travel
grrlscientist | October 16, 2009tags: Memorial to the Synagogue, Platz der Synagoge, Göttingen, Germany, image of the day
The memorial to the Synagogue in Göttingen, Germany, burnt down 1938 during the Kristallnacht, at the Platz der Synagoge (Synagogue Square) as seen from the inside looking straight up.
Image: Bob O'Hara, October 2009 [larger view].
Synagogue Memorial, Obere-Masch-Str. and Untere-Masch-Str. This memorial, designed by Corrado Cagli in 1973, stands on the site of a synagogue that was destroyed in 1938. The names of Göttingen's Jewish residents who were murdered during the "dark time" are listed below…
grrlscientist | October 16, 2009tags: Orange Bishop, Grenadier Weaver, Orange Weaver, Euplectes franciscana, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Orange Bishop, also known as the Orange Weaver or sometimes as the Grenadier Weaver, Euplectes franciscana, photographed at Arthur Storey Park, Houston, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 26 September 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
This species is monochromatic during the…
grrlscientist | October 15, 2009tags: Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes carolinus, photographed in the photographer's back yard in Houston,Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 June 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1250s 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 | October 14, 2009Today was another day spent entirely on the telephone, talking to people and clearing up my misunderstandings (or theirs) about this moving process. If you hate telephones, as I do, then today is one of those days that you avoid for as long as possible. Originally, I was going to reward myself for sticking to my telephone plan by going out for a beer after wards, but I cannot do this because I have to bring my sick yellow-bibbed lory to the veterinarian tomorrow morning to see if she's really diabetic, and then develop a treatment plan to keep her alive and healthy.
The first thing this…
grrlscientist | October 14, 2009tags: paddleboat, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Paddleboat on Helsinki waterfront.
Photographed in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | October 14, 2009tags: American Pipit, Anthus rubescens, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Pipit, Anthus rubescens, photographed at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 30 January 2007 [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.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | October 13, 2009Today was a breakthrough because I view everything very differently than I did yesterday or three days ago, and because I made significant progress towards my goal. In fact, I made so much progress today that I even decided upon a tentative target departure week that I am working towards (I've even narrowed my departure down to three days within that week). But more about that later; let me tell you what I've managed to accomplish today.
First, I called my USFWS agent, Katherine, and I learned that I have my CITES permit (she gave me the CITES permit number, which I need to begin working…
grrlscientist | October 13, 2009tags: Rautatientori, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
The Sun doesn't go down on a Helsinki Summer Day.
Photographed in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 5 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | October 13, 2009tags: Olive Sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Olive Sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus, photographed at Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Alamo, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 4 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/60s 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 | October 12, 2009After experiencing astonishing frustration levels, I decided that relocating overseas is just like finishing the PhD, except it's far more confusing and there's no clear authority figure (like an adviser, a departmental chair or a dean) to appeal to when everything goes to hell. But I have to do what I did in grad school: I have to (somehow) control the USFWS and the USDA instead of allowing them to control me.
In this situation, this requires that I spend a lot of time researching every possible angle involved with the export and import process and become as expert as all the agents and…
grrlscientist | October 12, 2009tags: chocolate-covered licorice, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Photographed in Helsinki, Finland, after walking to Seurasaari and back.
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
I finished writing a book review on deadline that I am proud of for Nature and now I am relaxing whilst I think about a warm sunny day not too long ago, when the man whom I would later marry, fed me this delectable bar of chocolate-covered licorice for dinner. How can a grrl resist?
grrlscientist | October 12, 2009tags: Brewer's Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Female Brewer's Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus, photographed at Bodega Bay, California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 23 December 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/90s 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 | October 11, 2009
I took Friday off from work and drove with my friend Anders to Avesta, an industrial town in Dalecarlia, where our friend Pär and his lovely wife, both teachers, have recently settled. We spent the afternoon and evening walking in the sunshine, admiring their house, eating like kings, listening to some pretty far-out and eclectic music (including Earth, Heino, Om, Demis Roussos and Sunn) and playing the Swedish 70s board game Marinattack. It's notable for coming with an electronic device that replaces dice and outcome tables. They kicked my ass five games in a row. The shame!
Then on…
grrlscientist | October 11, 2009tags: Tractrac Chat, Layard's Chat, Cercomela tractrac, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Tractrac Chat, also known as the Layard's Chat, Cercomela tractrac, photographed in Swakopmund, Namibia, Africa [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dennis Paulson, April 2007 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Those of you who are unfamiliar with African birds should still be able to identify this bird to family.
Dennis Paulson with a Tractrac Chat, also known as the Layard's Chat, Cercomela tractrac,…
grrlscientist | October 10, 2009tags: Cape Raven, African White-necked Raven, White-naped Raven, Corvus albicollis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] A pair of White-naped Ravens, also known as the Cape Raven or the African White-necked Raven, Corvus albicollis, photographed while playing at just under 15000 feet on Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 24 July 2006 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 70-200 VR lens, at 200. ISO 320, 1/6000, f 3.2.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes;
These…
grrlscientist | October 9, 2009I was so upset about the likelihood that I would spend the next six months (or probably longer) trapped in a bureaucratic cesspool of confusion and conflicting information whilst spending thousands of dollars on rent, penalties and veterinary bills, that I was ready to do something drastic. So I called USFWS.
The USFWS computerized telephone voice warned me that they are experiencing "significant delays" in processing CITES permit applications for birds, so I expected I'd only be able to talk to a real person after appealing to my congresscritter, Charlie Rangell, who is under investigation…
grrlscientist | October 9, 2009tags: Macleay's Kingfisher, Blue Kingfisher, Bush Kingfisher, Forest Kingfisher, Todiramphus macleayii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Forest Kingfisher, also known as Macleay's Kingfisher, Blue Kingfisher or Bush Kingfisher, Todiramphus macleayii, photographed at Mossman, Queensland, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 18 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm 1/1600 sec, f/4 iso 200.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The Forest Kingfisher is classified in the genus…
grrlscientist | October 8, 2009The representative from the moving company is coming tomorrow evening to look over the things I plan to move so he can write an estimate for how much the move will cost and help me get the paperwork taken care of. Needless to say, I've been busy doing other things, so the place is as messy as it was one week ago, although the mess is distributed much differently than it was then.
I checked my apartment mailbox yesterday and was surprised to find a letter from USFWS regarding my application for CITES permits for the birds (don't they read their own instructions regarding mailing addresses…
grrlscientist | October 8, 2009tags: park, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Park in Helsinki, Finland.
Photographed as I walked through Helsinki, Finland, from Seurasaari.
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
I really like this image, and the bridge, too. It's very Monet-esque, don't you think?
Here's a closer look at that bridge. I am not sure what those pipes house, does anyone else have a guess? There's power lines (above) so clearly, it isn't that;
Park Bridge in Helsinki, Finland.
Photographed as I walked through Helsinki, Finland, from Seurasaari.
Image: GrrlScientist…
grrlscientist | October 8, 2009tags: Western Willet, Tringa semipalmata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Western Willet, Tringa semipalmata, photographed at Galveston East Beach, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 25 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.
Review all mystery birds to date.
Okay, I know this mystery bird is only intermediate in difficulty since the two subspecies are not visually…