Greetings!

Welcome to Superoceras, a blog about science and natural history, slightly biased towards paleontology and zoology, but inclusive of all sciences. Started in October of 2009, my goal is to communicate scientific knowledge (and the occasional piece of nonsense) in an informative and entertaining manner. Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, concerns, or criticism at superoceras(at)gmail(dot)com, and follow me on Twitter @Superoceras for all that and more in 140 characters or less!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

One Last Day of Birding for 2011

Despite the fact that we've reached the end of December, it has been quite pleasant here in Edmonston, Maryland.  The last few days have seen temperatures over 12 °C, which is a welcome treat considering some of the colder weather we had a few weeks back.  It was great to get outside and do some yard work without having to put on layers.  It was also great letting my terrapin back out into her pond for a few hours a day (as she normally spends her winter months in an indoor tank).  But the last few days have also been great for birding.  It may have nothing to do with the weather at all, but in the span of about 45 minutes today, I saw a greater variety of birds in my yard than I sometimes do all season long, two species of which were a first for me in my "new" home.  But why tell you about it when I could just show you? In fact, how about an end of the year bird quiz? Leave your guesses in the comments section!

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Huzzah, virtual birding!  So many avian dinosaurs in one sitting.  What a great way to close out 2011! Posting here was a bit more scarce this year than it was in 2010, but I also had a lot of other things going on, so I guess I'm ok with it.  I'm looking forward to using the start of 2012 as a jumping off point to restructure things on the blog, in my academic life, and just in general.  But that all starts tomorrow.  For now,  happy New year, everyone!

For more end of the year posts, roundups, and reflections, check out the following blogs (and let me know if I forgot to include anyone):

Clever Girl - Best of 2011
Dinosaur Tracking - The Greatest Dinosaur Hits of 2011
The Forgotten Archosaurs - The Year in Crocs
The Loom - 2011: A Letter from the Loom
Love in the Time of Chasmosaurus - My First LITC Year: a retrospective and look forward
The Natural Capital - Greatest Hits of 2011
Not Exactly Rocket Science - A round-up of the year
The Open Source Paleontologist - New Fossil Species of 2011- A PLoS ONE Retrospective
Paleoexhibit - 2011 in Paleontology
Sauropod Vertebra Picture of the Week - Happy New Year!
The Theropod Database Blog - Happy New Year! The Database is updated!
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5 comments:

  1. AlbertonykusJanuary 1, 2012 at 4:37 AM

    Excellent! Reminds me of the day I first put up a new bird feeder, and lots of bird species showed up to investigate!

    Haven't done any real birding in the east, but I'll give it a go.

    Tufted titmouse, northern cardinal, black-capped chickadee, house sparrow, house finch, white-breasted nuthatch, American robin, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker (?), American goldfinch, not familiar with the second to last one, and mourning dove.

    (I didn't cheat, but I'd suggest by the way not to include the scientific names in the image file for guessing games. XD)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Philly Art GirlJanuary 1, 2012 at 11:55 AM

    I GOT this (and you'll just have to go on the honor system that I didn't look at the previous comments). Okay, ready, GO!
    1. Tufted Titmouse
    2. Male Cardinal
    3. Chickadee
    4. Chirping Sparrows
    5. House Finches
    6. Nuthatch
    7. Robin (Also known as "Rockin' Robin")
    8. Red Bellied Woodpecker
    9. Downy Woodpecker (could be Hairy, but I feel more or less confident it's Downy)
    10. & 11. I confess I do not know. Never seen those here in PA
    11. Mourning doves

    That was fun! Thanks for the linky, and happy new year!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. David TanaJanuary 5, 2012 at 7:48 PM

    Thanks for birding, guys! Jenn, of course the honor system works here! Even though, as Albertonykus points out, I foolishly gave away the answers already. Regardless, I'll be revealing their identities in individual posts over the next few days, so stay tuned!

    ReplyDelete
  4. SusanJanuary 5, 2012 at 9:27 PM

    1. Baeolophus bicolor (Tufted Titmouse - northern phase- male)
    2. Cardinalis cardinalis (Northern Cardinal - male)
    3. Poecile atricapilla (Black-capped Chickadee)
    4. Passer domesticus (House Sparrow - female top, male bottom)
    5. Carpodacus mexicanus (House Finch - male left, female right)
    6. Sitta carolinensis (White-breasted Nuthatch - male)
    7. Turdus migratorius (America Robin - male)
    8. Melanerpes carolinus (Red-bellied Woodpecker - female)
    9. Picoides pubescens (Downy Woodpecker - male)
    10. Mimus polyglottos (Northern Mockingbird - juvenile)
    11. Regulus calendala (Ruby-crowned Kinglet - female)
    12. Zenaida macroura (Mourning Dove)

    Check it out, I just started a Flickr set for my bird pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdrymala/sets/72157628653709521/

    ReplyDelete
  5. David TanaJanuary 6, 2012 at 1:53 PM

    Awesome, Susan!

    ReplyDelete

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