Cool caterpillar, probably a Banded Sphinx moth. Still learning my #moths

#PloverAppreciationDay late entry This group of Snowy Plovers seen near the UC Santa Barbara breeding zone beach. Even knowing what we were looking for these little birds, we still kept almost walking into them. They blended in perfectly until they would move. None were harmed. #Birds

cute toad came by. Had to move it back to a safer spot. #Toad

Tomorrow I will be at Art In Autumn in Weaverville, NC, 10-6pm. Come by and tell me a favorite bird story. I love connecting about birds. Last night at Burial it was great to chat about good birding spots, efforts to protect birds, and good clubs to connect with for birding. #Birds #BirdsOnLeaves

Watching the beauty of each day, the rain, the fall, the birds migrating through. . #Birds #LeafFlip #BirdsOnLeaves #Woodpecker

Drawings of Puffins because they are so darn cute and striking. I love that I got to see a #Puffin, puffing its cheeks, it was having a dispute with another bird. On a quick search I don’t see anything about this being a naming reason, if you know please share! #Birds

#Monarch on Late Boneset.

It's hard to identify flycatcher season, especially as they are rarely calling now. Here is a local usual flycatcher for the Eastern US, and Eastern Phoebe. . #Illustration #BirdPerson #TinyPainting #EasternPhoebe #LeafFlip #Bird

Here are some recent leaves with birds painted on them. It is a delightful process not too unlike birding. Slowing down and being calm with each leaf and examining each bird that is painted. #Birds #🪶

Tuesday Leaf Flip. Fall times Crow Times. #Birds #🪶

The rest of the #HawaiianBirds of #AvianAugust. This group has a few of the birds that have been declared extinct. I hope the other birds pictured here don’t end up the same way. Thank you @cookiedoves.bsky.social for making this list for us.

Leaf flip! Had this Canada Warbler visit my yard today. They are beautiful birds. #FallMigration #CanadaWarbler

More Hawaii Birds for #AvianAugust list collected by @cookiedoves.bsky.social

Hawaiian Birds. They are unique and incredible. I wished more of them were ok. It is heartbreaking to begin looking into them. #AvianAugust

If you haven’t seen it is #AvianAugust from @cookiedoves.bsky.social and the theme is Hawaiian Birds. I drew the I’iwi with Māmane - Sophora chrysophylla, a native Hawaiian tree/shrub that is part of the pea family.

A month of travel finished yesterday; I got to visit coastal California. It was nice to spend time with shorebirds. They were already plentiful. There are always some shorebirds along California coasts, but most do migrate to breeding locations. One of the species present was the Marbled Godwit.

Moving. #Tidepool #Nudibranch

Finally saw many Nudibranchs on the Mendocino Coast. Glad i was there Sunday instead of today. Here is one of the many Horned Nudibranchs. #TidePools #Nudibranch

A final reveal for the Big Crafty a stylized new design for family #Cathartidae. The North American #Vultures are such badasses. They are beautiful birds and an invaluable clean up crew for our world. These birds don’t have voice boxes! The sounds, if they do make them, are hisses or grunts.

Wishing for America to find her heart today. If you can consider alternatives to fireworks it would be great. They stress out our pets and wild animals, they trigger veterans/survivors. They pollute. I will be home with my noise cancelling headphones at the ready, holding my dog.

i found my first dung beetle! Yes there are dung beetles in North America. Phanaeus igneus. Also part of the Scarab Beetle family.

My Eastern Backyard Birds art is now a puzzle from Pomegranate Games. www.pomegranate.com/products/cas... #BirdPuzzle #Puzzle

Birds and pronoun pins at the Tri-Society Diversity table #Evol2025

Yesterday was Juneteenth. Hoping it was a great one, I hope those of us that are not Black supported Black businesses or made sure to influx income to Black people in another way. All of us doing little actions actually cause the big changes we hope for in our world.

