Wagner Natural Area

Five-lobed tubular white flowers with dark blue spreckles

Gentiana algida, our Arctic Gentian, blooming on Mt BlueSky #nativeplants

#FallBackFlowers #FallBack to August 3🌿

Three very young burrowing owlets peeking out of their burrow. One is standing and two are hiding behind him.

Good morning! 🪶

Are you a University student looking fun and meaningful summer work, or do you know one? The Wagner Natural Area Society is hiring for two summer positions!

Apply by going to our website and submitting your resume and cover letter.
wagnerfen.ca

Mangey #Coyote A mangey and sparsely haired coyote standing in a field of dry, snow-dusted grass, looking towards the camera

Mangey #Coyote

The Champ...followers know I keep totally unofficial records for the largest ears-to-tiny-fawn-head ratio, and this fawn is numero uno. With the 6 foot proximity close-up and the winter coat, you get the fabulous curly-cue ear fur details inside those radar-dish sized deer ears too.

🌿🦌Mule Deer grow a dense winter coat featuring hollow hairs for insulation, often accompanied by thicker "ear fur" or ear tufts to combat cold. This heavy winter coat helps them survive temperatures as low as -40°F. 🌡️

Now you know. 🤘😶‍🌫️

#WildlifeWednesday
#EastCoastKin
#Photography
#Mammals
#OMGears

A scissor-tailed flycatcher standing on a wooden fence post. It is a small white bird with brown wings and an extremely long tail. It has bright orange color on its shoulder and underside

A scissor-tailed flycatcher standing on a wooden fence post.

A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on the hunt
#birds #CostaRica #photography

A North Atlantic Right Whale Baby Boom Is On—but the Species Remains at Risk Researchers have documented the births of nearly two dozen North Atlantic right whale calves this season. It’s an encouraging sign for a species whose population is estimated to be below 400.

If you need good news: highly endangered North Atlantic Right Whales are having lots of babies suddenly. 21 mother-calf pairs have been recorded so far, double last season! Endangered by fishing lines and ship strikes, less than 400 remain. But this is hopeful news

www.wired.com/story/a-nort...

Small roundish bird with white on the throat, breast, and tummy and a toasted marshmallow brown "necklace", cheek patch, and cap.

FOY snow bunting. It was right outside my first pickup today and was nice enough to land on the road right in front of me.
Raymond, OH

A young white-tailed doe looks back at the photographer, her muzzle and back dusted in the snow gently falling around her.

A young white-tailed doe looks off to her left while the gently falling snow dusts her head and back.

A quiet moment in the snow in my backyard. (taken with a long lens from my back deck). #mammals 🌿

A tiny hummingbird is perched at the very top of a dried yucca bloom stalk. The feathers on its throat are iridescent golden orange.

A male Allen’s hummingbird surveying his domain- and my backyard 🧡

Everyone likes photos of hummingbirds

Those tiny feets grabbing the side nubs of the stalk 🥰

#birds SoCal

A sharp, detailed macro photo of a pholcid spider (cellar spider) mid-meal, feeding on another spider. The pholcid's long, spindly legs are stretched out across the frame, each leg covered in fine hairs and tiny joints with reddish tones. Its small body is nestled in a silken web along a rough, earthy surface. The spider’s head is just visible, facing the camera with its distinct, tightly-clustered eyes that give it a zany, almost comical expression, like it's making direct eye contact while eating. The prey spider is tightly wrapped in silk, its body collapsed inward, clearly in the process of being consumed. Strands of web stretch throughout the scene, catching the light and giving a sense of chaos and tension. Bits of dirt and debris cling to the silk and stone surface around the pair, adding realism and context to the scene. The photo is rich with texture and detail, especially in the spider's legs, eyes, and the crisscrossed threads of its web.

A pholcid (cellar) spider having a snack of another spider. People often miss how zany and comical the eyes look on these. Always feels like they’re making eye contact mid-bite.
#bugsky #invert 🌿

A mossy wall and path with a tree

Path To Peter Tavy coombe this week, Dartmoor, I thought I’d explain a bit more about how I take many of my pictures.
Because of my health I can’t stand or walk for more than a couple of metres at a time so most of my photos are taken near roads.

This is your regularly scheduled reminder that I am sharing 5-10 job ads a day on my LinkedIn, broadly across marine biology, conservation policy, and science communication. Want to see them? Connect with me over there. 🧪🦑🌍 #SciComm

www.linkedin.com/in/david-shi...

Caribou wearing hockey pucks?!

Some trail camera photos from summer of 2024 along the Hudson Bay coast in Wapusk National Park, of hockey puck sized something on these animals.

Papilloma is our best guess so far.

Have you ever seen this in caribou @irngutaq.bsky.social

Belted Kingfisher illustration recently finished. Watercolor, colored pencil, and a bit of gouache on 6x9" cotton paper.

#sciart #birds

This image captures a majestic landscape featuring a large bird of prey, likely a bald eagle, soaring through a dramatic bay filled with towering limestone karats. Two massive, rugged rock islands dominate the mid-ground. They are steep and covered in patches of dark green vegetation, characteristic of locations like Ha Long Bay or similar coastal archipelagos. Further back, more distant peaks can be seen through the hazy channel. The foreground consists of calm, dark water with fine ripples on the surface. To the right, the large rock formation casts a long, detailed reflection into the water below. The background sky is a clear, pale blue, providing a high-contrast backdrop that makes the silhouette of the eagle and the jagged edges of the rocks stand out sharply.

