Rebecca Heisman

Aw thank you!

YouTube video by SciShow These Birds Aren’t Real

I'm trying to spend less time on social media for the sake of my mental health BUT I thought y'all might enjoy this SciShow video that I wrote the script for, all about the ways that decoy/dummy birds are used in #ornithology. youtu.be/aSzCs_w0dhA?...

Having names for plants and animals is our starting point for interacting with nature. I think that's discouraging for a lot of people because they don't know the names for things around them (me included!) but instead why don't we just… make them up?

Political violence is bad. It usually begets more political violence.

Celebrating political violence is bad. It usually encourages more political violence, against various targets.

Campus shootings are bad. They make everyone on campus less safe.

It's bad that what I wrote here is controversial.

The biggest scandal in US public life *ought* to be that we are the richest country in history & yet our infrastructure sucks, our transportation choices suck, our cities suck, our healthcare sucks, our public administration sucks, & in dozens of little ways, our daily lives suck.

Good luck! I'm about to dive into the treacherous waters of learning disability diagnosis and accommodations myself...

Rural(ish) eastern Washington. He's in 2nd grade. And wow, that sounds bonkers!

21, I think? His school is dealing with declining enrollment, though - they recently dropped down from four kindergarten classes to three because they didn't have enough incoming students to justify four.

Guest Post – Where the Warblers Forage: How Birds Help Us Understand Habitat Quality in Shrublands “Bee-buzz buzz” and “pleased pleased pleased to meetcha” are two of the many frequently heard bird songs in the shrublands of Virginia.

WOS Research Award recipient Samantha Fishman's work has shown that although Chestnut-sided and Golden-winged warblers can tolerate a certain percentage of nonnative shrubs in the landscape, they both strongly prefer to forage on native shrubs. #ornithology

a man in a suit is crying in the rain . ALT: a man in a suit is crying in the rain .

the worst part of every manuscript for an ornithologist,

yes, worse than tough reviewers
worse even than outright rejection

when they typeset the paper and all the species names are lower case

The invisible ‘giant nets’ that catch the smallest songbirds - High Country News Collaboration and tiny technology are revolutionizing the study of migration.

Loved this @highcountrynews.org story about Motus research, and not just because researcher @andyjboyce.bsky.social is also featured in my book! www.hcn.org/articles/the...

Bird of Passage: September 2025 Our backyard has a unique bird-related feature...

I sent out my monthly email newsletter this morning. Random (usually bird-related) musings, book recommendations, and bird news from around the internet. Maybe subscribe if that sounds like it would interest you? buttondown.com/rheisman/arc...

I have not! Maybe I'll look for it.

This is what being a cancer survivor is like. (Context: when I was diagnosed w/ lymphoma in 2020, enlarged lymph nodes in my sternum were causing some tenderness.)

"Oh that's weird the area around my sternum aches OH F#&% MY CANCER MUST BE BACK S#!%—wait, I did pushups yesterday, my pecs are sore."

Grumpy burrowing owl sitting outside her man-made burrow. There is a pink flag with a smiley owl marking the burrow entrance.

Tfw someone asks you to smile for the camera. 🪶

A dark hawk with mottled brown feathers, bright red eyes, a hooked beak, and yellow talons perched on a branch.

I really love Snail Kites. They have incredible bills that are adapted to eating Apple Snails and they have those intense red eyes.

At Laguna de Sonso, Valle de Cauca #Colombia

#birds #nature

Bird of Passage: September 2025 Our backyard has a unique bird-related feature...

I sent out my monthly email newsletter this morning. Random (usually bird-related) musings, book recommendations, and bird news from around the internet. Maybe subscribe if that sounds like it would interest you? buttondown.com/rheisman/arc...

Oh word? Birds-of-paradise are just fluorescing left and right now? Goddamn! royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

What If We Get It Right?

Currently reading: What If We Get It Right by Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson. Enjoying this surprisingly uplifting book examining what the future could look like if humanity can come together to stop the worst effects of climate change. www.getitright.earth

Hello everyone! I am working on a story for The Guardian about how Chicagoans are preparing for the possible arrival of federal troops, following President Trump's statements on the matter. Right now, I'm looking for residents, community organizers, business owners, and other folks to talk to!

As everyone waits with bated breath for some announcement from the White House that may or may not be very significant, I am reminded of something @sarahkendzior.bsky.social wrote in a post a few days ago: "Do not let Donald Trump be the most important person in your life."

Bad news for these dancing birds: The Trump administration released draft plans today stripping away protections for the greater sage grouse on about 50 million acres of public lands across the West.

More info: https://bit.ly/4p1TKaz

What If We Get It Right?

Currently reading: What If We Get It Right by Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson. Enjoying this surprisingly uplifting book examining what the future could look like if humanity can come together to stop the worst effects of climate change. www.getitright.earth

Hummingbird Feels Like Fucking Idiot After Seeing Other Bird Gliding

Hummingbird Feels Like Fucking Idiot After Seeing Other Bird Gliding https://theonion.com/hummingbird-feels-like-fucking-idiot-after-seeing-other-bird-gliding/

You're right, I wonder if the duration has something to do with it - this is day four of continuous "moderate" air here and it's really starting to hit me.

Officially our air quality is within the yellow/moderate range right now, but there is a visible smoky haze in the air, and I don't think it's a coincidence that I feel tired and gross today and have heard several people around town mention that they're feeling the same way. Ugh.

#TimelineCleanse!

Artificial light has essentially lengthened birds' day Millions of audio recordings of hundreds of bird species have revealed that artificial light is making the birds wake up earlier and go to bed later.

The scope of this new analysis is pretty astonishing. The researchers used backyard birdsong recordings spanning 500 species across multiple continents. 🪶 www.npr.org/2025/08/21/n...

I try to remind myself that even though staffing the pass-through window at the shelter, dispensing socks and OTC meds and whatnot as people request them, doesn't feel particularly world-changing, it still means something.

Fluffy black white and orange calico cat very brightly lit because she’s sitting on the edge of my couch under a reading lamp. So looks very gentle and very soft.

Squeaky told me to tell you that you did great surviving the day today and that you deserve gentleness and rest