Holidays !

I´m on holiday this week and on the first week of July.
Tomorrow I´ll take a short trip northwards, to the coast to visit a friend.
(BTW: Invitations welcome...:) )
And I´ve ordered a new camera today (guess...) and am soooooooooooooooo doubtful whether that was a good decision, I´ve been terribly nervous all day.

Just in case you´ve got too much money: Canon is promoting a cashback action at the moment: http://canon2008promotions.onlinerebates.com/

Listening to...

...Jason Mraz.
Funny: Geek in the Pink
and Wordplay

Just for fun

The JCB* song by Nizlopi

*for the german-speakers who -like me- don´t know what a JCB is: JCB is a company, "one of the leading manufacturers of digging and earthmoving equipment".

I love LEO :).

BTW, I also like listening to Jason Mraz at the moment, esp. "The remedy".
The "I´m yours" video (Youtube) reminds me a lot of my working holidays in Thailand, Greece, Turkey, Australia and Costa Rica.
I don´t think there´s a really good Translation for "Fernweh" (Leo says Wanderlust / itchy feet), "Fernweh is a longing, an aching for the faraway, the painful longing to be faraway".

Interested in Nature Photography?

As a subscriber and keen reader of the "BBC Wildlife Magazine" I particularly enjoyed the "masterclasses" on photography.
These are also available online: http://www.bbcwildlifemagazine.com/masterclasses.asp

Just spotted them on the website where I was originally looking for ideas on what to do on the "volunteer day", where the animal-protection club I´m a member of will present itself.
If anyone has got suggestions, `specially for kid-activities : please let me know!
I thought about preparing insect hotels, rodent hideaways or dog-cookies, but I´m afraid that would be too time-consuming.

Year of the frog !

Though I´m anything but an amphibian-expert I have encountered so many fascinating species and individuals on travels, in zoos and at home, that it makes me extremely sad to see that they´re disappearing at frightening speed.
(The reasons being rather interesting, from a scientific point of view).
I took the above picture of the famous red-eyed treefrog during a night in "the swamp" at the biological Staion "La Selva" in Costa Rica.
Nowadays I sometimes catch frogs between the flower-pots in the greenhouses and try to relocate them to better places - life changes but some patterns remain :).
(I even caught a newt the other day, my highlight of the week)

Click here if you´re interested in Frogs :

Frogs matter. Jump in!

And once again I realize that this world appears tob be rather small : the photo on the linked site was taken by Richard Gibson. Who was my boss while I worked at the herpetology department in Jersey Zoo/the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust...

An interesting site for the german-speakers: http://www.kaulquappe.de/

Effects of Artificial Roosts for Frugivorous Bats on Seed Dispersal in a Neotropical Forest Pasture Mosaic

Very Interesting Publication about bats by my "ex-boss" Detlev Kelm (IZW, Costa Rica) in "Conservation Biology" - Congratulations !

DETLEV H. KELM, KERSTIN R. WIESNER, OTTO von HELVERSEN (2008)
Effects of Artificial Roosts for Frugivorous Bats on Seed Dispersal in a Neotropical Forest Pasture Mosaic
doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00925.x
Link to Abstract

Wie Fledermäuse tropische Wälder aufforsten

Naturenews: Artificial bat roosts could re-seed the tropics

Days off...

lifted my spirits!
Hurra !