Literally said out loud, to myself "lock in, your only task for the afternoon is writing tomorrow's lecture, yet it's 5 PM and you've not even started because you're too busy birding" Got up to move to a room without windows and there on the feeder, my first Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the year

Me to me: you are not allowed to take any more mediocre warbler videos until you have processed and posted all your photos from the last two weeks of birding me:

When I moved to the edge of a 0.4 acre urban park, my goal was getting the eBird hotspot to 100 species (up from 92). It took me a few months, but the park's now at 112 species and I've personally seen 102 of them.

Also in the backyard park: a friendly Black-throated Green Warbler I'd previously seen both Orange-crowned and Black-throated Green in the county this year, but both times I drove to them. Now I have them on my walking list, which means all 8 warblers I've seen in CBus this year I've seen on foot!

When I checked my #TenMinMerlin this morning, my first thought was "yay, it finally ID'd my local crows!" then "WAIT an Orange-crowned Warbler???" never before reported in my backyard park, so I had to find two hours finding it in real life only my 4th in Ohio ever, first for my yard list!

Remember kids, you don't have to actually be good at something you consider a hobby (I mean this with absolute sincerity)

White-throated Sparrow here to remind you that sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses and if there's no roses around, don't let that stop you #birds

the northern waterthrush's latin name is parkesia novaboracensis so i was like what place is that referring to and it turns out it's ny, but the latin name for york (the og in england) was eboracum?? it became "york" when the vikings came. the etymological history of the uk is so interesting

Try birding, it can be an incredibly affordable hobby to go outside and enjoy birds! A few months to years in....

Taking a bunch of bird photos: 😀 Sorting a bunch of bird photos: 😐 Editing a bunch of bird photos: 🤢 Sharing a bunch of bird photos: 😀

at least you tried dot gif [Hooded Warbler today]

While I filmed this Swainson's Warbler I had a tickle in my throat that I was trying to choke back so I didn't cough in the video But then the warbler seemed to be doing the same thing too? #birds

If you've not tried to photograph a Swainson's Warbler on their breeding territory, you may not realize why I'm this elated. Last year we heard him close by for literally an hour and we (professional bird people) couldn't spot him. Today he was meters away, yet buried sooo deep: 🪶

Today I was hanging out with birders who are legitimately awesome at bird photography (like, did professional photography work) Anyway, enjoy the first video I got of this Swainson's Warbler, the first I've ever gotten on camera. Can you tell I was a little bit excited?

We got soaked to the bone and also a tree fell in the woods behind us as the winds kicked up and really spooked us But also we saw so many warblers and got our first Swainson's Warbler photos ever (a first for all three of us)

But also I did a #TenMinMerlin at my usual time in the Appalachian forest along the Ohio River (at the Kentucky border) And I just want to say "I've seen the future, Central and Northern Ohioans, and it is absolutely glorious"

Couldn't do a legit #TenMinMerlin today because I left at 6AM to go birding in southern Ohio Here's the pre-dawn (5:30 AM) situation in the neighborhood though. The "Swainson's Thrush" was a single nocturnal flight note and I won't pretend I know those, but it seems too early in the spring

He's an extremely nice guy and I love him very much #birds

Last year I listened to a Swainson's Warbler (my lifer) for almost an hour and only got a fleeting glance, no photo. Did a bit better today, in the same territory so I'm guessing it's the same bird

Why'd they have to use a crow to illustrate this headline when I'm already extremely anxious that the loud youth are causing my neighbor crows' nest to fail

People tried to scam insurance by dressing up as a bear and wrecking luxury cars. "Investigators then took the video to biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to also look at the video. The biologists said, 'it was clearly a human in a bear suit.'" abc7.com/post/3-south...

I get bummed when my #TenMinMerlin gets a new species for the year before I do But luckily today I was in the bathroom getting ready for work and the Pine Warbler was close enough to the house that I heard it then raced to my windowsill to make sure Merlin picked it up haha

This is how my day has gone

Migration rocks so fucking much I posted this on Wednesday and I'm now up to 8 species #7 Louisiana Waterthrush #8 Pine Warbler #9 Northern Yellow Warbler Expecting to double the list tomorrow, as a friend's taking pity on carless me and driving me down to the mountains for a warbler blitz

Can I submit an entire song www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtZI...

we incubatin' now, c'mon eggs give me baby crow neighbors

My local eBird reviewer messaged me that they've been trying to locate a Fish Crow nest in this region for years. What are the chances that the first one would be visible out the bedroom window of an ornithologist working on a project about historical breeding records? Lol

Oops forgot to post my #TenMinMerlin from this morning (or technically yesterday morning now that it's after midnight) And it was an especially fun one because I got my first warbler of the year!

