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Spoon-billed Sandpiper: Hatch | Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Spoon-billed Sandpipers lay 4 eggs in a simple tundra nest comprised of a shallow depression, most often in mosses, lined with a few dwarf willow leaves. The nest is incubated by both adults on half-day shifts — the male most often during the day and the female at night. After 21 days of incubation the eggs begin to hatch in a process that takes a day or more to complete. When the young finally emerge from the nest they stumble about on well-developed legs and feet and begin to feed themselves. After the last chick emerges, the male begins his job of leading the chicks as they grow towards independence about 20 days later; the female soon departs and begins moving south. This piece captures the first moments of life at a wind swept Spoon-billed Sandpiper nest. Video includes commentary by The Cornell Lab’s Gerrit Vyn. Filmed July 7, 2011 near Meinypilgyno, Chukotka, Russia.
A film from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If no film or link appears in this email, go to the blog to view it by clicking on the blog title above. If the film stops & starts in an annoying manner, press pause (lower left double bars ||) to let it buffer and get ahead of you. The Lab is a member-supported organization; they welcome your membership and support. [Chuck Almdale]
Take Two Leeches and Call Me in the Morning | Deep Look Video
(FYI – This episode is a *bit* more bloody that usual – especially a little after the 2-minute mark. Just letting you know in case flesh wounds aren’t your thing) The same blood-sucking leeches feared by hikers and swimmers are making a comeback… in hospitals. Once used for questionable treatments, leeches now help doctors complete complex surgeries to reattach severed body parts.
This is another installment of the PBS Deep Look series; this installment is adapted from the “It’s OK to be Smart” series. If no film or link appears in this email, go to the blog to view it by clicking on the blog title above. If the film stops & starts in an annoying manner, press pause (lower left double bars ||) to let it buffer and get ahead of you. [Chuck Almdale]
The male Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise sports more colors than any other bird in the family. Each splash of color has a story. Yellows and reds are paintlike pigments. Blues and greens are created by the interaction of light and the microscopic structure of feathers and skin. By whatever mechanism they are produced, the combined result is one of the most colorful animals on the planet. Filmed and photographed by Tim Laman and Ed Scholes.
There are currently seventy-two short films in the entire Birds-of-Paradise Project playlist, ranging from 26 seconds to 8:29. In the upcoming weeks, we will present some of our favorites.
A film from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If no film or link appears in this email, go to the blog to view it by clicking on the blog title above. If the film stops & starts in an annoying manner, press pause (lower left double bars ||) to let it buffer and get ahead of you. [Chuck Almdale]
Cosmic Rays at Fermilab’s NOvA
Cosmic rays are zipping through your body during every nanosecond of every day. This has been going on, right here on planet earth, since the beginning of planet earth. There’s nothing you can do about it. Except, perhaps, watch it happen. Here’s a screen shot of what it might look like. But it changes ever 15 seconds, or so.
UTC Monday Aug. 6, 2018
22:38:18:962899008
The NOνA (NuMI Off-Axis νe Appearance) experiment is a particle physics experiment designed to detect neutrinos in Fermilab’s NuMI (Neutrinos at the Main Injector) beam.
This page takes you to the NOvA Far Dectector. (Also to the Near Detector, but we won’t talk about that.) The image refreshes every 15 seconds. The colorful displays are a 500μs (500 microseconds or .0005-second) long window of time, mostly showing long straight tracks from cosmic ray muons: about 40 in any given 500μs time window.
Good information to know. Perhaps you can use it to sue someone, or at least get a refund from whomever decided to spray you with cosmic rays without your written permission. [Chuck Almdale]
The Curiosity Show Bloopers & Outtakes Vol. 2 | Natural History Museum’s Curiosity Show
Over the past year, the NHM has taken the Curiosity Show all around the Natural History Museum to meet their scientists and explore their work. They showed us their stories, but there were lots of extra bits that got cut along the way. Here’s a peek at the outtakes and bloopers, cool parts that just didn’t fit, and some flubs edited out of the final shows.
This comes from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. If no film or link appears in this email, go to the blog to view it by clicking on the blog title above. If the film stops & starts in an annoying manner, press pause (lower left double bars ||) to let it buffer and get ahead of you. [Chuck Almdale]
