I'm sick today so instead of working I am laying on the couch, coughing pathetically, and tormenting myself by thinking about what birds I want to see next but currently am unable to (due to the aforementioned pathetic coughing)

For today's #BirdOfTheDay alternate theme, #SmallBirdsBigPersonality, we have this american tree sparrow giving me a cheeky look. I love photographing sparrows, they're never boring! 🪶 #birdphotography

I saw a very very lost scissor-tailed flycatcher today in MA. There's probably little hope for this poor guy to ever make it back where he belongs, so I feel lucky (and a little sad) to have seen him while he's still with us. 🪶

Introduce yourself with 5 animals you’ve seen in the wild: -crested caracara -elephant seal -priolo -pronghorn -spotted salamander

I've gotten so used to ebird in the past 5 years it's funny to look back on my old lists and see how dramatically changed how I bird, for better or worse. It has really influenced me to be more worried about numbers.

A bunch of little snow buntings at Parker River NWR this week. They're just about the cutest. 🪶 #birdphotography

lifer king eider! 🎉🪶 I’ve been chasing this duck for two years and I finally saw one, even if it took a trip to maine to do it! He’s so handsome!!! 🥹

Finally sat down and did some photo editing, some sunday sparrows for you. #birdphotography 🪶 #wildlifephotography

Saw the very lost brown booby 🪶 on Cape Cod (!!!) on my second try, but managed to mess up my shutter speed without noticing, so what I have is a variety of levels of blur and not a single nice shot. Ah, the joys of bird photography... 🫠

Spooky 🪶 list season (ebird taxonomy update) is upon is. The blessèd splitting has bestowed unto me a bonus vireo, through no effort of my own. 🙏 But the update continues, so there's a chance that the fearsome shadow of lumping may yet fall across my life list and tear a species from its bosom. 😱

I went for a birding hike this weekend and there were a ton of red-breasted nuthatches yank-yank-yanking at me the whole way. Love those little guys. 🪶🐡 #sciart #procreate

I went for a birding hike this weekend and there were a ton of red-breasted nuthatches yank-yank-yanking at me the whole way. Love those little guys. 🪶🐡 #sciart #procreate

Belated day 2 of #SciArtSeptember: Canopy. Some longleaf pines with recent fire scarring. 🐡🎨

Let’s go birding! Today’s goal: summer tanager in coastal NC. so far: Great horned owl, many MANY woodpeckers, herons galore, approx. 1 million mosquitos, some beautiful longleaf pines.

I always forget how formal Boston really is, since I wfh and mostly interact with other outdoorsy queers. Going to Back Bay on a weekday is like visiting another planet. One where every man is wearing slacks and a dress shirt and every woman is in a blazer and has makeup on.

All the animals you like to look at depend on all the animals you don’t

A photo you took that brings you inner peace 📷🌸

Gooood morning birders! Today we’re looking for a solitary sandpiper!

We're going on vacation next week and this time my proposal for a romantic walk is 'would you like to tour the former city landfill?' (A cool duck lives there.) Ah, birding.

Does anyone know of a MA birding group that is NOT on facebook? I would love to join a discord and am open to getting whatsapp for this, just not a meta product. (RBA or general discussion, idc) Someone told me one exists but that it's invite-only and I don't know the cool kids here (ouch!). 🪶

Once again I am begging wildlife photographers who sell to stock sites to make sure they ID correctly (OR for stock photo sites to let me flag image titles as inaccurate). I almost used a mislabeled Hutton's vireo instead of a Bell's in a work project before I took a second look at that eyering 🤦‍♀️

tiger swallowtail (eastern or appalachian, idk), mourning cloak, and some kind of dragonfly all spotted in western MD, where the bugs were being more obliging about posing for me than the birds were. 😅 #naturephotography #insects 🦋

Gettysburg, on a summer night 162 years after the battle. The field where tens of thousands died is filled with dancing fireflies. The cannons stand quiet, replaced by calling frogs rustling grass. It would have been impossible not to be moved by the peace of it. #landscapepainting #procreate

Gettysburg, on a summer night 162 years after the battle. The field where tens of thousands died is filled with dancing fireflies. The cannons stand quiet, replaced by calling frogs rustling grass. It would have been impossible not to be moved by the peace of it. #landscapepainting #procreate

Just registered—last time I attended it was as a volunteer, when my college hosted the 2012 conference. I'm excited to attend talks and workshops rather than sitting at the registration desk! I don't know any other attendees this year, so if any bsky folks are going let me know, I'd love to connect!

