Postcard from the outside

Just a quick note to let everyone know why things have gone a bit quiet. It's the weather! The sunny days and long warm evenings make me want to be outside all the time.

The first tomatoes are ripe, peppers and beans are swelling and my onions are starting to look more like vegetables and less like long grass. Sadly the little wrens seem to have given up, don't know why but I doubt they could have raised a brood in less than a month and I haven't seen or heard them for about a week. The bumblebees however are thriving and we have found two more hives in the garden so I'm happy about that.

There's a blackbird's nest nearby, their song is wonderful to hear, and after sunset bats occasionally flit past. I'm not sure what species they are but I guess Pipistrelles as they are the most common. In the east Mars and Saturn dominate the night sky, the orange-redness of Mars is unmistakable and breathtaking.

A couple of nights ago I came home late from band practice and went to sit outside with a beer and unwind. All of a sudden a young hedgehog strolled past just a couple of feet away. It must have come from the front of the house and through the car port, heading straight for the compost heap where I lost it in the shadows. I only saw it briefly but I could hear it rummaging for ages afterwards. I'm hoping to see it again if this becomes part of its nightly foraging run.

It's a great summer so far, long may it continue. Grow into these trousers... >>

Chimp twats owl

There seems to be a little rivalry in the studio :)

MONKEY ATTACKS OWL very funny [0:46]
Grow into these trousers... >>

On wrens and bumblebees

I've been watching a wren in the garden for the last few weeks. The little fellow bobs in and out of a knothole in the eaves of my roof where he will have started to build a nest. The nest will only be finished if he can attract a female. Then they will line the nest and endeavour to raise youngsters

I've heard his rattling song regularly but I have never seen a partner. Until yesterday evening.

In the late afternoon I sat down to watch a bumble bee nest I'd noticed a few days ago. A gap between some paving stones in a path must lead to a safe and secure underground hive. I had seen them going in and out all day long but then I saw something different. One stared digging in and under a pile of dead leaves and weeds I had raked up just inches from the nest. Then there were two bees, scrimmaging about. After a few minutes they flew off. Then others came out and did the same, as the evening came on, one piece of a brown dead leaf was dragged to the nest hole. It was too big and too stiff to pull in, but much effort went into that failure. Sometimes the leaf covered the hive entrance and returning bees were disoriented and had to push a way past. It did go into the nest though, they chewed it up! As the Sun set, it was gone.

All this time my wren had been singing and flitting about. Then suddenly his song became broken up and staccato and then there were two wrens. He sang like crazy and there was no mistaking the prominent posturing and silent indifference the other wren took. He puffed out his chest and wagged his tail and bobbed and sang loud. She sat on a twig and disinterestedly picked a few aphids off a leaf. Then they zoomed off, both together, then he came back and began his rattling song. She reappeared and his song became broken up again. They dived and chased among the trees over and over.

Suddenly Then there was another rattle over the rooftop, another male wren... My guy went crazy! A bombardment of song began, and a chase for the most prominent perch. As I watched all three, the two males shouted at each other from as far apart as possible and she went off to the loo or something, like women do, but then I spotted her again; watching. The intruder relented and then there was just one song as two wrens cavorted around nearby trees and bushes. They even promenaded together along a fence, no more than a foot apart.

Today there are two wrens in my garden. He sings and she is taking bits of moss or fluffy stuff into the nest hole.

Everyone say Ahhh! Grow into these trousers... >>

Bearcam 2!

I just checked in again with Lily the Black Bear.

Lily was very active, snuffling round the opening with both her muzzle and claws. Baby was at first very noisy and demanding but then they both settled and baby began to make a contented rumble which sounded akin to a cat's purr. Soon after, the youngster kicked up a fuss again and Lily began to lick. The fuss and purring faded out into sleep and I was going to move on... Then I saw baby...


Look at the bottom, just left of centre, that's a paw and a little muzzle. Mum's face is higher up, sideways on and you can see her ear. I wish them both well. Grow into these trousers... >>

Bearcam!

Deep in the wilds of northern Minnesota, in the good ol' US of A, a black bear named Lily is about to do what momma bears have been doing for millions of years but which has never before been observed in the wild. In a snug den, safe from the cold and snow, Lily is about to give birth - on camera. Professor Lynn Rogers has been studying bears for decades, gradually earning their trust, till finally he was able to install a webcam in Lily's den.

