Bird of the Day: Rufous-capped Warbler (Xandari Resort, Costa Rica)
Nature Photography
Listen, Learn, Elephants
Thermal imaging on an elephant in the Dzanga clearing. Photo by Peter Wrege
Way back when, we first shared what we had read and visually devoured about this project, and the last line of our post at that time asked if “one of our Lab-based contributors will help us with an introduction to their office mates in the Elephant Listening Project?”. Not until now were we nudged to think again and do something about it. Stay tuned…
Meanwhile, thanks to the folks at Science Friday and the donor-listeners and producers of the amazingly diverse public radio networks in the USA, tune in to learn more:
Elephants have different rumbles and roars for how they greet each other, warn about danger, and even to show that they’re annoyed. Peter Wrege, director of The Elephant Listening Project, recorded an event called “mating pandemonium,” where a group of elephants roar after a pair of elephants mate. Wrege discusses the possible reasons for this pachyderm party.
Bird of the Day: Desert Wheatear
Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat
Bird of the Day: Hoffmann’s Woodpecker – Female (Xandari Resort, Costa Rica)
Bird of the Day: Tawny Fish Owl
Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand
Bird of the Day: Ornate Flycatcher (Mindo, Ecuador)
Al Fresco Meals Across Time and Space
Long after humans made living indoors commonplace we still carry the strong desire to commune with nature in one way or another. Whether through gardening or exploration, we crave being outdoors, and that often has meant bringing our meals with us.
The origin of the word “picnic” is unclear. It first appeared in an English dictionary in 1748, and it probably derived from the French pique-nique.
A 17th-century French pique-nique may have been what we now think of as a potluck. In the 18th century, its American counterpart may have been more like a salon gathering. By the 19th century, though, it had become common for Americans to hold these events outside. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Rufous-tailed Jacamar
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Bird of the Day: Greylag Goose
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan
Bird of the Day: Black-throated Gray Warbler – Male (Yosemite National Park, California)
Bird of the Day: Kestrel (Outskirts of Bangalore, Karnataka)
Bird of the Day: Common Sandpiper (Appledore Island, Maine)
Bird of the Day: Purple-rumped Sunbird
Umred-Kharandla Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra
Bird of the Day: Dusky Flycatcher (Yosemite National Park, California)
Bird of the Day: Resplendant Quetzal (Near Irazu Volcano, Costa Rica)
photo credit: Xandari Guest, Helen Long
Bird of the Day: Northern Gannet (Appledore Island, Maine)
Bird of the Day: Boreal Chickadee (Denali National Park, Alaska)
Musical And Photographic Patrimony
We are always moved by exhibitions that intersect our interest in cultural and historical patrimony, as in the case of this event at the Foley Gallery (which comes to our attention thanks to the New Yorker‘s coverage of the arts):
Lisa Elmaleh first heard Appalachian folk music in 2010, and “it stirred something in my soul,” she told me. Since then, she has followed folk musicians from Ohio to Georgia, capturing them with her nineteen-forties Century Universal 8 x 10 camera and the hundred-and-fifty-year-old tintype process. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Lineated Woodpecker (Xandari Resort, Costa Rica)
Photo Credit: Seth Inman
Ken Brown, Come to Kerala!
The colorful ebb and flow of daily life is evident in our Spice Harbour neighborhood of Mattanchery. We keep wondering what odd-abilia Ken Brown would find waiting for him here!
(all photos ©Ken Brown)
