@mcpdx.bsky.social
I'm Matt. I like birds and I dislike fascism. Photos by me.
a great blue heron perches on a snag with one wing extended
I'm as guilty as any birder of "just"-ing locally common birds. "That's just a great blue heron."
Well, this was just a really cool pose.
Great blue heron, photographed March 2025 in Forest Grove, OR.
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Snow geese in flight. Photographed 3/1/25 on Sauvie Island, OR.
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Itβs a pine siskin, which is a type of finch. This one is not in adult plumage yet (would have yellow on its wings)
21.02.2025 01:03 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
The US is in the midst of a hostile fascist takeover by an unelected oligarch and we're starting trade wars with our closest friends. Support organizations like @democracydocket.com to fight back.
Anyway, here's a belted kingfisher.
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Taking a brief break from posting birds to point out that, yes, you saw Elon Musk repeatedly do a nazi salute. Believe your eyes.
Back to bird photos soon, promise.
Diving bufflehead. Photographed yesterday in Yaquina Bay, Newport, OR.
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Uncropped/cropped. A mess of shorebirds (mostly red knots, dunlins, and ruddy turnstones with a number of untold other peeps).
Photographed May 2024 near Cape May, NJ.
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Thatβs amazing! Nice photos.Itβs so cool when they look right back at you like that.
22.12.2024 02:15 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
a protonotary warbler sings while perching on a branch
New World warblers are my weakness. When you travel to see them, you get the weather you get. But, better to have good birding with bad weather than the reverse!
Prothonotary warbler - photographed on a rainy day in May, 2024 - Belleplain State Forest, NJ.
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a purple sandpiper forages for food along a rocky shorline
Unlike most sandpipers, purple sandpipers are usually found foraging along rocky shorelines.
I spotted this one in May, 2024, near Cape May, NJ.
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barred owl
barred owl
Since people seemed to enjoy the barred owl photos I posted yesterday, here are a couple of different poses. This was a very cooperative owl! It was probably 5 feet off the trail.
Barred owl - photographed June, 2024, in Portland, OR.
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I walked right by this barred owl on a busy trail and didn't even see it. My partner pointed it out.
It was only worried about us enough to open one eye. I wonder how many people walked right by without noticing.
Photographed June, 2024, in Portland, OR.
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a pair of black-crowned night herons tend to their nest
A pair of black-crowned night herons tend to their nest.
Photographed May, 2024, in Ocean City, NJ.
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Wastewater treatment plants are some of the best places to bird. I visit them all the time!
14.12.2024 02:55 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
a great-crested flycatcher perches on a branch
Birding in new regions is exciting even when you don't spot your target birds. I had hoped for a trove of warblers on this day, but was delighted to see my (then lifer) great-crested flycatcher.
Photographed May 2023, Indiana Dunes National Park
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a female phainopepla perches on a branch
a male phainopepla perches on a branch
"Phainopepla" comes from the Greek for "shining robe" which refers to the appearance of the male of the species.
For some reason, though, the females have seemed more cooperative when I try to photograph them.
Photographed January, 2023, in Las Vegas, NV.
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a semipalmated plover stands on one leg on a beach
Semipalmated plover. One of the most adorable shorebirds out there.
Photographed May 2024 near Cape May, NJ.
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Hummingbirds: tiny, cute, and, most of all: mean. They defend their food sources with a ferocity belied by their diminutiveness. Luckily, their ire is mostly reserved for other hummingbirds. Mostly.
Allen's hummingbird - spotted November 2022 in Imperial Beach, CA.
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Common murres spend most of their time at sea, only coming to shore to breed where they gather in dense (and often large) colonies on rocky cliffs and islands.
Common murre colony - photographed July 2024 in Newport, OR.
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a western meadowlark perches on a rock
The western meadowlark is the state bird of 6 US states, including my home state of Oregon where I spotted this one.
Western meadowlark - photographed December 2022 in Newport, OR.
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an indigo bunting perches on a small branch
Are blue birds actually blue?
Not really. Birds that appear blue look that way because of the way their feathers scatter light that reflects off them. There is no bird that produces blue pigment.
Indigo bunting - photographed May 2024 near Cape May, NJ.
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a group of 7 wimbrels stand on a small island
An island full of whimbrels. Photographed May 2024 in Cape May, NJ.
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Oregon-based nature photographer here!
05.12.2024 19:45 β π 8 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Anna's hummingbird perches on a branch with its gorget brightly lit
anna's hummingbird perches on a branch with its gorget not catching the light
Hummingbird gorget feathers are iridescent, which means the apparent color and luminance change depending on the angle light reflects off them.
These were taken less than a second apart.
Anna's hummingbird - photographed January 2021 in Forest Grove, OR.
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a common bushtit with its face stained yellow from pollen
After years of birding, this still happens to me sometimes.
"What is that little bird? It looks like a bushtit but it has a yellow face. Could it be something rare?!"
No. It just has pollen on its face.
Common bushtit - photographed March 2024 in Albany, OR.
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a white-throated sparrow stands among sticks, lichens, and dead leaves
White-throated sparrows are a winter visitor where I live. There is a tan-striped form I had never seen before, until I spotted this one!
White-throated sparrow (tan-striped form) - photographed December, 2024 on Sauvie Island, OR.
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a fox sparrow stands on the ground among sticks and dead leaves
Birding on a foggy morning, or: how I learned to stop worrying and love high ISO.
Fox sparrow - photographed today on Sauvie Island, Oregon.
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No matter how many times I see them, I still can't believe nature came with something that looks like wood ducks do.
Photographed today in Gresham, Oregon.
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Itβs normal for immature little blues. This one would have hatched in spring of this year and will start molting into adult plumage next spring.
01.12.2024 00:32 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
a wading juvenile little blue heron is reflected in the water
Little blue heron in all-white juvenile plumage. Photographed September, 2024, in San Diego.
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