The rainbow bird for the rainbow month of Pride, a Painted Bunting. I have this in a mini frame and it will be with me at Brews and Birds Blue Ridge Artisan Market at turgua brewing this Sat, 12-7pm. #CreateEveryDay #Illustration #BirdPerson #PaintedBunting #RainbowBird #Pride

9 Titles to Learn About Juneteenth www.slj.com/story/9-titl...

A stunning male Blackpoll Warbler struck a few perfect poses for me recently, and I’m still not over it. That bold black cap, crisp streaking, and those long orange legs? Perfection! #WiscoBirder 📷👐🏾🖤🪶

These birds, I saw in Fort Bragg, CA on a trip up route 1. They were huddled together with Black Turnstones. As the sun hit them they got more active. The Surfbirds, started interacting. First with their heads down, then the open mouth chat. #Shorebird #Surfbird #Sketchpage #NatureIllustration

Happy Pride month! . I have an event this Saturdary, June 7th at Nerd Pride Fest. I am very excited to be included at this event. It is going to be a fun filled day. We will be at Warren Wilson College, 10-4. #Osprey #BirdsOnLeaves

#BlackBirdersWeek may be over, but we continue sharing love for our community. June is Pride Month, a time to uplift, honor, and celebrate our Black LGBTQIA+ sisters, brothers, trans, queer, and non-binary family. This space is yours. You belong here. We love you. We see you. We stand with you.

more brood XIV cicadas, they jump onto you so easily. This is amazing to be living amidst.

Announcement for Black Birders Week Event: Murmuarations of Color - Visual Sensory Workshop with Afrofuturism Collective May 30, 2025 2pm EST @blackafinstem.bsky.social

Sparrows peak my interest for focus, instead of saying favorite. Gulls is the next family. Of course, I love all the birds. I was pumped to hear #BlackBirdersWeek’s theme bird family is Sparrows this year. The weeks events start this Sunday May 25th! Follow @BlackAFinStem for more details.

oh the sound. #PeriodicalCicada #WNC

A Spring Beauty Miner's Bee covered in the pink pollen of the Spring Beauty flower. Happy #WorldBeeDay

May 20 is World Bee Day. There are ~20,000 different bee species in the world. 🧪🧵🐝 Here in Ontario we have at least 400 native bees (none of which are honeybees, which are from Europe). Bees are key to pollination. According to the UN nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, 🧵

Hi guys. On world bee day today, don't forget that honey bees are actually doing ok! It's solitary and subsocial native bees like mason bees and bumblebees that need our help. I'll post some resources in this thread on how you could help them, even if you don't have a yard to plant native flowers!

One of my recent leaves that already found a new home. . It makes me happy when people share their love for this little herons with a surprise long neck! . #GreenHeron #LeafFlip

Sparrows as another reminder, #BlackBirdersWeek is coming up May 25th! @blackafinstem.bsky.social This sparrow is one of the specialists of the South. It needs specific spaces of old growth pines with grassy under story. They are not often seen and as they secret themselves away in this landscape.

Still floating from my keynote at @biggestweekbirding.bsky.social I spoke about the joy of birding and the importance of building a more welcoming community for everyone—and y’all showed up with open hearts. A standing ovation and so much love… I’m truly humbled. #BirdJoy Photos by Jason Hall 🥰

New Bird Joy Podcast episode just dropped! 🎧 We sat down with our dream guest, Dr. J. Drew Lanham, for a powerful convo on land, legacy, birding while Black & why joy is justice. Don’t miss it. This one’s special. 🐦🪶🖤 Listen Wherever You Get Your Podcasts: zencastr.com/The-Bird-Joy...

This weekend is a celebration of Mom’s. Wishing all the Mom’s out there special attention and some pampering.

Shakey flippy leaf. . Sometimes i like that the leaf is see-throw so you get a hint of what you will see. This one has found a home. Thank you! #BirdsOfNorthAmerica #DailyPainting #EnjoyYourWorld

more cicadas!! #BroodXIV #Magicicada

Buzz pollination is when a bumblebee vibrates in a way that causes the plant to give up its pollen. Some plants are only able to be pollinated through buzz pollination, including tomatoes. You can’t only have honey bees, you need Bumble Bees, they are the ones helping a tomato make a fruit!

yes. yes! Periodical Cicadas!

i want to know everything about this little beetle. How could you not?

Spring morning with singing Wood Thrush. Thank you all for coming out and supporting local artists and birds this weekend. I appreciate you. This Heron is still with me and will be available next at Bird Fest in Dillsboro on May 10th. wishing you all a nice day.

A shorebird poster from me one day, but first I need to practice them a lot more. Some of my first drawings of shorebirds were wonky. These sketchpages are a good practice. They help me draw the bird a few ways and get its vibe better.

Hearing the summer migrants show up is heart warming right now. We are seeing what plants and habitat have survived enough for the breeding species to choose their old spots again. I heard my first Hooded Warbler of the season this weekend. He has stayed so far.