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John (bird whisperer)

John (bird whisperer)

I post a lot about birds, nature, and politics, along with some other interests. Also active on Flickr and Twitter, and I have a blog.
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Xyelid sawfly larva
Xyelid sawfly larva
Shagbark Hickory catkins and leaves
Shagbark Hickory bark
Black Birch
yesterday from Flickr - Comment - Share
U.S. infrastructure spending has plummeted since 2008 How did this happen? States and local governments are the biggest part of the story here. They’ve historically provided the vast majority of spending for roads, highways and bridges, and they’ve been pulling back on spending since 2008 as a result of the economic downturn and requirements to... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
U.S. infrastructure spending has plummeted since 2008 How did this happen? States and local governments are the biggest part of the story here. They’ve historically provided the vast majority of spending for roads, highways and bridges, and they’ve been pulling back on spending since 2008 as a result of the economic downturn and requirements to balance their budgets. California’s transportation spending declined by 31 percent from 2007 to 2009, for instance. Texas’s fell by 8 percent. At the same time, Congress hasn’t filled in the gap. There was a one-time $46 billion infusion of transportation spending in the stimulus bill. But that wasn’t enough to offset the drop at the state and local level. Meanwhile, the most recent highway bill out of Congress kept federal spending at current levels rather than increasing it. The big question is whether Congress should be spending more — and if so, how much? We’ve seen various reports arguing that America’s infrastructure is in dire need of an upgrade. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the nation’s bridges a C in its 2013 report card, and said that full repairs would cost $20 billion per year over the next decade, a 60 percent boost in spending. These estimates don’t always take a full account of costs and benefits, but the I-5 collapse will no doubt give these groups more ammo. Another consideration, meanwhile, is that Congress can borrow money for remarkably low rates right now. And experts say it’s typically cheaper to fix roads and bridges early on rather than wait until they get truly decrepit. That suggests now could be an apt time to invest in repairs, rather than putting them off until later. Top: All infrastructure spending; bottom: spending on highways and roads.
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smithsonianmag: Photo of the Day: Yosemite Falls Photo by: Kyle Norman (Kingston, Ontario, Canada); Yosemite Valley, California - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
smithsonianmag: Photo of the Day: Yosemite Falls Photo by: Kyle Norman (Kingston, Ontario, Canada); Yosemite Valley, California
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Whey Too Much: Greek Yogurt’s Dark Side For every three or four ounces of milk, Chobani and other companies can produce only one ounce of creamy Greek yogurt. The rest becomes acid whey. It’s a thin, runny waste product that can’t simply be dumped. Not only would that be illegal, but whey decomposition is toxic to the natural environment, robbing... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
Whey Too Much: Greek Yogurt’s Dark Side For every three or four ounces of milk, Chobani and other companies can produce only one ounce of creamy Greek yogurt. The rest becomes acid whey. It’s a thin, runny waste product that can’t simply be dumped. Not only would that be illegal, but whey decomposition is toxic to the natural environment, robbing oxygen from streams and rivers. That could turn a waterway into what one expert calls a “dead sea,” destroying aquatic life over potentially large areas. Spills of cheese whey, a cousin of Greek yogurt whey, have killed tens of thousands of fish around the country in recent years. The scale of the problem—or opportunity, depending on who you ask—is daunting. The $2 billion Greek yogurt market has become one of the biggest success stories in food over the past few years and total yogurt production in New York nearly tripled between 2007 and 2013. New plants continue to open all over the country. The Northeast alone, led by New York, produced more than 150 million gallons of acid whey last year, according to one estimate. And as the nation’s hunger grows for strained yogurt, which produces more byproduct than traditional varieties, the issue of its acid runoff becomes more pressing. Greek yogurt companies, food scientists, and state government officials are scrambling not just to figure out uses for whey, but how to make a profit off of it. (Read more at Modern Farmer)
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oupacademic: Eliza Johnson stayed out of the public eye as First Lady to President Johnson, partly due to Mary Lincoln’s poor public opinion and partly due to grief and illness. But “her invisibility should not be taken for inactivity.” When Eliza and Andrew first met in their teens, Eliza tutored him and helped him overcome his lack of formal... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
oupacademic: Eliza Johnson stayed out of the public eye as First Lady to President Johnson, partly due to Mary Lincoln’s poor public opinion and partly due to grief and illness. But “her invisibility should not be taken for inactivity.”  When Eliza and Andrew first met in their teens, Eliza tutored him and helped him overcome his lack of formal education. In their White House years, “she clipped articles she thought he would see, shrewdly separating the good news which she gave at the end of each day, from the bad, which he got the next morning. One historian concluded that Andrew Johnson “may have consulted his wife and daughters more than he did any fellow statesman.”   Facts from First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Michelle Obama by Betty Boyd Caroli. C-SPAN is exploring the influence of First Ladies in its new series Image: Mrs. Andrew Johnson engraved by J.C. Buttre, published 1883. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.  