The signs are good. Lily is the right age, well fed in preparation for winter and appears to be heavily pregnant. Visit her at:

Lily's den-cam

Who knows? You may be among the first to see one of Nature's little miracles.
Read more at the North American Bear Center and at the BBC. Grow into these trousers... >>

A zoom-in view of the cosmos

The Universe [3:32]


Posted today by GrrlScientist.

Now, go vote for her to be the official Quark Expeditions blogger on a trip to Antarctica. I've mentioned this before.

If you haven't voted yet, well go do it.
The world's birdlife is telling you to:



even the Digital Cuttlefish gives it's endorsement. Grow into these trousers... >>

Dolphins and bubble rings

Amazing behaviour indeed, and a great example of animals at play. As for their skill...

Dolphin Bubbles: An Amazing Behavior [3:25]


I've seen something like this before, so thanks to Atheist Planet for jogging my memory. Grow into these trousers... >>

Lyrebirds - Nature's greatest imitators

Thanks to Cryptozoology Online for this link to a lyrebird at Adelaide Zoo. This bird seems to copy everything.

Superb Lyrebird imitating construction work - Adelaide Zoo


Below the belt David Attenborough meets the same species.

Amazing! Bird sounds from the lyre bird - David Attenborough - BBC wildlife


The Amazing Lyrebird of Australia - Unseen Footage
Grow into these trousers... >>

OK, I moaned about my breakfasts over the weekend

But had I been served these I would have been running...

tarantula village

---------------------------
Via Unreasonable Faith. Grow into these trousers... >>

Laugh and be educated

Just before he died, the much missed Douglas Adams gave the following talk about his experiences tracking down endangered species. I have never seen this video before, though Adams' Last Chance To See is an old favoutite.

You don't really need to watch, just listen, there are no slides or photos. It's simply Adams talking, mainly without notes, and the stage lighting could have been better.

But in his talk, Adams recapitulates and updates Last Chance. It's '''king brilliant!!!

However it's an hour and a half long so get comfy, with refreshment close at hand, and enjoy. If you listen to nothing else, make it the 'Yangtze river dolphin' from 43:45ish onwards.

Douglas Adams: Parrots the Universe and Everything

------------------------
Via Skepchick. Grow into these trousers... >>

LEGS CROSSED - EYES WATERING!

Erm?

"Case Presentation: A 14 year old boy came to us with complaints of pain, difficulty in voiding with dribbling of urine and subsequently developed acute urinary retention of 24 hours duration. On further questioning he gave an interesting history. While he was cleaning the fish tank in his house, he was holding a fish in his hand and went to the toilet for passing urine. While he was passing urine, the fish slipped from his hand and entered his urethra..."

Unusual Foreign Body In Urinary Bladder: A Case Report.
Vezhaventhan, G. and Jeyaraman, R. The Internet Journal of Urology, 5:2, 41 (2007).

According to couriermail.com.au:


"The fish the urologists removed, which Practical Fishkeeping believes to be a small member of the Betta genus, measured 2cm long and 1.5cm wide."


Yeah, sure; many people urinate whilst holding their pet fish! But wait - if you follow this link to The Internet Journal of Urology there is an endoscopic video of said fish, in situ. It sure looks like a Betta but with much caudal fin damage. Presumably due to the last frantic efforts to get the damn thing out again.

Kinda reminds me of this.

And, of course, the candiru:


---------------------
Via Pharyngula and Rev. BigDumbChimp. Grow into these trousers... >>

Imagine being able to fly

Imagine having a beak you can control with hypodermic precision.

"A hummingbird flaps its wings up to 70 times per second; its heart rate can reach 1,260 beats per minute."

That's 21 heartbeats per second.

Time Warp: Hummingbird

-----------------------
Via LGF. Grow into these trousers... >>

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

I don't know what to say but... HAHAHA!
Many thanks to GrrlScientist for the link.



There's also the Cat Yodeling as a clip. Grow into these trousers... >>

Isn't nature wonderful?

And I thought worming my cats was a chore!

'The 7 Most Horrifying Parasites on the Planet'.












Be sure not to miss page 2.
-------------------------
Via ismellarat via Debunking Christianity. Grow into these trousers... >>

Bald Eagles on camera

The Hancock Wildlife Foundation has live webcams of nesting Bald Eagles in British Columbia, Canada.

