Nature
awild | September 14, 2009Photographed this weekend in Dixon Springs, Illinois:
These Aphaenogaster lamellidens foragers have discovered a live centipede and are attempting to pull it from its burrow.
photo details: Canon mp-e 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS 50D
ISO 100, f/11-f/13, 1/250 sec, flash diffused through tracing paper
grrlscientist | September 14, 2009tags: nature, mammals, Antarctica, blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, David Attenborough, streaming video
This amazing video clip from BBC's remarkable multi-part TV program, Blue Planet, shows the awesome size of the Blue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus, the largest creature in the sea and the largest creature that has ever lived. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough.
grrlscientist | September 13, 2009tags: flowers, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Flower box in Rautatientori (downtown Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 12, 2009tags: flowers, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Dahlia blossom.
Photographed in downtown Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 12, 2009tags: birds, parrots, Quaker Parrot, Monk ParakeetGrey-Breasted parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus, NYC events, NYC Life, Brooklyn, Wild Parrot Safari
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Image: Magnus Manske, 10 May 2008, Wikipedia [larger view]
Even though NYC is located in the armpit of hell where, during the summers, the air is a humid miasma of fetid human sweat and decomposing dog shit, and the winters possess the cold and wind of Antarctica with none of its natural charms, there is a brave group of illegal aliens who not only live here, but are actually thriving…
grrlscientist | September 11, 2009tags: flowers, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Dahlia blossom.
Photographed in downtown Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 11, 2009tags: birds, parrots, Quaker Parrot, Monk ParakeetGrey-Breasted parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus, NYC events, NYC Life, Brooklyn, Wild Parrot Safari
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Image: Magnus Manske, 10 May 2008, Wikipedia [larger view]
Even though NYC is located in the armpit of hell where, during the summers, the air is a humid miasma of fetid human sweat and decomposing dog shit, and the winters possess the cold and wind of Antarctica with none of its natural charms, there is a brave group of illegal aliens who not only live here, but are actually thriving…
grrlscientist | September 11, 2009tags: travel, nature, Antarctica, Beneath the Frozen World, television, Jacques+Cousteau, streaming video
This video presents an exclusive full-length movie of Captain Cousteau's expedition to Antarctica (this is the third of four parts -- couldn't find any of the others). Narrated by Jacques Cousteau.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910-1997) was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and marine life. He co-developed the aqua-lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie franç…
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: flowers, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Dahlia blossom.
Photographed in downtown Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 10, 2009tags: travel, nature, Antarctica, macaroni penguins, Eudyptes chrysolophus, David Attenborough, streaming video
This video presents a Nature program that briefly documents the natural history of Antarctica's Macaroni Penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough while standing in the middle of a colony of 80,000 shrieking macaroni penguins.
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009tags: leaf, nature, microscopy, streaming video
This video presents images produced by several cameras and microscopes, shifting from one to another as they zoom in closer and closer on a leaf. Finally, as the narrator sadly notes, that's as far as we can go .. for now. By the way, did anyone see a face in the chloroplast?
Zoom into a Leaf
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009tags: flowers, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Wild rose, Rosa acicularis.
Photographed at the gardens at the Tarvaspää Café at the Gallen-Kallela Museum
near Tarvon Salmi in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 2 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
This is one of a large group of wild rose flowers that were blooming outside the front door of the cafe. The scent they produced was unbelievably strong and sweet and -- dare I say it? -- otherworldly.
grrlscientist | September 9, 2009tags: birds, parrots, Quaker Parrot, Monk ParakeetGrey-Breasted parakeet, Myiopsitta monachus, NYC events, NYC Life, Brooklyn, Wild Parrot Safari
Monk Parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Image: Magnus Manske, 10 May 2008, Wikipedia [larger view]
Even though NYC is located in the armpit of hell where, during the summers, the air is a humid miasma of fetid human sweat and decomposing dog shit, and the winters possess the cold and wind of Antarctica with none of its natural charms, there is a brave group of illegal aliens who not only live here, but are actually thriving…
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: travel, nature, environment, cities, Munkkivuori, Helsinki, Finland
Gifts of chocolate and licorice from my host.
Image: GrrlScientist, 3 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Ah, the breakfast of champions: licorice and chocolate. Well, and coffee (not pictured, but you get the idea).
My host finally awoke (I had been awake for hours, watching birds, playing on my laptop, and torturing the cat) and he gave me a meal consisting of licorice, chocolate and coffee. Dessert was a bowl of yogurt topped with muesli. A perfect way to start the day in beautiful Helsinki.
After a relaxing…
grrlscientist | September 8, 2009tags: flowers, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Common Burdock (Thistle), Arctium pubens, blossoms.
Photographed at the gardens at the Tarvaspää Café at the Gallen-Kallela Museum
near Tarvon Salmi in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 2 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 8, 2009tags: Speckled Pigeon, Columba guinea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Speckled Pigeon, Columba guinea, photographed drinking at the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge swimming pool, in Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 8 August 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, Nikon 200-400 VR lens at 400. ISO 800. F/4.5 1/160.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
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: flowers, Gardening, Horticulture, Botany, nature, Helsinki, image of the day
Poppy blossom.
Photographed at the gardens at the Tarvaspää Café at the Gallen-Kallela Museum
near Tarvon Salmi in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 2 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
I am really pleased with this image and hope that you like it too.
Ripening poppy seedpod.
Photographed at the gardens at the Tarvaspää Café at the Gallen-Kallela Museum
near Tarvon Salmi in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 2 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 7, 2009tags: nature, mammals, Antarctica, humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, David Attenborough, streaming video
Faint disturbances in the heart of Antarctic waters gives way to breathtaking images of Humpback Whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, hunting Krill in this fantastic video clip from BBC's natural history television masterpiece, Planet Earth. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough.