travel
grrlscientist | September 21, 2009tags: Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, photographed at Bob Road, Bolivar Peninsula, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 August 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.
aardvarchaeology | September 21, 2009
Yesterday's paper sessions offered eleven presentations. I almost fell asleep several times. This was not mainly because four of the papers were in German and French which I have a hard time understanding when spoken quickly. The main reason was that few of my colleagues know how to perform an engaging presentation. Yes, you need to perform it. So here are a few suggestions.
Never ever read a prepared text out loud. Speak from brief notes or a slide show. It is better to have five lines of summary text in ball-point pen on the back of your hand than a manuscript.
Do you have reason to…
aardvarchaeology | September 20, 2009A funny intermezzo caught me Saturday on the train from Brussels to Liège. Across the aisle, two young pretty lesbian couples were seated. And they spent most of the ride necking furiously. I suppose that as a het male I might have been expected to feel some kind of perturbation or arousal at the sight. But in fact I mainly experienced a sort of avuncular tenderness toward the young ladies. Their joy made me smile. Any desire these shapely wenches might have inspired was checked by the evident fact that they weren't interested in my kind. Then they got off (the train, you pervert) and left…
grrlscientist | September 20, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
That restaurant that I visited on Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Does anyone know the name of this place?
grrlscientist | September 20, 2009tags: Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Cinnyris mediocris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Cinnyris mediocris, photographed in the West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 4 September 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 VR lens at 400 mm. ISO 400. 1/250 f/7.1.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 19, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
I photographed this fence on Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
I really like this image because of the contrast between the irregularity of the forest and the regularity of the fence.
aardvarchaeology | September 19, 2009I like to travel light. My luggage for a five-day conference stay in the Netherlands barely fills a small back pack. Apart from what I wear and carry in my pockets, I've got:
Netbook computer + charger
Smartphone charger
Camera + charger + transfer cable. The travel camera is pretty small, but its memory card is an old clunky format that won't fit into the netbook's flash reader.
GPS navigator + batteries (gotta get some Maastricht geocaches)
Two paperback sf books + one work-related book, the new Valsgärde volume
Spare undies + socks, wash as needed
Spare t-shirts. This time I decided not…
grrlscientist | September 19, 2009tags: Scarlet Honeyeater, Myzomela sanguinolenta, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Scarlet Honeyeater, Myzomela sanguinolenta, photographed at Yungaburra, Queensland, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 26 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 1/1250 sec, f/4 iso 400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
One of the fun things about photographing wild birds and nature are the unexpected encounters. I've learned that the best shots happen only because…
grrlscientist | September 18, 2009tags: Manu, Peru, travel, birding, eco-tourism, vaccinations, Kolibri Expeditions
I was contacted by Gunnar Engblom (Kolibri Expeditions), whom I've been casually acquainted with online for years, asking me if I'd like to be the "official blogger" for a birding trip to Peru. Yeow, would I?!? This unexpected offer surprised me, to say the least, but it didn't take too long for excitement to set in after I realized this was a serious offer: I would get to observe and photograph wild parrots!
Unfortunately, I have recently been preoccupied with several seemingly insurmountable tasks, including…
grrlscientist | September 18, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Looking out from the island of Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Can anyone identify the birds in this image?
grrlscientist | September 18, 2009tags: Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-headed gull, Larus ridibundus, photographed on Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]
Photographed with Canon SX100 IS: exposure time: 1/400, F-value: 4.3, ISO: 80, Focal length: 60mm.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 17, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
I photographed this sculpture as I walked to Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 17, 2009tags: Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, photographed in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 31 July 2008 [larger view]
Photo taken with Canon 40D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
This photo pretty much sums up my relationship with these guys. I see them all the time, but whenever I get within 1/4 mile of one, they either fly off, or…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2009tags: nature, birds, Antarctica, emperor penguins, Aptenodytes forsteri, David Attenborough, streaming video
This video presents a Nature program that briefly documents the breeding biology of Antarctica's Emperor Penguin, Aptenodytes forsteri, a bird that nests far inland in the winter months, enduring the worst weather imaginable. Narrated by the incomparable David Attenborough.
grrlscientist | September 16, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Seurasaari Etelainen Pukkisaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 16, 2009tags: Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] female Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, photographed at Newton Hills State Park in South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 13 May 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with Canon 20D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 15, 2009tags: Magellanic penguins, pudu, cod cod, Andes Mountains, nature, animals, BBC, television, streaming video
Fascinating footage of mountaineering penguins in the Andes trying to search for a safe mountain nesting ground. Also featuring weird and wonderful animals such as the Andes possum, the littlest deer in the world known as the pudu, and the tiniest wild cat in existence - the cod cod. Brilliant nature video from BBC animal wildlife show Andes - The Dragons Back.
grrlscientist | September 15, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Building on the island of Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 15, 2009tags: Pyrrhuloxia, Cardinalis sinuatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pyrrhuloxia, Cardinalis sinuatus, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 19 December 2004 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2004:12:19 11:18:31
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 11.00
ISO: 320
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | September 14, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, image of the day
Wood fence on the island of Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)