#Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

[daily-public-domain]

Day 241: Macro photography of a fly

link

–This image is part of the public domain, meaning you can do anything you want with it! (you could even sell it as a shirt, poster or whatever, no need to credit it!)–

[artfromthefuture]

Homopteran of some kind_2018-06-20-09.07.35 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab Via Flickr: Random Homopteran. Prpobably taken with out 10x modified lens. No notes, darn it.

[usgsbiml]

Andrena cressonii.

Common, nearly ubiquitous.  Tolerates urban areas.  Just like us.

[rjzimmerman]

Animal care technician Kathryn Nassar wears a costume and holds a crane puppet as she interacts with a 2-month-old whooping crane at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)

Excerpt:

Each spring for 12 years, Paula Wang began a temporary position at a government lab in a suburb north of Washington. She was required to remain silent while working and to wear a white suit and hood. The mission was not top-secret, but Wang felt it was urgent all the same; she had to save an endangered species.

Wang was a volunteer in the job, which involved using puppets to feed newborn whooping cranes, one of North America's largest and rarest birds. As the chicks grew closer to their eventual five-foot height, she would escort them on walks and swims. The goal was to make the birds strong but not used to humans; to make them able to survive in the wild, even if they did not come from it.

This effort took place at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md., which for 51 years has been the epicenter of a slow-going effort to rescue the snow-hued cranes from the precipice of extinction by breeding and training birds for release. It's viewed as a model of wildlife conservation, as well as of the sometimes odd approaches such a mission can take.

Funding for the $1.5 million whooping crane propagation program at Patuxent, part of a broader public-private initiative in the United States and Canada, dries up this month. The U.S. Geological Survey, which runs the center, says the original mission of doing research to create a successful breeding program has been fulfilled. The 75-crane captive flock will be moved to other institutions, and breeding will continue at other sites, including at the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin and the Calgary Zoo. Officials say they feel confident the species's recovery will continue.

But the whooping crane program's end is a profound shift at Patuxent, which does plenty of other research but none so central to its identity. News of the closure stunned employees, some of whom have devoted nearly three decades to the program, as well as volunteers such as Wang, who spent years in an intimate experiment to save birds with 7-foot wingspans, sharp yellow-eyed stares and often crotchety characters.

French said a Patuxent planning process in early 2016 envisioned the end of the breeding program in 10 to 15 years. Word that USGS had decided to cut it far sooner, at the close of this fiscal year, rippled this summer across crane-focused Facebook pages and through bird organizations."This is about budget cuts from above, and it is very sad to see," said Mike Parr, president of American Bird Conservancy. "I would suggest this is a very poor example of a place that the federal government should try to save money."

Volunteer Paula Wang feeds a whooping crane chick at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. A stuffed “adult” rests in the background. (Courtesy of Paula Wang)

[wingedjewels]

Osmia aglaia, f, face, Mariposa CA_2017-08-03-11.43 by USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab Via Flickr: More brilliant greens, blues, and purples from the metallic mason bees of western North America. This one (O. aglaia) comes from Yosemite National Park , where Claire Kremen's group has been looking at post burn bee communities in areas of chronic burns. Photograph by Anders Croft. ~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~ All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200 Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all Ye know on earth and all ye need to know " Ode on a Grecian Urn" John Keats You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen: Art Photo Book: Bees: An Up-Close Look at Pollinators Around the World www.amazon.com/Bees-Up-Close-Pollinators-Around-World/dp/... Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Marylandhttp://bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf Basic USGSBIML set up: www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4 Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/collections PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up: ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques: plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo or www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU Excellent Technical Form on Stacking: www.photomacrography.net/ Contact information: Sam Droege sdroege@usgs.gov 301 497 5840

[richardnixonlibrary]

Part Three of our look at King Charles III's first visit to the United States.

7/18/1970  On the last day of then-Prince Charles and Princess Anne's visit, the Prince and David Eisenhower spent the morning touring the Patuxent Center for Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland while Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Tricia Nixon accompanied Princess Anne on a driving tour of Washington, DC. The afternoon's activities included a Washington Senators-California Angels baseball game and a visit to the Phillips Collection art museum. Prince Charles then met with President Nixon in the Oval Office before a private farewell dinner hosted by the Nixons. Following dinner, the Prince and Princess left the White House for a flight from Dulles International Airport to London. (Image: WHPO-3945-03A)

[americasgreatoutdoors]

On a blank canvas of fresh snow, nature tells a story at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland. These marks were left by an airborne predator and its unlucky prey. With sharp eyes and a daring dive, the bird of prey captured its next meal and then pounded the snow with its powerful wings as it pushed up into the sky. Photo by U.S. Geological Survey.

[wetlandwanderer]

In preparation for my first frog watch post, I’d like to post some resources for further education on frog ID since my own knowledge is limited to the regions I work and study in.

A great place to start is the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, they have a pretty comprehensive frog call database for all US states east of the Rockies. They also have comparisons between similar calls between species and quizzes you can take.

https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/frogquiz/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.lookup

Sadly the western US doesn’t have a similar database, but state chapters of FrogWatchUSA often have resources specifically for frog surveys and call ID.

Another good resource is your state’s Department of Natural Resources, which is a great source for information on state wildlife in general, but may also have books for sale for further reading.

