Female Lesser Nighthawks lack the bright white wingbars of their male counterparts (see my previous posts), but they are just as amazing to watch zip by in search of flying insect prey. I was lucky to see ~10 of these nightjars along one road in southeast Arizona. 🪶 #birding #nature #photography

Scientists! @skypeascientist.bsky.social matches scientists with classrooms, libraries, & more for virtual Q&As! It's easy and fun! We are looking for 750 more volunteers by 8/15 If you're down to chat with 1-5 classrooms this semester, sign up here www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html

Having birds swoop around you with no concern for your presence is such a delightful experience and is a highlight of #birding for me. 🪶 I'm glad that I was able to capture one such moment with this male Lesser Nighthawk during my 1st time seeing the species. #nature #photography #BirdsSeenIn2025

I had never seen a Lesser Nighthawk before my trip to southeast Arizona this past June, and I had such an awesome encounter with this male! 🪶 Lesser Nighthawks like to zoom around the desert scrub searching for insect swarms, usually around dusk. #birding #nature #photography ##BirdsSeenIn2025

I interrupt my nightjar photo series to pose a challenge to my bird-aware friends + followers... Based on the two unusual bird species in these not-so-great photos, can you deduce where I was last weekend? #birds #birding #BirdsSeenIn2025

On a nice summer night, if you walk along a trail in Miller Canyon in southeast Arizona, you might just come across a funky little mottled gray bird sitting in your path. This is a Common Poorwill --- the smallest nightjar species in North America! 🪶 #birding #nature #photography #BirdsSeenIn2025

Register to be a pen pal! Letters to a Pre-Scientist is now recruiting STEM professional pen pals for the 2025-26 school year. Volunteers send and receive letters throughout the school year with a student, to inspire all students to explore a future in STEM. Learn more: buff.ly/fjsQTOM #WomenInSTEM

I heard and saw my lifer Mexican Whip-poor-will this past June in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona. 🪶 The 2 whip-poor-wills that breed in the USA were split into distinct species in 2010 based on differences in vocalizations and genetics. #birding #nature #photography #BirdsSeenIn2025

Since the start of 2024, I have managed to photograph 8 of the 9 nightjar species that regularly occur in the USA. 🪶 Here is my 1st ever photo of an Eastern Whip-poor-will that was found day-roosting at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area this past May. #birds #birding #nature #photography #BirdsSeenIn2025

This has been a pretty good publication year for me! My 3rd peer-reviewed article of 2025 was published in Forest Ecology and Management. 🧪 "Integrating disturbance to improve our understanding of range-wide patterns in tree species abundance and demography" authors.elsevier.com/c/1lDKR1L~Gw...

LIFE UPDATE! It has been 2 years since I successfully defended my PhD dissertation, and although my planned career path with the Forest Service was upended... I am delighted to announce that I have started a new, permanent position as a conservation scientist with the Appalachian Mountain Club.

New #ornithology 🪶 paper! 🎉 🧪

Excited to announce that another one of my Ph.D. dissertation chapters is now published! Research article title: "Optimizing management of wildlife openings in forested landscapes for game birds and overall avian diversity" Link to article: wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A small tragedy amidst all that is happening in the world, but all the trees and shrubs behind our house (not on our property) were cut down to make way for a new apartment complex. 😭 The trees provided shade and privacy for us, but to our backyard birds, they were home.

Watching land developers knocking down and ripping up a bunch of trees and shrubs right behind my house (but not on my side of the property line) is sorta soul-crushing. Those trees and shrubs are habitat for breeding and migrating birds. Might have had active nests. Currently being destroyed... ☹️

Pls share: I'm seeking ornithologists willing to comment about how the Bird Banding Lab &/or Breeding Bird Survey are crucial to their research & conservation efforts, for a piece for @therevelator.org defending these programs. Reply, DM, or email me at rebecca dot heisman at gmail. #ornithology

A bit of a delayed announcement, but one of my Ph.D. dissertation chapters was published in the scientific journal Landscape Ecology in March! 🪶 🧪 Free to view (open access) at this link: link.springer.com/article/10.1... #ornithology #science #LandscapeEcology

Eastern US let's fucking goooooo We've got hundreds of millions of precious migrants pouring overhead tonight and in the next few weeks. Get those overnight lights off, cats inside, and windows treated (to prevent collisions) to keep my bird friends alive. Get ready for spectacular birding!