News to me that eBird now accepts videos as long as they're under 1 GB, and you can add up to 10 per species for checklist. Just absolutely spamming eBird with crummy crow videos right now (on "unlisted" checklists that I'll make public when the crows are safe)

I have deleted the "weird crow" videos which local bird record reviewers are telling me is the first confirmed record of Fish Crows breeding in the area to protect them from getting overwhelmed by too many birders

Doomscrolling? Why not take a short break and watch some nice White-tailed Deer browsing. Unclench your jaw, take a free deep breaths, pretend you're a deer who can't read the news every evening

Louisiana Waterthrushes were one of the few warblers that I should've managed to find last year for my walking list (birds seen walking distance from my house). Decided that wouldn't be the case this year, so I was delighted to get a chance to watch one this evening. Look at that bounce! #birds

I had the most magical encounter in my local warbler park today! I was bummed there were no warblers, but then I was thoroughly distracted when I flushed a gorgeous coyote! I know they live around here, but I've never actually seen one! Found it again down the trail (audio reduced because loud)

today so far

Only had a few minutes to duck into the park between meetings, which was probably good because I forgot to put the chip back in my camera I wasn't happy to replace my 2nd gen iPhone SE, but it turns out having a cell phone with telephoto lens capability is pretty sick for record shots

you can tell I'm a millennial because I finally feel like my new phone is set up now that I have my ringtone on it (the same one I have had since my first phone)

When all your friends are sending you messages like "there are so many new birds in town today" and you can't go out to look because you have to spend two hours at home because the city is replacing your water meter

Oh no. I have done it. Pinned BirdCast to my phone home screen so I can check it constantly like it's social media.

Oh my gosh. Amphibians are awesome. Look at this dignified gentleman! (American Toad) #herps 🌿

I did slightly better with still photography, but not by much. Prairie Warblers typically breed south of central Ohio, so we only get them when they mess up and fly too far north on migration. Then they hang out a bit and return south to find their friends. #birds

I walked an extra 3 miles on my way to work today to see a Prairie Warbler that OSU Ornithology Club students reported at the Mirror Lake Woodlot (in Columbus Ohio). I took a bunch of video and this one is somehow my best clip lol

He's thinking about how much we wants to bite ❤️

Of course, that's great because I love White-throated Sparrows so much. Did you know that their two color morphs aren't actually the male and female plumages (as some old field guides say)? Thanks to a genetic quirk, they've basically got 4 sexes! www.sciencehistory.org/stories/disa...

There were over 100 million birds in the air over the US last night and they were apparently all White-throated Sparrows and they all ended up in Columbus Ohio (so so many around town today)

Bless iNaturalist folks for being like "yep, that is adequate photo documentation of a Brown Thrasher"

I didn't have my own camera until college, but I borrowed cameras whenever I could as a kid because I love photography. As a very small child I filled a disposable camera with photos of mating toads, not knowing what they were doing, and my parents were upset/embarrassed. Anyway look at 'em go

I publicly declared that I am trying to see all 37 warbler species regularly found (reported at least once each year) in Ohio this year. Last year I got 35/37. It has already gotten much harder now that I've lost car access, but it'll be a very low carbon quest haha! 5 down, only 32 to go! haha

Ever just minding your own business and stumble upon an American Toad orgy? (sorry for my shaky videography, I was mostly after the calls so I could double-check my ID)

Hey pals that like to look at juncos, any thoughts on this bird? It seems more Oregon-y then I'm used to in central Ohio, but we typically only get Slate-colored so I'm not very confident on my ID. On Ohio State's campus today, at the Mirror Lake woodlot 🪶

Was very excited to pick up newly arrived migrants on my #TenMinMerlin but instead I suffered from Urban Noise Pollution Hard Mode™️ (street sweeping in addition to the usual traffic, planes, and trains) Still a decent bunch, just nothing new. "Mockingbird" is of course my weird local crows