teaching
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: Burrowing Owl, Speotyto cunicularia, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Burrowing Owl, Speotyto cunicularia, photographed on Antelope Island, a wonderful birding location north of Salt Lake City, Utah. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 27 July 2009 [larger view]
Canon 50D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009tags: Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, 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 1/500s 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 | September 8, 2009tags: South Pacific Islands, Indonesia, Sumatra, geology, nature, volcano, global warming, Lake Toba, PBS, NOVA, television
Sixty-two-mile-long Lake Toba, seen in the center of this satellite image,
was created by the largest explosive volcanic eruption of the past
100,000 years -- an eruption whose aftermath holds important clues for us
today about rapid climate change, Drew Shindell says.
Image: NASA.
Wow, there are days when I wish I had a television, and today is one of them. Why? Tonight, PBS is showing a really fascinating program; a NOVA show entitled Mystery of the Megavolcano that…
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: nature, natural selection, evolution, The Tree of Life, BBC One, David Attenborough, streaming video
This streaming video is a beautiful animated clip describing the Tree of Life. Evolution shows how life diverged into the myriad life forms that we see today, and that we know existed in eons past. "The Tree of Life" was part of Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life, which was broadcast on BBC1 on Sunday 1 February 2009. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough (you lucky, Brits, I am so jealous). [Although, I am told you can supposedly download it for free]. If you can, watch this…
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 5, 2009tags: parrots, Kakapo, Strigops habroptilus, BBC Two, Last Chance to See, endangered species, BBC Two, Mark Carwardine, Stephen Fry, streaming video
Parrot lovers will especially enjoy this video, but anyone who enjoys birds and who wishes to protect endangered species will like it also. Following in the footsteps of Douglas Adams, Stephen Fry joins Mark Carwardine to travel to some of the most remote places on earth in search of endangered animals. In this case, he meets a Kakapo, Strigops habroptilus, a round, sweet-smelling green parrot that lives in New Zealand.
You might also be…
grrlscientist | September 3, 2009tags: travel, nature, Antarctica, king penguins, Aptenodytes patagonicus, David Attenborough, streaming video
This video presents a Nature program that documents the huge colonies of Antarctica's King Penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus. It's amazing to see a giant creche comprised of 50,000 King Penguin chicks, and to watch the courtship behaviors among these birds. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough.
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.
khannula | August 31, 2009I almost missed the lastest Accretionary Wedge! In my defense, I was doing work related to the Wedge's theme - I was frantically getting ready for classes to start today, and I swore not to go through the accumulation in my RSS reader until I was ready to go. So, 13 hours after my first class began today, I'm finally catching up.
If you're already as far behind as I am, maybe you'll be inspired by this month's Wedge, hosted at Dino Jim's Musings. The theme is "teaching out of the box," and the wedge is organized around the five senses. So if you want to know how you can use smell to teach…
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: parrots, pets, birds, behavior, animal training, basketball-playing parrots, streaming video
This amazing video of parrots playing basketball is fascinating watching because it shows the results of patience combined with excellent animal training techniques. This video shows clips from "1 on 1" and "2 on 2" basketball games, starring parrots, Bo and Yoda (Congo African Grey parrots, Psittacus erithacus erithacus) and Hannah and Gustav (Solomon Islands Eclectus parrots, Eclectus roratus solomonensis).
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.
rallain | August 26, 2009I re-watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night and my wife and I noticed something about teaching. Of course I mentioned that this would make a good blog post (and she may still post it on her blog, but I can't help myself). If you have not read the book or seen the movie, I don't think I will give away any serious spoilers - but who hasn't at least seen the movie? If you were going to see it (or read it) you would have done so by now - right?
The Order of the Phoenix shows at least three different examples of teachers and teachings in the movie. Here they are:
Dolores…
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.