California Quail. I see them (and hear them) everywhere right now! I captured one on video calling out to share. #birds #nature #wildlife

Barred Owls are a year-round resident within the woods of the @westvirginiau.bsky.social Core Arboretum in Morgantown, West Virginia, and I was lucky enough to encounter one this morning! There should be owlets branching out in just a few weeks. #Owl #Bird #Birding #Wildlife #Photography #Nature

After 2 hours of waiting in the rain, I got excellent looks at my lifer Barnacle Goose near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this past weekend. Barnacle Geese are infrequent visitors to the United States, as they are native to northern Europe. #birds #birding #BirdsSeenIn2025 #wildlife #NaturePhotography

Hi! We're Skype a Scientist! We're a free program that matches scientists with classrooms, scout troops, libraries, & other groups for Q&As all about science. Get matched with a scientist for a virtual conversation! We have 30+ types of scientist & match weekly. www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html

Of course many federal workers can just “find another job”. But the point is that the jobs we do are done for the *public good*. There are no private sector corollaries. We do things that are largely not profitable and that is on purpose. We do work that benefits everyone, if sometimes indirectly.

Apps are due FRIDAY for the Science IRL grant We're funding projects that tackle humanity's big science-centric problems, while reaching people who are NOT engaging with science. Bring me your creative, unique projects that put science where there currently is none. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Like birds and models? Dr. Erin Bayne and I are currently recruiting a 2 year postdoc to come work with us at the Boreal Avian Modelling project on boreal bird models and applications of those models. Full details are here tinyurl.com/4yxju63k. Feel free to get in touch with qs!

It's #SuperbOwl Sunday! Here's a gorgeous Great Gray Owl from Sax-Zim Bog, gazing skyward in heavy snow. Great Gray Owls are mostly active at night and at dusk and dawn, but they also hunt during the day during the winter months. #owl #birds #birding #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

For #SuperbOwl weekend, here's a Boreal Owl perched in the shadows of some conifer trees in Sax-Zim Bog. Boreal Owls are similar in length/weight to a screech-owl, although they are most closely related to the tiny Northern Saw-whet Owl. #owl #birds #birding #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

A regal queen on her snagwood throne. I was honored to photograph this Great Gray Owl perched an old lichen-covered snag in Sax-Zim Bog. As large as they appear, Great Gray Owls are mostly feathers, weighing only ~2.5 lbs (~1.1 kg). #owl #birds #birding #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

Don't you think that this Boreal Owl from Sax-Zim Bog, Minnesota, almost looks like it is posing for a school portrait? The small owl was rather active for daytime, flying silently to various perches along the sunlit edge of a busy road. #owl #birds #birding #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

In addition to Boreal Owls, a second owl irruption is overtaking northern Minnesota and was the primary reason to travel there --- I got my lifer Great Gray Owl! The Great Gray Owl is North America's largest owl, with a 5 foot wingspan. #owl #birds #birding #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

Birding is a great distraction from worry and stress. I ventured up to northern Minnesota late last week and was able to experience a bit of the recent Boreal Owl irruption, with spectacular sightings of three Boreal Owls in Sax-Zim Bog! #owl #birds #birding #wildlife #photography #birdphotography

The first paper of your PhD is always so exciting! 🤩 An all-#Galbatross effort, "A focus on females can improve science and conservation!" See press release (www.audubon.org/news/researc...) and the study here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...! #FemaleBirds #FemaleBirdDay

Happy #LunarNewYear and Year of the Snake! I don't see snakes very often, but I have a great appreciation and admiration for them! I found this adorable but spicy little noodle (known more formally as an eyelash viper) in Costa Rica back in 2017. #herps #snake #wildlife #photography

Just finished this one! White-winged crossbill pair on tamarack. Northern MN had an irruption of them this year, which I got to witness! I really love their bills. #Watercolor and Chinese ink on cold press #BirdArt #SciArt #WildlifeArt

I want to post this again! Early career and graduate students in the wildlife field! I’ve added a few people since I last posted! go.bsky.app/FFFHs9U

Just over a week left to apply to this PhD position! jobs.rwfm.tamu.edu/view-job/?id...