An Eagle flying above the glacial waters

#NIKON #photography #nature #landscape #wallart #digitalArt #photoArt #DigitalDarkroom #EAGLE #Raptor #Ocean #GlacialWater

Who's the handsomest bird in the marsh? YOU ARE--yes, you're the handsomest boy

Or girl ... I don't know ... no sexual dimorphism

American Bittern

Lake Apopka, FL
Dec. 2025

Canon R5
RF 300 2.8

#Birds #BirdPhotography #Ducks #NaturePhotography #WildlifePhotography #Photography #EastCoastKin

A redpoll, a small fluffy songbird with beige tones, yellow-orange bill and a red forehead, perches on a willow branch caked in winter frost.

My first #BirdOfTheDay entry, for today’s theme of #ShortBeaks: this redpoll, sporting a short-but-mighty beak. I never hesitate to dole out props for these tough little birds, who come to Manitoba to spend the winter. #birds

I believe this is what's called a split-gill mushroom. Apparently there are a lot of different types. This one was about the size of a little green pea.

#photography #nature #mushroom #macro #macrophotography

Velvet worm stare-down. (You're currently face-to-face with the species Peripatoides suteri!)

📷 emily_r on iNaturalist
📍 New Zealand
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay

A very green short-winged green grasshopper (Dichromorpha viridis) shot in profile facing the right of frame on dusty dirt

#insectthursday
Short-winged green #grasshopper - Dichromorpha viridis
(Shot near Cincinnati 8-20-25) 🪳🪲🦗 #photography #macrophotography #wildlifephotography #wildlife #nature #animal #invertebrate #insect #bug #bugsky #ento

🔈 CALL FOR PAPERS

IBIS Special Issue

Collections-Based Ornithological Research in a Changing World

Submission deadline: 30 June 2026

onlinelibrary.wiley....

#ornithology 🪶

Graphic with black background featuring green silhouettes of diverse organisms including a crane, dragonfly, bear, spider, snake, jellyfish, starfish, lizard, mushrooms, butterfly, scorpion, snail, coral, cattails, and insects. White text reads "HELP US IDENTIFY" at top and "UNKNOWNS" at bottom.

Slide with black background and white text explaining that anyone can help with identifications on iNaturalist by sorting unknown observations — defined as observations uploaded with no identification at all. Below shows a screenshot of the iNaturalist Identify interface displaying a grid of thumbnail photos all labeled "Unknown."

Slide titled "WHAT YOU CAN DO" with three tips: add broad IDs like "Plants," "Insects," "Birds," or "Fungi"; start with what you recognize (example: ID a dragonfly as "Dragonflies"); and skip anything you're unsure about. Below shows an iNaturalist screenshot of a dragonfly observation being identified at the suborder level, with the Identify menu option circled in the navigation bar.

Slide stating "You can contribute identifications from any computer, anywhere in the world" with a call-to-action link tr.ee/identifyweek1. Below shows the iNaturalist Identify filters panel with the "Unknown" category icon and "Filters" button circled in green, highlighting how to find unidentified observations.

All you need to help make identifications on iNaturalist is a computer! Join our first-ever ID-a-thon and build your nature-identification skills — this week, we'd love your help sorting Unknown observations into broad categories. Learn more: tr.ee/identifyweek1

Anyone interested in being the next polar bear biologist for Nunavut? Starting at $143,000/year including northern living allowance is not shabby though cost of living is truly insano up there. There is an opportunity for some work from home.

www.gov.nu.ca/en/jobs/wild...

A vibrant pink flower with five petals.

A vibrant pink flower with five petals. The plant has deep green, round leaves and a thick stem.

The plant has deep green, round leaves and a thick stem.

The plant has deep green, round leaves and a thick stem.

You're looking at the very first observation of this species (Symplocos psiloclada) on iNaturalist!

📷 jhon_yuca on iNaturalist
📍 Peru
🔗: www.inaturalist.org/observations...
#ObservationOfTheDay

YouTube video by Alberta Wilderness Association AWA's 2025 Cypress Hills Bioblitz

We hosted a bioblitz in Cypress Hills Provincial Park back in June with our partner orgs!🌱🐜🌳🐦

Check out this video to take a closer look at this unique region and its many rare and endangered species: www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1zP...

Riparian habitats constitute only .04% of the Arizona landscape. Here the San Pedro flows, supported by a healthy canopy of willows and cottonwoods.

What an incredible time completing #beaver surveys along the Lower San Pedro River with Watershed Management Group this weekend.

THIS - perennial flow and gorgeous #riparian desert habitat - is what is what we WILL lose if copper #mining comes to the San Pedro Valley.

Profile of a female Red-bellied Woodpecker. She has a black and white striped body, a long black beak, and a red patch on the back of her neck.

Red-bellied Woodpecker
#birds #nature #photography

Arched concrete bridge across a prairie river with city skyline beyond.

#GoodMorningFromSaskatoon

Looking out over Lake Winnipeg in the morning as the rising sun disappears behind low clouds. The ice is fresh and smooth and mostly snow-free and a few centimeters of snow cover the ground.

Looking out from the same vantage point, but a bit further back on a clear sunny morning. There is much more snow on the ground and picnic table and the ice is covered in snow. There's also a ridge of ice along the shore where it's been pushed up by the wind in the last week.

What a difference a week makes. We've added several more centimeters of ice and snow and the ice has shifted along the shore quite a bit. I still wouldn't walk on the lake, but we're getting there.