If you've ever wondered what a fledgling red-winged blackbird looks like, I've got you covered!
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Idzie
@idzie@kolektiva.social
mastodon 4.6.8Anarcha-feminist, queer, grown unschooler, writer. Big fan of cats, hiking, snowshoeing, photography, and wandering around outdoors as much as I'm able to. Extremely excited about birds. Chronically ill (aka often a literal armchair anarchist). Plans to run off to the woods shortly. Writing again for the first time in years about most of the above in my new newsletter Forest Words. White settler. Land Back is the only way forwards.
Private alt @Idz@social.treehouse.systems
1483 Followers
368 Following
50 Posts
Joined November 09, 2022
When I was a kid I thought that the sound of cicadas was the sound the power lines made when overheated by the summer sun. I have a friend whose childhood belief was that it was the sound of the sun itself.
Which is all just to say that the cicadas have started singing.
Lots of people have a thing against flies, but no one can tell me that this goth one, an adorned bee fly (Exoprosopa decora), isn't cool. #insects #flies #insectphotography
Good morning from Mr Sleepyhead
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A male widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa), showing off their flashy wings. #dragonflies #insects #insectphotography
Bad hard day. At least I made a giant pot of stew?? Later, I need to get quinoa made, which will be turned into a salad tomorrow...
A stream cruiser (Didymops transversa) with breakfast. I was thrilled to finally encounter a dragonfly who, for a short moment, actually perched near to me! #dragonflies #insectphotography
I asked a friend for recommendations on affordable fountain pens and inks and she's coming through with obvious glee!
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I wish there was a specific appliance review site for people with sensory sensitivities, like everyone leaving reviews would focus on sounds, lights, etc that might be a problem.
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I saw this dragonfly and, thinking myself clever, thought "ah! I know those wing markings, that's a (female) common whitetail" but no! When looking them up at home, I found out that this is actually a twelve-spotted skimmer, Libellula pulchella, either a female or a naiad but I don't know enough to tell the difference. Turns out dragonflies come in confusing plumage as well! And now I know how to tell them apart. #dragonflies #insectphotography
A midland clubtail (I think? There's at least one other similar looking clubtail in my area), Gomphurus fraternus, pondering the leaves. #dragonflies #insectphotography
Sitting on the floor with my whiny old dog. Struggling lately to manage his arthritis pain well enough, caring for an ancient creature is so heartbreaking.
Ahhhhhhhh (confused feelings about being very let down and disappointed by one friend, while feeling very cared for and appreciated by a different one)
We were trying Oscar on antihistamines but found they were making him too sleepy and sedated, so we stopped last night and now tonight he's EXTRA saucy and full of vim to make up for it
Someone with a fucking leaf blower blowing dirt off of their driveway, and the whole section of street stinks of gas.
In the backyard today: cardinals (including fledglings!), song sparrows, robins, and a red-eyed vireo (unusual in the yard!). You can feel the beginnings of movement, migratory birds shifting as they prepare to leave (like the vireo). Some have even left already, it's a very bittersweet time to me.
I see so many people saying they've been swooped by red-winged blackbirds and I never have? Threatened, sure, in that way they'll stalk towards you singing their territorial song, but never swooped. I wonder how common it is?
If you live in a region with red-winged blackbirds...
Actually getting myself out early because I have a call with a friend planned, and when I have a call I just take a walk with my phone.
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Like hell yeah, nailed it 😂
Obviously I'm getting some wrong too, and am also learning from those. It's just a helpful site to use, and I like knowing that my observations too might be useful in research.
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@rancholibertad@climatejustice.social and because I'm in this valley, it's a real crossover point: lots in common with the great lakes region, even though further north, but also some more northern species not found around (at least the more southerly parts of) the great lakes.
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@rancholibertad@climatejustice.social close, I'm in southern Quebec, in the Saint Lawrence river valley. :)
I've wanted to see black terns since I first learned of their existence, and yesterday I finally did! They're not rare where I live, but neither are they common, and I just hadn't managed to go on any small adventures to look for them at the places they often turn up at (yes that was a pun).
They're smaller than the terns I've seen before (common and caspian), but share the same fluttery flight, the same sudden dives. Terns are magical birds, I just love watching them. #birding #terns
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@CedarTea@social.coop oh wow that's VERY flat lol. No here there's a bit of up and downs at least, the Monteregian Hills (plus Mount Rigaud, I guess?), popularly referred to as mountains, add some elevation to the area broadly around Montreal.
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@CedarTea@social.coop well, there's not MUCH elevation (river valley!), but the occasional mini-mountain makes for a bit of different habitat. 😂
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@ienvision@mastodon.social I think when they do this, try to be intimidating at a very specific spot, there's likely to be a nest nearby that they're protecting
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@leslore@zeroes.ca definitely close (I live along the major waterways though, not quite that far south)!
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@CedarTea@social.coop yeah, it was the cash crop farmageddon part that sounded depressing. 😭
And I really get you about seeing the beauty in all different ecosystems, they're not better/worse (except when it comes to how intact/functioning they are, as you mentioned), just different.
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@kolombiken@front-end.social oh no worries, I wasn't very clear anyway.
That's a great tip, thank you! The other geese I see tend to be very noisy (mainly Canada geese, occasionally snow geese), so small and quiet geese would stand out quite a bit.
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@trisweb@m.trisweb.com @rancholibertad@climatejustice.social considering I'm under two hours away from the Vermont border, not bad at all 😆
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@rancholibertad@climatejustice.social yup, exactly, geographically close to both. :) The winters are pretty long, but I've always lived here, so it's just the way things are to me!
And it is really beautiful, I love this part of the world deeply, and do consider myself lucky. It's pretty much the opposite of a desert, bodies of water are everywhere! I can walk to a lake, a river, vernal pools/ponds, and a stream just from my house. Deserts seem like beautiful places in their own right, and a type of environment I'd really like to visit one day, even if I also find them kind of frightening. I know NOTHING about how to function in them!
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@hydropsyche@ecoevo.social ahhh I see, and that sounds like a beautiful feature. Looking up photos of that monadnock now!
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@Zonzonn8@piaille.fr oh interesting, here I feel that crows are more likely to be skittish!
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@andrew773@mastodon.online huh, so weird that you and your partner are treated at differently!
I really needed to be left alone, no one touching or disturbing me last night, so Oscar decided it was a great idea to spend ALL NIGHT shoving my feet off of the bed with his sprawling, lying on top of my ankles, and repeatedly poking me in the legs with his pokey paws. I do not feel well rested. 🥲