Oh are we doing #SparrowSunday? In that case, here's a lark sparrow. 🪶

My 🪶 lifers this month: Bay-breasted warbler, northern bobwhite, and Swainson's thrush. Ah, the joys of bird photography. 🥲🫠

Been too busy moving and dealing with first-time homeowner stuff (!!!) to get out birding or make art much this spring, but I finally found a little time. Lots of flycatchers out today, here's an eastern wood-pewee. 🪶

that birder feeling when you have an actual stress dream about the prospect of an ebird reviewer questioning your quail

My mind horse is… off, but in a way that’s hard to pinpoint. A bit of dog snuck in there, maybe. (Also yes, I was a childhood horse girl, how could you tell?)

#NearbyNature2025 from last month, which I forgot to tag (oops!)

One of my favorite things about photographing #birds is being able to see details you miss when observing them in motion. 🪶 🌱 #birdart Downy woodpeckers squeeze their eyes shut as they impact the wood, and it is VERY cute.

A just-for-fun #sciart illustration of vernal pool amphibians in New England. 🌿🐡 Spring is coming, and so are egg masses! 🐸

double mega rarity day! we went and found the tundra bean goose AND the northern lapwing that have been hanging around rhode island for the past few weeks 🪶🎉 two fabulous birds, both a joy to watch.

Gettysburg battlefield at dawn in the dead of winter. An odd, solemn experience recently. 🎨 #landscapepainting #procreate

Update: I visited the wastewater treatment ponds alone on saturday instead of dragging my wife with me on friday. 10/10, incredible birding, and wife is got to sleep in and not experience The Odor. Everyone is happy. (Only one lifer but if I had time to stay I know there would have been more.)

I really REALLY wish you could adjust the rareness threshold of """rare""" bird alerts on ebird. They mostly consist of birds that are, at best, 'mildly unusual for this location at this specific time of year'. Which is not the wort of thing I want an email notification filled with.

just #birder things: trying to figure out how to ask your wife if she wouldn't mind going for a romantic valentine's day walk... at the water treatment plant by the airport, at dawn. 😅

another shot of last week's snowy owl enjoying her time at the beach 🪶😍 #birdphotography

a couple of lazuli buntings 🪶 #birdart

If you look at some very old maps, you'll see the North Pole surrounded by open water - no ice, no land. This was the Open Polar Sea. Often considered myth or wishful thinking, some scientists took the idea seriously in the 19th century. #histsci 🗃️ daily.jstor.org/the-open-pol...

Snowy owl enjoying a day at the beach. 🪶🥶

Doing some experimentation with greater stylization and simplifying forms. Definitely easiest with a species that has nice clean color blocks.

I’m still in awe of the beautiful shawls my (very talented!) wife knit for our wedding last year 🥰

sketch of some dried milkweed pods 🎨 #sciart

My 2024 Audubon bird calendar has come to an end, can anyone recommend their favorite wildlife artist/photographer who may be selling an art calendar for 2025? (Doesn't have to be just birds, but does have to be north american species.) Thanks!

I'm proposing a #SciArt Challenge for 2025! Every month, make art of one of the animals that lives in your area. Post your work with the hashtag #NearbyNature2025 along with something you find interesting about them. Bonus points for organisms that most of your neighbors won't know live close by!

Little landscape sketch I did over xmas. The view driving through western PA down to my in-laws place was so picturesque that I wanted to capture it. 🎨 #landscapepainting

A quiet moment in Boston, from the pre-christmas snow storm.