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breakingnews: DOT: Washington bridge could be out for months Skagit Valley Herald: It may be months before a replacement bridge can be built across the Skagit River in Washington, the state Department of Transportation spokeswoman said today. The bridge collapsed Thursday, sending two vehicles into the river. All three occupants suffered minor... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
breakingnews: DOT: Washington bridge could be out for months Skagit Valley Herald: It may be months before a replacement bridge can be built across the Skagit River in Washington, the state Department of Transportation spokeswoman said today. The bridge collapsed Thursday, sending two vehicles into the river. All three occupants suffered minor injuries. A truck marked as an oversized load struck several trusses on the I-5 bridge near Mount Vernon, Wash., before it collapsed Thursday, a Washington State Patrol trooper said.  So far, the State Patrol does not know if the man was speeding. His name is not being released because he has not been charged with a crime. The incident remains under investigation, Francis said. “He gave a voluntary blood draw, and it appears he will be released after he is done with his statements and interviews,” Francis said at about 1 a.m. Friday. The bridge was rated in 2000 and 2010 as functionally obsolete, or  outdated, state Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kris Olsen said. Photo: The Skagit River Bridge on Interstate 5 between Burlington and Mount Vernon, Wash., collapsed Thursday just after 7 p.m. PT. (Colette Weeks / Skagit Valley Herald)
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shanechabot: From the Depths Nescopeck State Park 2011 Photographed by: me  - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
shanechabot: From the Depths Nescopeck State Park 2011 Photographed by: me 
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Friday Weird Science: Can a slug live in your stomach? | Neurotic Physiology - http://scientopia.org/blogs...
Friday Weird Science: Can a slug live in your stomach? | Neurotic Physiology
yesterday from Bookmarklet - Comment - Share
"It's always fun to hear about the rumors that were going around back in the day. Like, now, I'm sure people hear all sorts of rumors about their friend who knows a guy who ran from the cops over the state line or something. But historically? Well, different times, different rumors. And apparently the one going around in 1865 was that everyone knew this guy who knew a guy who...swallowed a slug and had it come out alive." - John (bird whisperer) from Bookmarklet
3 more comments
With all of the true gross random things that can already happen, it seems so odd that we go out of our way to invent more. Also, it seems like the whole 'feed them to animals then dissect' step was wholly unnecessary for research, since he could've just started with a jar of stomach acid :/ - Jennifer Dittrich
Oh help, I hope not. *hides post* - Heleninstitches
He probably would have had to kill something to get the stomach acid, unless he mixed something up with a similar pH. - John (bird whisperer)
True, but maybe not so many? I'm guessing he wanted to be thorough, to narrow down at which point there's no chance of survival. - Jennifer Dittrich
Modern Farmer | Whey Too Much: Greek Yogurt’s Dark Side - http://modernfarmer.com/2013...
Modern Farmer | Whey Too Much: Greek Yogurt’s Dark Side
yesterday from Bookmarklet - Comment - Share
"Twice a day, seven days a week, a tractor trailer carrying 8,000 gallons of watery, cloudy slop rolls past the bucolic countryside, finally arriving at Neil Rejman’s dairy farm in upstate New York. The trucks are coming from the Chobani plant two hours east of Rejman’s Sunnyside Farms, and they’re hauling a distinctive byproduct of the Greek yogurt making process—acid whey. For every three or four ounces of milk, Chobani and other companies can produce only one ounce of creamy Greek yogurt. The rest becomes acid whey. It’s a thin, runny waste product that can’t simply be dumped. Not only would that be illegal, but whey decomposition is toxic to the natural environment, robbing oxygen from streams and rivers. That could turn a waterway into what one expert calls a “dead sea,” destroying aquatic life over potentially large areas. Spills of cheese whey, a cousin of Greek yogurt whey, have killed tens of thousands of fish around the country in recent years. The scale of the problem—or... more... - John (bird whisperer) from Bookmarklet
2 more comments
"The root of the whey problem is the very process that gives Greek yogurt its high protein content and lush mouthfeel. Unlike traditional yogurt, Greek yogurt is strained after cultures have been added to milk. In home kitchens, this can be done with a cloth. Greek yogurt companies still throw around the term “strained,” but in reality industrial operations typically remove the whey... more... - John (bird whisperer)
Make delicious brunost :) - Eivind from Android
I wonder if that would work as well with acid whey as with cheese whey. - John (bird whisperer)
randomactsofchaos: sunrise by ~Alterphotography good morning tumblr - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
randomactsofchaos: sunrise by ~Alterphotography good morning tumblr
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joelzimmer: Jorge Bushwick, Brooklyn I met up with fellow photographer Jorge on Friday to explore some railyards and catch up about life and photography. - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
joelzimmer: Jorge Bushwick, Brooklyn I met up with fellow photographer Jorge on Friday to explore some railyards and catch up about life and photography.