Bluesky isn't the best venue for comparing #birdphotos, so you'll have to take my word for it that a #Nikon Z8 did a better #photography job than my Nikon Coolpix P900 for this dimly lit Purple Sandpiper, who was feeding on a seaweed-covered rock along the jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. 🪶

I normally do #BirdPhotography with a #Nikon Coolpix P900 (point-and-shoot camera with a "super" zoom), but recently, I was able to also use a mirrorless camera (Nikon Z8) and lens (200-600 mm) to take photos of a male Harlequin Duck. 🪶 Can you tell which camera took which photo? #photography

I photographed these roosting Dunlin at Corson's Inlet State Park (New Jersey) during a gale warning. It was very cold and gusty, with sand particles streaming along the surface of the beach --- making for some dramatic shots of the Dunlin flock. 🪶 #birding #BirdPhotography #NaturePhotography

Applications are open for The Cornell Lab's annual Young Birders Event! 🎉 If you know a teenager who is interested in a career with birds, please share with them! Students will learn from Cornell Lab staff about different birdy career paths. Applications due March 16th. 🪶 ebird.org/news/the-cor...

Happy [belated] New Year! My first life bird of 2025 was the Common Gull in Stamford, Connecticut! 🪶 Although they don't look or sound all that remarkable, Common Gulls are not easily found in North America --- because they are a resident species of Europe and Asia! #birding #BirdPhotography

BIG NEWS! For the first time ever, Skype a Scientist is offering mini-grants to support IRL science communication! Communicating science out in our communities is critical. We want to enable folks from around the US to get local projects off the ground. Learn more & apply at bit.ly/scienceirl

I am extremely excited to announce that for the first time ever, Skype a Scientist is offering mini-grants to support IRL science communication!! Communicating science out in our communities is critical. We want to enable others to get their projects off the ground! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

I am recruiting two funded graduate students (1 MS, 1 PhD) to join the lab and the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences program at Oregon State University! If you are into population ecology and a combination of fieldwork and modeling - then check this out! Please share/repost widely!

Hiring a PhD student (August 2025 start) to work on research related to elk reintroduction/spatial ecology using a large long-term dataset. Lots of flexibility in developing specific research questions! See the job link for more info: jobs.rwfm.tamu.edu/view-job/?id...

Happy New Year's Eve! To commemorate 2024 with my best #BirdPhotography of the year for one final time, here's my lifer White-tailed Ptarmigan, which completed my North American ptarmigan trifecta! I saw him in October at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. #birds #birding #BirdsSeenIn2024

To commemorate 2024, here's one of my best #birds of the year - Whiskered Auklet! In May, we traveled to Adak, Alaska, in part to see this small seabird species. Most people will never see one, as they are confined to remote islands between Alaska and eastern Asia. #BirdsSeenIn2024 #birding

To commemorate 2024 before the dawn of the new year, I'm featuring my best #BirdPhotography from this year. 🪶 📷 During a May trip to Adak, Alaska, one of the rarest of my life birds was the Far Eastern Curlew --- a globally endangered species from east Asia! #BirdsSeenIn2024 #birding #shorebird

To commemorate 2024 before the dawn of the new year, I'm featuring my best #BirdPhotography from this year. 🪶 📷 During a trip to south Texas in early 2024, I saw this fantastic Roadside Hawk, which is a rare species in the USA, visiting from the tropics! #BirdsSeenIn2024 #birding #hawk #raptor

To commemorate 2024 before the dawn of the new year, I'm featuring my best #BirdPhotography from this year. 🪶 📷 In Feb 2024, I was able to see the 2nd state record of a Fan-tailed Warbler in south Texas! This rare vagrant is normally found in Mexico and Central America. #BirdsSeenIn2024 #birding