Pam Monahan Got Some New Pictures Of HK, More Screen Captures from the Okeanos Explorer Deep-sea Exploration

Pam Monahan has posted some new pictures of HK that she took today. He looks so handsome!

Here's some more s'caps from the Okeanos Explorer. These are also from Tuesday 8/14:

Squid:

Octopus hanging out under a ledge:

Zoomed in some on the same Octopus:

Zoomed in a lot on the same Octopus. It looks like an alien face...

Bamboo Coral:

This is a mat of coral:

They zoomed in on the mat of coral. There's also a squat lobster in this s'cap.

I thought this coral was so pretty against the dark background:

Here's another toad fish.

And they called this a flatfish. Is that another way to refer to a flounder...

Bald Eagle Alaska Goes On An Adventure, Nanticoke River Bald Eagles, "Earthflight" Miniseries Schedule, More Screen Captures From The Okeanos Explorer Deep-sea Exploration

A glove trained Bald Eagle named Alaska went on an adventure. She got loose when she was spooked by a screech of gulls. (Screech is a collective noun for a group of gulls.) But she returned to her handler for some fish! Take a look at the picture -- that's a huge Bald Eagle!

You can google Nanticoke River to see where this story takes place. It's near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. This news article is about Bald Eagles in that area.

I mentioned in a previous post about the Miniseries "Earthflight" that will be airing on PBS starting in September. This recent article shows the schedule -- where the filming takes place and what birds are involved.

More s'caps from the Okeanos Explorer deep-sea exploration that just finished up. These pictures were taken on Tuesday 8/14 on the SE wall of Oceanographer Canyon.

Paramuricea Coral and Black Coral.

Look at the difference in the Paramuricea Coral in the next two pictures. That's fishing line laying on it. You can see the damage done to this coral by the fishing line. I've seen baby birds on nest cams that are tangled in fishing line. I've seen pictures of birds with fishing line tangled around them. Birds can lose a foot from tangled fishing line cutting off the circulation. I've seen birds with fish hooks stuck in them. And I read a story about the rescue of a bird that was in a tree hanging upside down from fishing line. If it hadn't been spotted, it would have died. I'll say it again: Please properly dispose of your fishing line!

Paramuricea Coral and Anthomastus

This is some type of Sponge.

And a closer look, where you can see a shrimp is making this sponge its home.

This is a Glass Sponge on the lower left. It looks like a squat lobster is inside, you can just see what looks like a pincher inside it. I think that's Bamboo Coral at the top...

I saw a few of these red sea stars over the few days that I watched the exploration. (I think this is a Bat Star.)

Dinner time! I think they said that was a squid being eaten.

Look at how well this Toad Fish is camouflaged.

They zoomed in on the same fish. This is a face that only a mother could love!

Pam Monahan's New Pictures of Bald Eagle HK, Location Update for Bald Eagle Camellia, Bee-killing Pesticide, O'Hare Airport's Project Herd, More S'Caps From The Okeanos Explorer

Pam Monahan has gotten some new pictures of Bald Eagle HK! He looks so good! He is in his 5th year (he's 4 years old). His whites are looking very white! This is Azalea's brother from the same nest, same year. So, if anyone ever spots her again, she should look very similar.

Reese has posted an update for Bald Eagle Camellia. He's keeping to the same general area, but not staying in one place...

There is a bee-killing pesticide that has been found in garden store plants. There is a huge reduction in honey bee populations due to a recent occurrence called Colony Collapse Disorder. Something is happening to bees similar to how DDT harmed birds. Bees are so important! Read this article and make sure you aren't contributing to the problem with the plants you buy.

O'Hare Airport has found a way to put nature to work. I wish Norfolk International Airport would find a way to coexist with the NBG Bald Eagles!

Here are some more pictures from the Okeanos Explorer. I took these s'caps on Tuesday:

This starfish reminds me of John Travolta...

Three things here: Yellow Coral, Sea Spider, and a Brittle Star.

Here's a closer look at the Sea Spider. The scientists were speculating that it was eating whatever that white substance is. (I'm not sure what it is. The scientists might have known/said what it was. But if so, I didn't catch it.) They said the Sea Spider was either eating it or kissing it... They were funny!

This Brittle Star is hanging in there! Is this called, "Hang Five"?

More Screen Captures From The Okeanos Explorer

I'm just going to post some pictures tonight from watching the Okeanos Explorer. These are s'caps I took yesterday while they were looking at the SE wall of Oceanographer Canyon. Tomorrow is the last day to watch the deep-sea exploration. I'm going to try to correctly identify what's in these pictures...

These are both Anthomastus, with the one on the bottom right being in the withdrawn state.

There are a bunch of Bivalves hanging out on this ledge.

Look at how little but fierce this Squat Lobster is!

Black coral with a Squat Lobster associate.

This Spiny Crab was walking along and using its pinchers to grab silt and put it in its mouth. In this picture, you can see its right pincher is moving a fist-full of silt to its mouth... (Um, it's facing left in case you can't tell...)

Here's another ledge of Bivalves with an Octopus hanging out. I never realized how cute Octopus are!

A closer s'cap of the cutie!

One of the scientists asked them to zoom in on this Barnacle hanging off of one of the Bivalves. And I was all ho-hum... But then they zoomed in and I could see the feathery cirria fanned out -- pretty cool!

This is a different spiny crab. I thought they looked pretty neat.

Dogfight Between an Osprey and a Bald Eagle, Bald Eagles in Ohio, More Screen Captures From The Deep-sea Exploration on the Okeanos Explorer

Here's an interesting story about a dogfight between an Osprey and a Bald Eagle. 

Bald Eagles are making a comeback in Ohio.

OK, time for more pictures from the deep-sea exploration. These are the last of the s'caps from Sunday... But... I've got a bunch more from yesterday and today. So, I'll just keep on with my normal post and then I'll put s'caps at the end... If you see the two red laser dots in any of my s'caps, they are used for measuring, with the dots being 4 inches apart. The last day of the exploration is Friday, so if you haven't been able to watch it so far, time is running out!

Anemones and coral on a rock.

This red crab is eating a Ctenophore (Comb Jelly)

The scientists were really excited when they saw this purplish coral. My favorite color is purple, so I liked it too. There's a shrimp on the right and I'm not sure what the translucent thing with dark blobs was. It was moving...

This Cup Sponge is hosting a Squat Lobster and a Brittle Star. There's a Red Crab in this shot too.

How cool is this?!?!?! A Sea Spider! I didn't know that there were spiders that live underwater. I wonder how closely they are related to land dwelling spiders, or if they only have that name due to the resemblance...

Ha! Photo bomb!

Doesn't this look unreal? Like, it's just too perfect...

Here's a Shrimp hanging out on some Coral.

It's impossible to find a rock that isn't hosting some sort of life...

I'm not seeing as many fish as I had expected...

At the end of the day, they bring all of the equipment back onboard the Okeanos Explorer. In the center of the bottom left quadrant is a piece of the equipment that they are hoisting out of the water.

This big block is another piece that goes into the water. I believe this piece contains the lights and cameras.

This is the last of my s'caps from Sunday. Tomorrow, I'll start with Tuesday's s'caps...