Dexter Patterson aka Wisco Birder

Refill. Turn around. Refill again. 🏃🏾‍♂️ #NationalBirdFeedingMonth hits different! #Sponsored 🐦‍⬛🥜😋🫶🏾🪶

You dropped so many gems on this episode. We’re lucky to have you on!

Recently featured on the Bird Joy Podcast with @wiscobirder.bsky.social & Jason Hall talking all things @specialbirdservice.bsky.social, outdoor access, opportunity & community! Listen to the episode now wherever you listen to your podcasts - open.spotify.com/episode/45Yk...

Huge thanks to Amar Ayyash and Illinois Audubon Society for the invitation. We spent time outside identifying gulls and sharpening our skills, but we also had important conversations about building a more inclusive birding community and making sure more people feel welcome in these spaces. 🫶🏾🪶

Front entrance of a small building with a large banner that reads “Illinois Audubon Society Winthrop Harbor Gull Frolic.” A welcome sign near the door promotes the event and features a photo of Dexter Patterson speaking about Birds of the Great Lakes. The scene is bright and sunny with shadows cast across the sidewalk.

Headed to the 2026 Annual Gull Frolic as the featured speaker and I’m fired up to see my gull loving homies. 🐦

Big shoutout to Amar Ayyash and Illinois Audubon for the invite.

Second leg of the Birds of the Great Lakes Book Tour is officially underway.

You ready? Let’s Go! 🪶🫶🏾

Living the good life ☺️

The best! Now I’m waiting for my little House Finch buddies and Red-winged Blackbirds ☺️

Two girls stand over a cardboard tray filled with owl pellet materials, including fur and small bones. They use wooden skewers and blue plastic tweezers to carefully separate the contents. One girl wears a purple hoodie with a cartoon dog face and clear glasses, and the other wears a black coat and blue sweater.

A smiling child with curly hair looks through a large spotting scope mounted on a tripod. The child wears a bright blue long-sleeve shirt and leans into the eyepiece while standing in a busy indoor event space with families gathered around tables in the background.

A girl with long dark hair examines a small bone from an owl pellet using a magnifying glass while holding blue tweezers. The cardboard tray in front of her contains scattered fur and bones. Other families and tables are visible in the background of the gymnasium.

A young child wearing a black winter coat with a pink hood uses blue plastic tweezers to point at a circular bird identification board on an easel. The child looks focused while standing in a gymnasium space with blue and white walls.

Rita spent a few hours talking about birds, birding, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, and yes… owl pellets 🦉💩

At Women & Girls in Science, we got hands-on. We dissected pellets. We looked at tiny bones. We peered through spotting scopes. We talked about how birding & science is for everyone. 🫶🏾

Just heard a male Northern Cardinal singing 🥰

Bad Bunny refused to let hate steal his joy. Well done, Sir 👏🏾

It really does!

It’s so nice to leave the office and it’s not completely dark outside! We will gain another 70 minutes of daylight in February! 🫶🏾

Smiling person wearing glasses and a dark blazer takes a selfie indoors, pointing toward a lit sign that reads ‘Friends of the Chicago River’ with a wave graphic beneath the text.

Large digital screen displaying the title ‘Chicago-Calumet River Summit: In Defense of Biodiversity,’ presented by Friends of the Chicago River, with blue background and stylized wave graphics. Date shown as January 30, 2026.

Close-up of a printed or projected conference agenda showing a session titled ‘Building a Culture of Conservation,’ listed after lunch.

Conference agenda listing speakers and roles, including a keynote by Dexter Patterson of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, along with additional speakers and panelists from Friends of the Chicago River, Shedd Aquarium, and Illinois Natural History Survey.

What’s up, Chi Town! Almost time for my keynote Friends of the Chicago River Summit! 🗣️

Whew 😅

A close-up of a Long-eared Owl perched in a tree, partially hidden by green branches. One bright yellow eye is visible, and its tall ear tufts are backlit by warm sunlight, creating a soft glow around the feathers.

A front-facing view of a Long-eared Owl sitting quietly in a tree. The owl’s ear tufts are raised, its yellow eyes are half open, and dappled sunlight filters through evergreen branches in the foreground, softly blurring the lower part of the image.

Had to share a couple pics of another Long-eared Owl homie I had the pleasure of seeing recently. This one was solo and doing its own thing, not roosting with others. Always grateful for these quiet moments in the woods. 📷👐🏾🫶🏾🦉🪶

Kristi Noem and DHS don’t want us to see this video.

📌 Alex was disarmed BEFORE he was shot. This was murder.

Trump and his gestapo murdered another person in Minneapolis. Are you awake yet? Is this the greatness you claimed you wanted?

US Senate passes bill to boost federal science spending after White House sought major cuts The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to approve billions of dollars in funding for federal science agencies, rejecting deep cuts proposed by President Donald Trump in space and other areas.

Wow! Yay! The Senate just rejected Trump’s proposed science cuts, voting 82–15 to boost funding for NOAA, NASA, and the NSF. The bill already passed the House 397–28. Strong bipartisan support for science still exists.

💯💯💯

Grateful to be at America’s Black Holocaust Museum on behalf of The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, engaging in powerful conversations and workshops around Environmental Justice. Environmental Justice is an US issue, and I am excited to be here working toward collective solutions. 🫶🏾

Nah I know what I like lol 😂

Thank you! 😊

I’ve seen bats in action and footage of Shrews. I’m still taking the Sawwhet Owl. 🦉

MINE lol

A Northern Saw-whet Owl perched on a horizontal tree branch, staring directly at the camera with bright yellow eyes, its brown-and-white streaked chest visible. A small mouse rests beneath the owl’s talons on the branch.

Close-up side profile of a Northern Saw-whet Owl showing intricate white speckling on its brown head and a single yellow eye peering through soft, out-of-focus evergreen branches.

A Northern Saw-whet Owl resting on a horizontal branch with eyes closed, its rounded body fluffed. A small mouse lies beneath the owl’s feet on the branch, partially hidden by twigs and needles.

A Northern Saw-whet Owl turned slightly to the side, its round yellow eye wide open as it looks downward. The owl stands on a tree branch with a small mouse beneath its feet, surrounded by blurred forest branches in the background.

The Northern Sawwhet Owl is cutest “Itty Bitty Murderer” ever! #WiscoBirder 📷👐🏾🫶🏾🦉

🤣🤣🤣🤣

YES!

Facts!

They do! I always check the white pines first they really seem to like them.

Who wants to help me find the Northern Sawwhet Owl? You Ready? Let’s GO! #WiscoBirder 📷👐🏾🫶🏾🦉🪶