hello tweeties,

i have had some interesting adventures that i will be writing about soon on my blog -- specifically, i was an invited speaker at a conference about science online (blogging and such) at the Research Triangle in North Carolina, so i flew to NC from NYC last thursday afternoon on US Airways .. does this scenario ring any bells?

actually, i did not get my feet wet because my flight departed from LaGuardia before the other plane belly-flopped into the Hudson River.

Anyway, the conference was a big success for me since i had the opportunity to schmooze with bird bloggers as well as scientists, editors from The Really Important Science Journals and science magazines, NGO, public science policy and conservation scientists, as well as blog writers and readers -- all of whom are interested to learn more about how to use a blog to further the cause of science communication, public outreach and education. needless to say, exciting things might be happening in my future as a result of this experience -- which i shall reveal on my blog as soon as i have something to tell.

anyway, as you probably know, i have been horribly remiss in emailing links for the daily mystery birds, nor have i updated their IDs, so i am working to address this now. but before i do this, i shall give you the links so you can see them all.

today's mystery bird is one from South America that was photographed to me by a reader who genuinely was not sure what it was. instead of just telling him the bird's ID, i decided to share the fun with all of you;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_144.php

i also have a few other mystery birds that you might want to ID, some of which are very challenging;

there are a few interesting reader IDs of this mystery bird, courtesy of Richard Ditch;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_141.php

this mystery bird, courtesy of Joseph Kennedy, has only one reader ID -- do you agree with it?

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_109.php

this mystery bird, courtesy of Richard Ditch, is fairly challenging;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_140.php

and here's another mystery bird of intermediate difficulty, courtesy of Joseph Kennedy;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_121.php

this is a very difficult bird to ID, courtesy of Richard Ditch (NOTE: Rick Wright posted a hint);

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_142.php

here's a moderately challenging mystery bird, courtesy of Richard Ditch;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_138.php

another moderately challenging mystery bird, courtesy of Joseph Kennedy;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_124.php

another challenging mytery bird for you to identify, courtesy of Marv Breece;

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/01/todays_mystery_bird_for_you_to_94.php

i will reveal all IDs in 48 hours time. please accept my apologies for the interruptions to the mystery birds. now that the ScienceBlogs MT4 upgrade is completed and the ScienceOnline '09 conference is now concluded, everything should be getting back to normal.

cheers,

GrrlScientist
Devorah
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/
Roosting high up a tree somewhere in Central Park, NYC