Michael Nichols and A National Geographic Assignment

Over at Nat Geo there is a fantastic series of images about life on the Serengeti by amazing photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols. and an article showing what it's like to be a field photographer.

In case you don't know about "The Indiana Jones of Photography," as Nick has been dubbed, he has been a Nat Geo photographer since the 90s. The winner of numerous awards, he has been featured in articles for almost every major magazine. In 2008, he was named Nat Geo's Editor at Large.

Here are a few of Nick's photos from this gorgeous Serengeti series.

Thanks Nick for enriching my life with your images!

To see this entire series go here!

To get the cool Nichols App  for your ipad, go here.

To see Nick's 2011 images for "Orphans No More," go here!

If you have a few minutes for an enjoyable young adult sci-fi adventure read, check out my fictional stories over at The Ravens Crossing. They are absolutely free and there are two other talented authors writing stories in the same fictional world. I promise you it's a ton of fun!

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great Sunday.

Art to Build Coral Reefs

Silent Evolution by Jason deCaires Taylor

Nothing excites me more than environmental art. Art that is about the environment but also a positive part of the environment awes me. So, I'm thrilled by the discovery of a fantastic project by Jason deCaires Taylor to build an artistic artificial reef off the coast of Cancun, Mexico. He is using specially engineered, marine-grade cement designed to attract coral and building hundreds of hauntingly beautiful sculptures. Cancun's reefs are dying due to a number of human pressures like pollution, fishing, global warming, and tourism.

Silent Evolution: Jason deCaires Taylor

Jason deCaires Taylor

By providing an artificial reef, Taylor alleviates some of the stress. He provides new places for the fish and corals to live, and a fantastic artificial structure that attracts the tourists away from the natural reefs. The best part for me is seeing the way the fish and corals are already interacting with the art.



Take a few minutes to watch this fantastic Nat. Geo. video. You won't be disappointed. And don't forget to check out The Ravens Crossing for our ongoing tour. Today meet the authors. Tomorrow meet the characters. Next week the YA fantasy stories begin.

Those Funky Monkeys

Photo by Eric Fell

The monkeys are coming out of the woodwork. Okay, well, maybe they are just coming out of the woods. The big animals news of this week over at National Geographic is the rediscovery of the Miller's grizzled languor. This species, thought to be extinct, was rediscovered in the Wehea Forest of Borneo. And, scientists discovered what appears to be not one, but two separate populations of them.

Stephenie Speher reports eleven individuals sighted in one group including thriving youngsters. There is no mention of how many were sighted with the second group. They are temporarily protected by an indigenous group and the local government, but they are surrounded on all sides by logging. 

Photo by Jeremy Holden

And, in Burma, an image of the newly discovered Myanmar Snub Nosed Monkey was captured by Jeremy Holden and his camera trap team. The team, led by Holden and working for Flora and Fauna International, traveled 3000m up into the mountainous rhododendron forests of Myanmar to set their camera traps. They waited months, and made several trips to check traps. They trekked through the jungle in the rain, slept in tilted leaking tents to keep the run off away from their heads. They slept with portions of their bodies submerged in water all night to collect this first image. How did they celebrate? With coffee packets and local cheroots around the camp fire, of course. You can read about the whole adventure here.

Tiny Frogs, Beyonce Horse Flies, and Black-Capped Petrals

Photo courtesy of Christopher Austin, Louisiana State U.

The world's smallest frog, Paedophryne amouensis, was just discovered in Papua New Guinea, measuring 7.7 mm, about the size of a house fly. These tiny little guys live in the leaf litter of the rainforest floor, and, apparently, they are very difficult to capture, as you might imagine. You have to follow your ears to locate them by call, but here's the catch. The calls are so high pitched it's difficult for human ears to hear them.

This little guy beats the world's previous record by just 0.2 mm. The last record holder, Paedocypris progenetica, hails from Southeast Asia. Anyway, all of the tiny Paedophryne species discovered thus far are from Southern Papua New Guinea. The fist species was discovered back in 2010, but was just announced to the public a few days ago.

My first thought was, "What do these little things eat?"  The answer is supremely tiny things like mites, and probably some of the same stuff flies would eat. Yum! You can find more about them over at Nat. Geo.

Photo courtesy of CSIRO Australia

And speaking of flies, I'm betting Beyonce is beyond thrilled to hear a species of Horse Fly has been named in her honor. This species, first discovered in 1981, the year Beyonce was born, has gone nameless for years. That is until Bryan Lessard decided to show "the fun side of taxonomy." He describes the fly as having a gorgeous golden abdomen that he claims "makes it the all time diva of flies." Hence the name, Scapia beyonceae. 

This particular species was discovered in Queensland, Australia, where it is not simply a pest, but also an important pollinator of plants. Anyway, my congratulations to both the diva and the fly. More at Science Daily.

Photo by J. Volques of Grupo Jaragua

And down in the Caribbean, the world's first photos of an endangered Black-capped Petral chick have been recorded by J. Volquez, Grupo Jaragua of the Dominican Republic. I can't seem to stop myself from saying, "Isn't it cute?" This species was once thought extinct back in the late 1800s until reported sightings of the birds at sea began to come in. Finally, in 1963, the first nesting grounds were discovered in the Caribbean. For many years, ornithologists have tried to find out more about this rare and illusive species.

The discovery of new nesting grounds with viable chicks has rekindled excitement. Hopes were not high for the species' survival. Few discoveries about their life cycle have been made since the 60's. You can read more from the source, if you read Spanish, at Grupo Jaragua, or you can visit The Cornell Lab of Ornithology for English.