bear catching salmon in Alaska Science and Art Zoology 

Photographer’s Adventures with Grizzly Bears

Up and coming wildlife photographer Max Goldberg describes his visit to Katmai National Park in Alaska to photograph grizzly bears. Writing and Photography by Max Goldberg  After an eight-hour plane ride from Chicago, and a day to get over the jet lag, the first stop for my father and I on our week-and-a-half trip to Alaska was Brooks Lodge. Brooks Lodge is a camp in the heart of the Katmai National Park, and it is famous for two things: fishing and bears. Upon getting off the float plane that got…

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The author’s all-time favorite image of the Aurora (Photo courtesy of Antti Pietikainen, www.theaurorazone.com) Astronomy and Astrophysics Science and Art 

Aurora Borealis: Myths, Legends, Science

What causes the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights? Where can you see this amazing natural phenomenon? What did our ancestors think the aurora was? By Alistair McLean Alistair McLean is the Managing Director of The Aurora Zone, a company that specializes in holidays searching for the Northern Lights. He has seen the aurora borealis more times than he can count and never fails to be enthralled by its beauty. In the late 1980’s, a group of musicians calling themselves 10,000 Maniacs penned a song called “Planned Obsolescence.” The lyrics suggested…

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Hummingbird by Steven Spence Biology Zoology 

Amazing Hummingbirds: Dancing in the Air

Are you wondering how a hummingbird flies? The flight skills of these tiny birds put our airplanes and helicopters to shame. By Steven Spence Dancing in the Air A hummingbird puts fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to shame. Not only can it hover, it can also fly forward, backwards, sideways, and even upside down! During a mating display, the male Anna’s Hummingbird can accelerate up to 385 body lengths (g-force 10) per second during a dive. A Peregrine falcon dives at only 200 body lengths per second, and a Mig-25 fighter…

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Male and female European green woodpeckers (Steven Spence) Environment Zoology 

Yaffle: Meet the European Green Woodpecker

By Steven Spence “Yaffle” was one of the English folk names given to the European green woodpecker (German Grünspecht; Latin Picus viridis) due to its distinctive, laughing call. The European green woodpecker spends most of its time foraging on the ground instead of pecking holes in trees as most other woodpecker species do. The bird primarily eats ants because its tongue is well adapted for this, being 10cm long and sticky (see this short video for a view of the bird’s impressive tongue). This woodpecker’s tongue is so long, in…

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Red Kite (Steven Spence) Biology Environment Science and Art Zoology 

Wild Red Kite: Red and Deadly

Photography and Text by Steven Spence This is a wild red kite (German: Roter Milan; Latin Milvus milvus ), which lives mainly in Germany, Poland, France and Spain, but is seen in other parts of Europe. Black kites (German: Schwarzer Milan; Milvus migrans) are more widespread and more often encountered. Red Kite Population and Range Estimates suggest there are approximately only 19,000 to 25,000 breeding pairs of red kites in all of Europe (~12,000 in Germany). Thus, today’s photo is a relatively special treat. The population of black kites is…

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Partial Solar Eclipse March 2015 (Steven Spence) Astronomy and Astrophysics Environment Science and Art 

Solar Eclipse from Stuttgart, Germany

  On March 20, 2015, people across Europe, northern and eastern Asia, and northern and western Africa were treated to the best view of a partial solar eclipse. Steven Spence, a member of EH Science’s Contributors Community, was fortunate to witness this special celestial event, and today he shares with us his experience of photographing it. Don’t miss Steven’s other photos, including Winter Bees, First Visitors. Where I live in Germany we were lucky with the weather and had clear skies for the partial solar eclipse, and I found a…

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