Photography
grrlscientist | March 12, 2010tags: African Grey Hornbill, Tockus nasutus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Grey Hornbill, Tockus nasutus, photographed catching a dragonfly at the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300s, 600 mm lens, ISO 640, 1/2500 sec, f/5 0 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
There seemed to be quite a lot of interest in the African Grey Hornbill's bill. Since it was partially obscured…
laelaps | March 11, 2010
A rock squirrel (Spermophilus variegatus), photographed at Dinosaur National Monument, Utah.
grrlscientist | March 11, 2010tags: PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Baumrinde, tree bark, nature, environment, image of the day
Baumrinde.
PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | March 11, 2010tags: Vermilion Flycatcher, Galapagos Flycatcher, Darwin's Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Vermilion Flycatcher, also known as the Galapagos Flycatcher or as Darwin's Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, photographed on the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 11 November 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.…
grrlscientist | March 10, 2010tags: PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, flower porn, nature, environment, image of the day
Fern Blatt.
PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | March 10, 2010tags: Black-necked Stilt, Himantopus himantopus mexicanus, Himantopus mexicanus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-necked Stilt chick, Himantopus (himantopus) mexicanus, photographed on Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston County, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 27 May 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/1.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
awild | March 10, 2010At the time I photographed this little scene (at Bell Smith Springs, Illinois) I was myself unsure of the drama playing out on the oak gall. I sent pictures to wasp expert Hege VÃ¥rdal to see if my preliminary guess of a pair of gall parasites was worth anything. Her reply:
I believe that you are on the correct track concerning the specimens. It is probably an inquiline and a parasitoid trying to reach the gall chamber. It looks like a unilocular (one-chambered) gall. Often the inquiline female kills the gall wasp larva when ovipositing in the gall or alternatively the inquiline larva kills…
laelaps | March 9, 2010
Charlotte yawns before washing herself, although, on the other hand, she does look like she could be laughing. Lol.
grrlscientist | March 9, 2010tags: PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, flower porn, nature, environment, image of the day
Palmwedel.
PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | March 9, 2010tags: Grey Plover, Gray Plover, Silver Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Pluvialis squatarola, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-bellied Plover, also known as the Grey (Gray) Plover and the Silver Plover, Pluvialis squatarola, photographed at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Rodanthe, North Carolina. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Paul Sweet, 3 August 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
awild | March 8, 2010Alright, Sherlock. What's going on here?
Five points each for the identity of the big round thing, for the insect at the top, and for the insect at the side. Ten points for describing the story.
And a freebie point to anyone who comes up with an idea for what to do with all these points.
This scene was photographed in the fall in southern Illinois. Here are close-ups of the critters:
mystery wasp #1
mystery wasp#2
grrlscientist | March 8, 2010tags: PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, flower porn, nature, environment, image of the day
Daffodil
PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | March 8, 2010tags: Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus, photographed at PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 7, 2010tags: Praying Mantis, Preying Mantis, mantid, insects, birds, hummingbirds, offbeat, predation, predatory behavior, nature, streaming video
Sandy Lizotte, the Ventura Hummingbird Lady, captures a rare and remarkable moment where a praying mantis was waiting patiently at a hummingbird feeder to ambush a hummingbird. As you'll see in this video, the mantid succeeds.
The hummingbird did survive.
grrlscientist | March 7, 2010tags: Eastern Black-headed Batis, Black-headed Batis, Batis minor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Black-headed Batis, also known as the Black-headed Batis, Batis minor, photographed at the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300s, 600 mm lens, ISO 1000, 1/160 sec, f/5.6 -0.3 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | March 7, 2010
A California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), photographed at the Central Park Zoo.
grrlscientist | March 6, 2010tags: PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, flower porn, nature, environment, image of the day
Flower Porn 2
PalmenGarten, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Image: GrrlScientist, 24 February 2010 [larger view]
grrlscientist | March 6, 2010tags: Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Juvenile Red-backed Shrike, Lanius collurio, photographed about 5 miles away from the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300 600 mm lens, ISO 400, 1/1250 sec, f/7.1 -1 exposure compensation.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Photograph 1:
[Image 1] Juvenile Isabelline Shrike (?), Lanius isabellinus, photographed about 5 miles away from the Pangani River…