yesterday from Tumblr - Comment - Share
Collonges-la-Rouge
THEY'RE OPENING!
Entrance
Babies
Owl, Barred-IMG_3615 copy
Poppy Field
Yellow-rumped warbler
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yesterday from Flickr favorites - Comment - Share
alittlecoconuttart: STUDY: Employers Were Cutting Workers’ Hours Long Before Obamacare Was Around By Sy Mukherjee on May 23, 2013 at 1:40 pm Obamacare critics have been pointing to several companies’ claims that the law is forcing them to cut their part-time workers’ hours as proof that the health law is bad for businesses and employees. But a new... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
alittlecoconuttart: STUDY: Employers Were Cutting Workers’ Hours Long Before Obamacare Was Around By Sy Mukherjee on May 23, 2013 at 1:40 pm Obamacare critics have been pointing to several companies’ claims that the law is forcing them to cut their part-time workers’ hours as proof that the health law is bad for businesses and employees. But a new report finds that employers were cutting health benefits and workers’ hours long before Obamacare was even an idea. According to data compiled by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), large employers have increasingly been turning to part-time workers for their labor. Between 2007 and 2011, the percentage of workers employed in part-time jobs increased from 16.7 percent to 22.2 percent of the work force. That means that workers’ hours have also been declining, since using more part-time workers lets companies scale back on how many hours those employees can work. But these companies’ cuts haven’t been limited to workers’ hours — they’ve been cutting back on part-time employees’ health benefits, too. During the same four year period, part-time workers experienced a 15.7 percent decline in the likelihood of having health coverage through their jobs. As the graph demonstrates, that trend existed even before the recession, and has only gotten worse since then. Cost-cutting at the expense of employees’ benefits and wages certainly isn’t new behavior for large companies. Even employers with full time workers have been shifting the cost of medical care onto their employees through the increasing use of high-deductible and bare bones health plans — something that industry experts expect to continue. Over the last decade, average annual health insurance premiums rose by approximately 97 percent — but workers’ contributions to those premiums increased by an outsized 102 percent in the same time span. This reflects the dangers of a health care system in which employers are the major providers of Americans’ health coverage. Recent history suggests that companies would have continued slashing workers’ benefits and hours anyway — Obamacare has just given them a convenient excuse.
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Pair of doves One of the amphoras was decorated with a pair of doves pecking at grapes on a tendril. The researchers note the mosaic and public building where it was found would not have had any religious purpose, though they aren’t sure what the building was used for. Credit: Yael Yolovitch, Israel Antiquities Authority (via Image Gallery:... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
Pair of doves One of the amphoras was decorated with a pair of doves pecking at grapes on a tendril. The researchers note the mosaic and public building where it was found would not have had any religious purpose, though they aren’t sure what the building was used for. Credit: Yael Yolovitch, Israel Antiquities Authority (via Image Gallery: Stunning Byzantine Mosaic | LiveScience)
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tb0t: one of my favorites… i need to development my film. - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
tb0t: one of my favorites… i need to development my film.
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revereche: alex—stein: sinobug: Slug Caterpillar (Cup Moth, Prolimacodes sp., Limacodidae) by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr. Pu’er, Yunnan, China There are many other amazing Limacodid caterpillars from China (Beijing and Yunnan) to see in my Flickr set, Limacodid (Cup Moth) Caterpillars. View the best of other Flickr members images of... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
revereche: alex—stein: sinobug: Slug Caterpillar (Cup Moth, Prolimacodes sp., Limacodidae) by Sinobug (itchydogimages) on Flickr. Pu’er, Yunnan, China There are many other amazing Limacodid caterpillars from China (Beijing and Yunnan) to see in my Flickr set, Limacodid (Cup Moth) Caterpillars. View the best of other Flickr members images of Limacodid caterpillars in the Flickr gallery, Nettle/Slug Caterpillars of the Limacodidae (Cup Moths). Slug caterpillars are so cute.
