travel
grrlscientist | January 28, 2010tags: Suomenlinnan Muuri, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Suomenlinnan Muuri (Suomenlinna wall).
Soumenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | January 28, 2010tags: birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] photographed near the Larsen Lake Blueberry Farm in Bellevue, Washington. [No one, not even the photographer, knows the ID of the bird that made this snow-print. The photographer is seeking your help IDing this bird]
Image: Ben Bardill, December 2008 (many thanks to Denny Granstrand for obtaining permission to share this image with us) [larger view].
There's a second image below the jump that might give you a better idea of this bird's size.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
[Mystery bird]…
grrlscientist | January 27, 2010tags: Suomenlinnan Ikkuna, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Suomenlinnan Ikkuna (Suomenlinna window).
Soumenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
I love the pattern of different colors and the contrasting shadows between individual stones in this image.
grrlscientist | January 27, 2010tags: Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, inspecting what appears to be a beheaded Black-and-yellow Lichen Moth, Lycomorpha pholus, photographed on the Katy Prairie, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Here's an interesting bird for you to identify, and as an added bonus, can you identify the insect that it is inspecting?…
grrlscientist | January 26, 2010tags: Linnoitusta Suomenlinnassa, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Kukka Suomenlinnassa (Suomenlinna blossom).
Soumenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | January 26, 2010tags: Wild Canary, Eastern Goldfinch, American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis, Carduelis tristis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Goldfinch, also known as the Eastern Goldfinch or the Wild Canary, Spinus (Carduelis) tristis, photographed on the Brazoria Wildlife Refuge, Brazoria, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 January 2010 [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.
Review all mystery…
aardvarchaeology | January 25, 2010
I type these words in a seafood restaurant at the main square of Visby on the island of Gotland. I haven't been here for almost a decade. Today I had the rare pleasure of teaching undergrads. My old grad-school buddy Gunilla Runesson at Visby University College gave me four hours to talk about the Late Iron Age elite, which is what occupied most of my working hours from 1994 until last fall. So I got up at 06:15 this morning, rode a tiny propeller plane across the sea and did three hours on settlements and one hour on graves. Very nice students!
Afterwards I walked through the Medieval city…
grrlscientist | January 25, 2010tags: Linnoitusta Suomenlinnassa, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Linnoitusta Suomenlinnassa (Suomenlinna fortress).
Soumenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | January 25, 2010tags: birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird #1] Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris, photographed at the Hermann Park Conservancy, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 18 November 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.
[NOTE: all IDs were made by the photographer; I don't agree with them, but I am reporting them. Of course, the links to the original images are broken now]
Mystery bird #2…
grrlscientist | January 24, 2010tags: Oviaukko Suomenlinnassa, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Oviaukko Suomenlinnassa (Suomenlinna doorway).
Soumenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | January 24, 2010tags: Hadada Ibis, Bostrychia hagedash, Hagedashia hagedash, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Hadada Ibis, Bostrychia (Hagedashia) hagedash, photographed at Arusha National Park, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen [larger view].
Nikon D2X and Nikon 200-400 VR lens at 240 mm. ISO 200 f/9 1/125.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 23, 2010tags: Suomenlinnan Taivas, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Suomenlinnan Taivas (Suomenlinna sky).
Soumenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | January 23, 2010tags: White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] White-eared Barbet, Stactolaema leucotis, photographed at Amani Preserve, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 6 September 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 mm lens, at 400. ISO 200, 1/250, f/6.3.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 22, 2010tags: Kivinen Kumpu, Suomenlinnassa, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Suomelninnan kasa lika kiviä ja puita on (mound of dirt with rocks and trees on it on Suomenlinna).
Soumenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Yes, this is a silly title, but I was told that "hillside" (rinnemailla? mäenrinne?) was not correct, but no proper word was provided to me. Instead, I was told to describe the picture more precisely, so .. I did that. The result is the title you see above, which makes me laugh until tears come out of my eyes, and I…
grrlscientist | January 22, 2010tags: Araripe Manakin, Antilophia bokermanni, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Araripe Manakin, Antilophia bokermanni, photographed at Chapada do Araripe, south Ceará, Brazil. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Ciro Albano.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Learn more about this endangered South American bird.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 21, 2010tags: Oviaukko Suomenlinnassa, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Oviaukko Suomenlinnassa (Suomenlinna doorway).
Soumenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
drorzel | January 21, 2010I've mentioned before that I'm going to be giving an invited talk in the LaserFest session at the APS March Meeting. I finally got around to registering for the meeting, and booking my travel. $1,500 on the college credit card-- whee!
The March Meeting program is one of the more intimidating meeting programs I've ever seen-- there are 42 parallel sessions in every time block. Yikes. I thought DAMOP was getting to be a little too big to navigate, but this is ridiculous...
Speaking of DAMOP, I'll also be going to the 2010 DAMOP Meeting in Houston. I haven't booked my travel for that, yet,…
grrlscientist | January 21, 2010tags: Neotropical Cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Neotropical Cormorant, also known as the Olivaceous Cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasilianus, photographed on the San Bernard Wildlife Refuge, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 January 2010 [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 | January 20, 2010tags: Suomenlinnan Ikkuna, Helsinki, Finland, nature, image of the day
Suomenlinnan Ikkuna (Suomenlinna window).
Soumenlinna, Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 19 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | January 20, 2010tags: Leucistic Vermilion Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Leucistic Vermilion Flycatcher, Pyrocephalus rubinus, photographed on the Sweetwater Wetlands Park, Tucson, Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Lois Manowitz, 30 December 2009 [larger view]. You are encouraged to purchase images from this photographer. For more details, view her flickr photostream (linked) or ask me for her email address.
This bird should be very challenging to identify. However, for those of you who have seen this individual, please…