There are two eggs in this nest and they must be close to hatching, that will be worth seeing. Note, the cameras can be a couple of seconds out of sync.




There are more eagle cams at the Hancock Wildlife Foundation and the Seattle Times has a news report.
----------------------------
via GrrlScientist.
----------------------------
UPDATE: I had missed this earlier but the Sydney new nest has chicks. I've seen 2 but the forum says there are 3! Grow into these trousers... >>

A Darwinian Easter egg

"An egg collected by Charles Darwin during his voyage on HMS Beagle has been rediscovered at Cambridge University." - BBC News

Photo credit: The Guardian; The University of Cambridge.

You may ask what kind of bird lays that kinder egg? (And is the toy inside a bit of a yolk?)

So I tried to find out.

News reports say the egg's origin was traced back to a friend and contemporary of Darwin's, Alfred Newton, a Professor of Comparative Anatomy at Cambridge. His notes reveal:

"One egg, received through Frank Darwin, having been sent to me by his father who said he got it at Maldonado (Uruguay) and that it belonged to the Common Tinamou of those parts."

Frank Darwin was, I guess, Francis Darwin, Charles' third son, who received the egg from his father and passed it to Newton for the collection at Cambridge, where it lay in obscurity till earlier this year.

Now, the tinamous are a large family of South American birds with 47 recognised species, though none are called the 'Common Tinamou'. There is a tinamou named Dawin's Nothura, Nothura darwinii, but this is an Andean species and not from Uruguay where the egg was collected.

The Tinamou Research Group website notes two Uruguayan species: the Red-winged Tinamou, Rhynchotus rufescens, and the smaller Spotted Tinamou, Nothura maculosa. The video in the BBC report shows two rather moth-eaten museum bird specimens and doesn't identify them, but the Spotted Tinamou seems to match well in size and colouration.

Nothura maculosa. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

The eggs too match with Darwin's:

Nothura maculosa - eggs. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons.

At the Internet Bird Collection you can watch a couple of videos of Spotted Nothura, and at the foot of that page is a recording of it's song. The BBC quote from Darwin's notes that the bird had a "high shrill chirp". Ear piercing I would have said.

So have I identified the correct species? I don't know, I'm not an ornithologist and comments are welcome. Seeing as how they went to the trouble of videoing the museum specimens, the BBC could have identified it and saved all the hassle but then I may not have had such an enjoyable, two-cup coffee break this morning.

Happy Easter! Grow into these trousers... >>

Gullibility as a human trait?

I just watched some great videos of chimpanzees over at Afarensis, take time to watch them all too. Myself, I am amazed at chimps' intelligence and resourcefulness though I maybe should not be given our shared heritage. There are times, however when the difference between us is clearly demonstrated.

Chimpanzee vs. Human child learning (1/2)


Update: Oops, accidentally posted part (2/2) - got it right now. Both are worth seeing though. Grow into these trousers... >>

Douglas Adams - Last Chance to See

This is a must listen.

The BBC have released the original radio series of Douglas Adams' Last Chance to See. Recorded in the late 1980s it's still a very informative and funny look at the serious subject of endangered species around the world. From the Aye-aye to the Rodrigues fruit bat it covers a lot of ground.

If you don't know this, it's a real treat. Even better is to read the book. Best of all is to listen to the audio book/CD thingie with Adams himself reading and hundreds of photos (if you can get it). That is change of trousers funny in some chapters.

Other good news is that the BBC are doing an update where, this time, zoologist Mark Carwardine is joined by Stephen Fry. I'll keep an eye on that.

Enjoy! Grow into these trousers... >>

Aww, who says all life is not interconnected?

This is the loveliest link I've seen for ages.

Thanks to arboreal Nephropidae* via Skepchick. I am heartwarmed.

----------------
* Tree Lobsters. Wikipedia needs updating. Grow into these trousers... >>

A fascinatingly disturbing video

Some people wonder why fossils are rarely found intact. In reality, it's a wonder they are ever found at all!

This time-lapse video shows how a colony of [soldier?] ants can decimate a gecko carcass, in just 24 hours it's almost gone.

Unbelieveable!! Whole gecko rapidly eaten by ants!
Grow into these trousers... >>