through a microscope. This year, more than 2,000 micrographs were entered from around the world. I am sharing some of them with you here.