[bilgitorbasi-blog]

It helped save whooping cranes from the brink of extinction. Now this program faces its own swan song.

It helped save whooping cranes from the brink of extinction. Now this program faces its own swan song.

Animal care technician Kathryn Nassar wears a costume and holds a crane puppet as she interacts with a 2-month-old whooping crane at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post) Each spring for 12 years, Paula Wang began a temporary position at a government lab in a suburb north of Washington. She was required to remain silent while working and to wear a white suit…

[fenrislorsrai]

Bombus perplexus, m, face, Centre Co., PA_2016-10-20-10.59 by USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab Via Flickr: More Bombus perplexus shots, in this case...males. You can tell they are males because they have 13 rather than 12 antennal segments and the hind legs lack the pollen carrying corbicula (bare area) on the tibia. Lemon yellow though! Specimens from Central Pennyslvania from Laura Russo's study there. Photographs by Kelly Graninger. ~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~ All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200 Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all Ye know on earth and all ye need to know " Ode on a Grecian Urn" John Keats You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen: Art Photo Book: Bees: An Up-Close Look at Pollinators Around the World www.qbookshop.com/products/216627/9780760347386/Bees.html... Basic USGSBIML set up: www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4 PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up: ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques: plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo or www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU Excellent Technical Form on Stacking: www.photomacrography.net/ Contact information: Sam Droege sdroege@usgs.gov 301 497 5840

[artfromthefuture]

mutillid, f,face, Millard county, Utah_2019-10-21-18.36.30 ZS PMax UDR by USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab Via Flickr: Wicked Wasp Week. All week, All wasps. Witchy. Muttilids. Ah, here is one, such a group you would not want to meet if they were 10 feet tall. Check out the tarsal comb on this one from Great Basin National Park in Utah....perhaps used to pick the pieces of its victims out of its teeth. ~~~~~~~~~~{{{{{{0}}}}}}~~~~~~~~~~ All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish. Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200 We Are Made One with What We Touch and See We are resolved into the supreme air, We are made one with what we touch and see, With our heart's blood each crimson sun is fair, With our young lives each spring impassioned tree Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change. - Oscar Wilde You can also follow us on Instagram - account = USGSBIML Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen: Best over all technical resource for photo stacking: www.extreme-macro.co.uk/ Art Photo Book: Bees: An Up-Close Look at Pollinators Around the World: www.amazon.com/Bees-Up-Close-Pollinators-Around-World/dp/... Free Field Guide to Bee Genera of Maryland: bio2.elmira.edu/fieldbio/beesofmarylandbookversion1.pdf Basic USGSBIML set up: www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4 Bees of Maryland Organized by Taxa with information on each Genus www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/collections PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up: ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques: plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo or www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU Excellent Technical Form on Stacking: www.photomacrography.net/ Contact information: Sam Droege sdroege@usgs.gov 301 497 5840

[usgsbiml]

Cyrtepistomus castaneus? From the MAGLEV impact area of Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge and the Beltsville AG Center.  Not sure of my determination here, but it picture books to this weevil.  Picture by Cole Cheng. 

[myplacesproject]

Day 1344: March 20, 2018 Observation Tower, Patuxent Research Refuge Patuxent Research Refuge is a large wildlife refuge originally established by FDR in 1936. There are two separate portions open to the public for wildlife viewing (by permit), the North Tract and South Tract, while the Center Tract is off-limits and reserved for scientific research. The North Tract was formerly land owned by the Department of Defense as part of the nearby Fort Meade. This tower was originally built to observe drilling troops, but today it is primarily used to observe birds on the adjacent Merganser Pond. I did indeed observe many Mergansers. Patuxent Research Refuge, Maryland

[yeshealthplease]

Tick behavior and host choice explains geographical patterns of Lyme disease prevalence

Tick behavior and host choice explains geographical patterns of Lyme disease prevalence

Host-seeking blacklegged tick. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CC0 A new analysis suggests that north-south differences in ticks’ host choice, density, and host-seeking behaviors may explain why Lyme disease is more prevalent in the northeastern U.S. than in the southeast. Howard Ginsberg of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and colleagues…

[typhlonectes]

News of the closure stunned employees, some of whom have devoted nearly three decades to the program.

Each spring for 12 years, Paula Wang began a temporary position at a government lab in a suburb north of Washington. She was required to remain silent while working and to wear a white suit and hood. The mission was not top-secret, but Wang felt it was urgent all the same; she had to save an endangered species.

Wang was a volunteer in the job, which involved using puppets to feed newborn whooping cranes, one of North America’s largest and rarest birds. As the chicks grew closer to their eventual five-foot height, she would escort them on walks and swims. The goal was to make the birds strong but not used to humans; to make them able to survive in the wild, even if they did not come from it.

This effort took place at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md., which for 51 years has been the epicenter of a slow-going effort to rescue the snow-hued cranes from the precipice of extinction by breeding and training birds for release. It’s viewed as a model of wildlife conservation, as well as of the sometimes odd approaches such a mission can take...

“This is about budget cuts from above, and it is very sad to see,” said Mike Parr, president of American Bird Conservancy. “I would suggest this is a very poor example of a place that the federal government should try to save money.”