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BBC News - Richard III buried in 'hastily dug untidy grave' http://bbc.in/10Q24Yq
BBC News - Richard III buried in 'hastily dug untidy grave' http://bbc.in/10Q24Yq
yesterday from Advanced Tweets - Comment - Share
Untitled - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
Untitled
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shortformblog: From the Seattle Times twitter page, another view of the bridge collapse in  Washington. Check out more of the Times’ coverage over this way. (via @BreakingTweets) - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
shortformblog: From the Seattle Times twitter page, another view of the bridge collapse in  Washington. Check out more of the Times’ coverage over this way. (via @BreakingTweets)
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Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-throated Vireo
Tree Swallow
Magicicada Teneral
Great White Egret
Just a minute - here's a linnet :)
Hummingbird Perched in the Garden_RGB7470
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yesterday from Flickr favorites - Comment - Share
malformalady: The Western Sand Dollar (Dendraster excentricus) A small disc-shaped marine animal closely related to the sea urchin. They are from the class of marine animals known as Echinoids, spiny skinned creatures. When exposed to a steady flow of water, they gather in groups, forming rows in the sand. Because the shape of a sand dollar is a... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
malformalady: The Western Sand Dollar (Dendraster excentricus) A small disc-shaped marine animal closely related to the sea urchin. They are from the class of marine animals known as Echinoids, spiny skinned creatures. When exposed to a steady flow of water, they gather in groups, forming rows in the sand. Because the shape of a sand dollar is a hydrofoil, this draws particles of food closer in to their mouths during feeding, a benefit enhanced by the alignment of many individuals together into a communal feeding group.
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indypendenthistory: Installing a sign in Alice, Texas, 1944 - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
indypendenthistory: Installing a sign in Alice, Texas, 1944
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Loose Feathers #393 - http://dendroica.blogspot.com/2013...
Loose Feathers #393
yesterday from A DC Birding Blog - Comment - Share
ichthyologist: Hermit Crabs Hermit crabs have a long, soft abdomen, which must be protected with a shell of another species. Since shells are a limited resource, there is vigorous competition for them. Several crabs have been observed to gang up on a hermit crab with a desirable shell, prying it out, and then fighting over the vacated shell.... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
ichthyologist: Hermit Crabs Hermit crabs have a long, soft abdomen, which must be protected with a shell of another species. Since shells are a limited resource, there is vigorous competition for them. Several crabs have been observed to gang up on a hermit crab with a desirable shell, prying it out, and then fighting over the vacated shell. (Pagurus bernhardus) Arnstein Rønning on Wikimedia Commons
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Time for Cicadas! http://wp.me/p35aO-2QZ via @bug_girl
Time for Cicadas! http://wp.me/p35aO-2QZ via @bug_girl
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Not sure what this is http://flic.kr/p/epuWWH
Not sure what this is http://flic.kr/p/epuWWH
Thursday from Advanced Tweets - Comment - Share
Wow. Weird. - Spidra Webster
3 more comments
Huh. A gall or fungus? - Jennifer Dittrich
I think a gall is most likely, but I don't really know. - John (bird whisperer)
Is this the damage stink bugs do? - Janet:#TeamMonique
According to a Flickr user, it's an oak apple gall, one of these two species: http://bugguide.net/node.... - John (bird whisperer)
Icebergs and rough sea, expedition to South Georgia. Photo by Pascal Cocco. (via National Geographic Magazine - NGM.com) - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
Icebergs and rough sea, expedition to South Georgia. Photo by Pascal Cocco. (via National Geographic Magazine - NGM.com)
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tuesday-johnson: ca. 1860-1900’s, [cabinet card collage of a women scolding the held head of another woman], Carl v. Gedde  via Luminous Lint, from the private collection of Laddy Kite, LL/47892  I wonder if the other woman’s head talked back. Also, the smile makes it extra creepy. - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
tuesday-johnson: ca. 1860-1900’s, [cabinet card collage of a women scolding the held head of another woman], Carl v. Gedde  via Luminous Lint, from the private collection of Laddy Kite, LL/47892  I wonder if the other woman’s head talked back. Also, the smile makes it extra creepy.
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A team of researchers from North Carolina State University published research this week looking at how the German cockroach Blattella germanica was able to adapt so quickly when surrounded by tasty insecticide. Sweet baits became popular for roach control in the mid-1980s, but several years later scientists began noticing a new behavioral trait:... - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
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random-ramblings-of-me: Mesange charbonniere 05 by ~raskal27600 - http://dendroica.tumblr.com/post...
random-ramblings-of-me: Mesange charbonniere 05 by ~raskal27600
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