hello everyone,

today's mystery bird is a stunning Australian species that i think many of you can identify, thanks to photographer, steve duncan;

http://bit.ly/2HY5Bl

a book review about jeremy mynott's book, Birdscapes, that i wrote was published in last week's issue of SCIENCE. if you wish to read the text or get the PDF, the links are here;

http://bit.ly/cuFOo

if there is a problem accessing that information (some people have no problems, others do), feel free to email me and i'm happy to send the PDF to you.

here is a video clip about using the physical location of birds perched on wires as the inspiration for a musical composition. a story about this aired on NPR yesterday morning and a reader sent me the video link, so i can share it with all of you;

http://bit.ly/18ebTs

this is a video clip that shows you a little about the challenges that emperor penguins have to overcome to successfully nest in antarctica;

http://bit.ly/1b1UoM

and speaking of antarctica, the competition to be "official blogger" for a month-long cruise to antarctica in February 2010 is nearly at an end. it ends at noon EDT 30 September. after rallying to second place last week, i am once again in third place and in need of votes. if you haven't voted, please do so now, and if you have voted for someone else, you can change your vote to help the front runners (hopefully me!!) gain some more momentum. you do have to register your email address to vote, but i can guarantee you that quark expeditions does not use this to distribute spam;

http://bit.ly/En2Ux

speaking of being an official "blogger", i was invited to go on a trip to Manu, Peru, with Kolibri Expeditions as their official "blogger" in late october 2009 -- and you all are invited to come along! already, i have been making preparations (vaccines), and i will be writing about my study schedule next;

http://bit.ly/4EcqbT

if any of you are coming on this trip, please feel free to email me in advance if you wish.

cheers,

GrrlScientist
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/
http://twitter.com/GrrlScientist
http://profile.to/grrlscientist/
Vote to make me official Antarctica blogger: http://bit.ly/En2Ux
Roosting high up a tree somewhere in Central Park, NYC