Category Archives: life

Advice from a professor who almost flunked out

Posted on 1 March 2015 by Tim O'Connell

Sometimes students see their professors as truly gifted brainiacs, and there are certainly some people like that among my faculty colleagues. Most of us, however, are nothing special. What sets us apart really just boils down to two things: interest … Continue reading →

Posted in academics, editorial, life | Tagged academic success, academic warning, academics, advice from professor, dean's list, effective studying, good writing, how to study, taking notes | Leave a comment

Owls don’t just hoot, they also glow

Posted on 27 February 2015 by Tim O'Connell

In preparing for a lecture this week on avian coloration, I had organized my notes around the three main classes of pigments in feathers and the structural colors that result from light scattered from structures on those feathers. At the … Continue reading →

Posted in life | Tagged avian coloration, avian pigmentation, carotenoids, Great Horned Owl, melanins, ornithology, porphyrin, turaco, UV light | 1 Comment

The Partners in Flight databases on Population and Species Assessment

Posted on 21 February 2015 by Tim O'Connell

The Partners in Flight databases were recently updated, and they represent an outstanding resource in understanding distribution and diversity of North American birds. Maintained by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, the databases summarize information on population estimates and the species … Continue reading →

Posted in life | Tagged birding, Boreal Birds, Celebrate Urban Birds, citizen science, conservation, conservation priority, conservation ranking, Handbook of the Birds of the World, ornithology, Partners in Flight, population estimates, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, wildlife | Leave a comment

“Known Biters”

Posted on 11 February 2015 by Tim O'Connell

Originally posted on The Waterthrush Blog:
For a brief time when we were first married, my wife worked at a daycare center. She mentioned one evening that some of the kids had “KB” annotated next to their names on some…

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How will you observe Darwin Day, 2015?

Posted on 11 February 2015 by Tim O'Connell

It’s Charles Darwin’s birthday tomorrow, and people around the world will be celebrating intellectual bravery, perpetual curiosity, and hunger for truth. How will you observe International Darwin Day?

Posted in life | Tagged Charles Darwin, citizen science, critical thinking, evolution, International Darwin Day, natural selection, science | Leave a comment

HBW Alive newsletter – Feb. 2015

Posted on 10 February 2015 by Tim O'Connell

It’s really hard to decide what to feature to advertise the extraordinary content in the Handbook of the Birds of the World, but I’ll try.

Posted in life | Tagged Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Handbook of the Birds of the World, HBW Alive, Magenta Petrel, ornithology, Subalpine Warbler | Leave a comment

Great Backyard Bird Count – December newsletter