Tsuro is always our go-to short game for when folks are getting to game night and getting into the mood. We also like to play Uno at the end of the night when our brains are fried or Jackbox.
Neverwinter Nights and Roller Coaster Tycoon when I was a little kid. I watched my dad play Neverwinter and had to indulge in my own tiny fantasy to play as a "dragon." Still at it.
I always go for a druid-type in games (I have a druid of the coast in a 5e game and now a moon druid in BG3) and I too am frustrated that I can't really do spells while Bear. But it's okay, because I am Bear.
Since roadside hawk is an actual species in Latin America, I might stick with calling our red-shouldered hawks by their own common name, even if they do tend to be on the roadside a lot! I was excited for a moment since I hadn't heard of a rare raptor in Florida.
But they're preventing that with this legislation.
/s, Florida is pulling so much shit right now too.
It was a battle between my queer identity and my biologist identity. For regular browsing and posting, science won out. But I have an account with blajah.zone too to discuss the queer agenda.
I consider myself a people, and I prefer my body jewelry to be gold if I can afford it. A few pieces are gold-colored anodized titanium (which are fading), but very prominent pieces are solid gold. I like yellow gold, not rose gold. I actually think titanium/"silver" looks more tacky than gold.
But that's just for pieces of jewelry that go into my body. For bracelets and such, I prefer brass, leather, and shades of brown. I don't wear necklaces.
Gold cars are disgusting though.
I wonder if this would work for my feeders, how clever! They're such a menace.
Same with me and Catan. I generally do not like resource-hoarding "competitive" games anyway, and Catan did not help that.
I definitely have my fair share of close crops, especially herps! I also posted a close crop (because it was just that close) of a brown-capped rosy finch to the wildlife photography community today too.
I like to leave some habitat because I find it adds interest and complexity to a photo. Plus, sometimes the birb no longer appears smol if so focused in the photo! I've gotten more comfortable with even more distant shots of birbs, too--sometimes I can make raptors look illegally smol.
Many of my friends are biologists themselves, but not all are as well-verse in birds, so I'm definitely the bird guy there. Or wildlife guy, as in the case of my family. Kinda why I started bird ID and snake ID communities here when I didn't see them (not sure how to link to them on mobile).
I like to post pictures to get the community more active, but I'm also down for discussion.
Laat year, I was a teaching assistant for a study abroad course to Honduras. One of our stops was PANACAM, one of the best national parks in the country (I spent about ten days there this year, such a beautiful location). We only had half a day there. The class happened to contain only women, and the day we visited, we learned of the US Supreme Court's decision regarding abortion access. Demoralized, I led a group to a bird tower in the forest in our remaining time. They were largely uninterested in birding, but they were into the more charismatic species. In the span of an hour on that tower, we only recorded ten species, but the experience was quite exceptional. I located three king vultures far in the sky and was able to show them to the students. A dozen or so swallow-tailed kites swooped around the tower. I photographed a dark morph short-tailed hawk with a lizard in its bill across two passes (a publication I'm working on). The students located a keel-billed toucan before I did. And best (for them) of all, a white-nosed coati decided to pop up in the leaves just 20 feet from us.
I love birding, but I really love getting others into it and making cool observations with them. It was a memerable day for sure.
As hawk watch locations across North America start hiring and counting migrating raptors, the raptors themselves are gearing up to head wherever. I've had the opportunity to see and photograph a lot of raptors in the past two years. The two common accipiter hawks, the sharp-shinned hawk (or "sharpie") and Cooper's hawk are often mistaken for one another. While the sharpie is usually considerably smaller than the Cooper's, size can be difficult to judge in the field. Sharp-shinned hawks often travel in pairs during migration.
I hope this graphic helps you to visualize some of the differences between these two species.
The gain and then subsequent slashing of human rights based on fascist beliefs and lack of representation (and possibly over representation by fringe groups that capture the news cycle). Across the world, populism and fascism is gaining in popularity - again. It felt like we'd gotten past this point for a minute.
Some people seem to think that identifying snakes is a supernatural skill that only experts have, but it is not that difficult to learn. There are a few very important factors that go into identifying a snake.
A link to the African Snakebite Institute, a great organization dedicated to snake identification and education in South Africa.
Only a favorite because they're so skinny and wiggly, I like showing the blunt-headed tree snake to students because they're just not what people new to snakes think a snake looks like. There are definitely weirder species out there, but the big eyes and shoelace appearance amuse the non-herpers.
Honduras, June 2023
I was amazed at how close these birds got. I had given up most hope on locating one (I wasn't sure where local birdfeeders were), but then I found a handful of em at a parking lot up the mountain.
Colorado, USA, May 2022
I don't get tired of little ducks like teal. Two cinnamon teal on the left, blue-winged teal drake on the right.
Colorado, USA, May 2022
Merlins kinda breed in my area, but you're more likely to find them during migration. I believe we found three on this day.
Pennsylvania, USA, Oct. 2022
In the right habitat (a pile of rocks near buildings at somewhat higher, but not quite cloud forest, elevation), the yellow-spotted night lizard can be easily spotted... at night. They have a pretty nice chomp. They always look to be in shed.
Honduras, June 2023
Sometimes warblers don't care how close you are. This one was probably ten feet away. They are truly smol, and I like to crop my photos.
Honduras, April 2023
This cicada is such a brilliant emerald with gold tints. And they screm.
Honduras, June 2023
I was hoping for Erie watersnakes, but this was a nice find anyway. This area is known for having melanistic garters.
May 2022
Golden-crowned kinglet
Pennsylvania, January 2022
Study the finer details of migrating warblers with our handy photo guide.
Few warblers retain their breeding plumage into fall. Most warblers transition into a nonbreeding/winter plumage after their young have fledged. Some look kinda close to their breeding plumage, but others look radically different.
A lot of baby or small snakes can be confusing if you're not sure what you're looking for. Fortunately, in the US, they're all relatively easy to ID with photos of decent enough quality.
In the eastern US, Dekay's brownsnakes are super common, both juveniles and adults. Their range largely overlaps with the eastern copperhead and only slightly overlaps with the cottonmouth. Both the copperhead and cottonmouth will have yellow tail tips as juveniles, and even when young, they are considerably larger than juvenile (and some adult) Dekay's brownsnakes. This brownsnake also usually has a pale neckband as a juvenile in addition to a spotted or chain-link pattern on its backside.
Thanks, I've spent too much time figuring out what works for them, haha.
Routine:
- As I Am Dry & Itchy shampoo and conditioner
- Scrunch in LA Looks Extreme Sport Gel on wet hair, a dollop for front and back
- Scrunch dry with microfiber towel
- Diffuse with low heat, then cool, until about 70% dry or I'm bored
- Air dry, then scrunch out the crunch
There is not yet enough content for your sort selection to really matter. I sort by new because at least I'll see more content as stuff is posted throughout the day.
Wow, great image! I'm amazed at how similar the Brazilian tanager is to the scarlet tanager despite being in different families.
Honduras, June 2022
Sometimes I don't even know what I'm photographing. This is a male blue-black grassquit doing a "I'm sexy" dance as he calls.
Abundant in the right habitat/locality and handsome as adults, we found quite a few of these. Definitely saw more juveniles/females than adult males, though.
June 2022
Thanks! 90% luck, 10% skill!
My plants are (mostly) loving the sunshine! Plant lights can only do so much.
I looked and looked, and I didn't spot any Ross's geese nor overhear other birders gasping at the sight of one. I did scour my images. A few are spotted at Middle Creek (where this event occurs in Pennsylvania) every year, but obviously, they're hit or miss when you have to sort through tens of thousands of individuals that generally all look the same.