Mirabilia Magpie (she/her)

For ease of navigation and sharing, I have turned my little list into a website: standwithminnesota.org

Hoping against hope that Democrats in the House do a better job of #holdingtheline

Any Democrat who caves deserves to lose their seat.

Today is a struggle but I am grateful for the nature just outside my glass doors: desert cottontails, Gambel’s quail, a gila woodpecker, and white-crowned sparrows helped me breathe a my last meeting.

I do not believe the FBI images for a second & neither should you. This is all being orchestrated for their escalation against immigrants and people of color. A MAJORITY of shooters are white, cis, heterosexual men. So, watch the spin, and who is in charge of the information that is being released!

OTM's Breaking News Consumer's Handbook, noting 1. In the immediate aftermath, news outlets will get it wrong. 2. Don't trust anonymous sources. 3. Don't trust stories that cite another news outlet as the source of the information. 4. There's almost never a second shooter. 5. Pay attention to the language the media uses. • “We are getting reports” … could mean anything. • “We are seeking confirmation” … means they don’t have it. • “[News outlet] has learned” … means it has a scoop or is going out on limb. 6. Look for news outlets close to the incident. 7. Compare multiple sources. 8. Big news brings out the fakers. And photoshoppers. 9. Beware reflexive retweeting. Some of this is on you.

Just going to leave this from @onthemedia.bsky.social here

Close up of a brown/gray dove with a bright red eye surrounded by a sky blue ring. Bird has medium long thinnish dark beak and black patch on cheek. Bird’s head is leaning slightly away from camera and the look suggests the emotion of unpleasant surprise and disbelief.

I am pretty sure I have had an expression much like that of this White-winged dove Cafter returning from a vacation looking for #birds in and around the Chiricahua Mountains and seeing the latest headlines.

Only one very bad photo taken through a dirty windshield but I was able to add an Elegant Trogon to my life list today. Not the only lifer but the most unexpected.

Mostly black and brown bird closeup. Photo shows the head (turned to the right) and upper back of the bird. Bird has a dark crest which is flattened back, white horizontal striping on the face, and a longish dark beak.

I had a peeping tom this afternoon who was completely unbothered when I got up to get my camera and take several photos through the glass door #birds

thank you

small hummingbird with pale underside, greenish grey back, black bill, and the first few purple gorget and crown feathers showing. Bird is perched on a twig in front of a gray background and is looking toward camera with head turned slightly to the side so only one eye visible.

Juvenile male Costa’s hummingbird, taken at Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon near Green Valley, Arizona. #birds

small mostly pale bird with distinctive face strips in white, black, and chestnut. Bird has pink feed and is perched on small rocks at the edge of the of the water. The bird is clearly reflected in the water.

As part the SE Arizona Birding Festival, I joined 3 accessible outings for my first time birding as part of an organized group. Having more than just my own eyes was a treat as was meeting some nice folks. Lists yet to be tabulated/ photos sorted but this reflection was a nice surprise. #birds

and that photo that gets you a few minutes of internet fame is likely to be the nightmare of someone affected

If you are posting info (especially numerical data) following a disaster, please include a date and time.

Also disaster tourism gets in the way of finding and helping those affected and cash is the most helpful thing to donate unless responding to a specific and credible request.

People living under fascism didn’t survive by giving up joy—they protected it.

They held onto the things fascism tried to erase: art, friendship, jokes, rituals, language, memory.

Not as escapism but as resistance. As proof they were still human.

Joy isn’t frivolous under fascism. It’s strategic.

Black and white bird with a long black tail and grey legs standing in front of a clay colored dish and green succulent plant. Bird is seen in profile with its head turn looking back over its body and tail

Grateful that someone let me grab a photo while they were visiting. #birds

Medium sized bird on a perch in front of a mostly blue background. Bird is mostly a grayish tan with white wing edges, red feet and legs, and a bright blue patch around it reddish eye.

White-winged doves can be bullies at the feeders but this one was looking lovely in the early morning light. Taken at Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary, Hereford, Arizona. #birds

Small hummingbird with a bright fushia head and a mostly pale belly. Perched on a bare twig with thorns looking almost straight at the camera in front of a blurry leaf background.

I took a much needed break from all the bad things happening in the world to visit Las Cienegas NCA, Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary, and Paton’s Center for Hummingbirds. I added at least two lifers (White-tailed Kite, and Ash-throated Flycatcher. Here is an Anna’s Hummingbirds from Ash Canyon. #birds

all the typos in that post are why one should not do social media things with a headache

small grey bird with a lighter chest and belly and dark legs perched on the edge of a metal container into which water is falling.

Not a productive photo or bird day but a chance to explore Tohono Chul before it got too hot. I found a few spots likely to be favorites for meincluding the area where I finally got an identifiable photo of a Lucy’s warbler one of the life birds I have added since arriving in AZ. #birds

I wish we could have had a vice president like that

I miss waking up and my first thought not being what fresh hell has been set in motion while I slept?

When Stephen Miller gave the orders to ICE to conceal identity, Miller helped get these elected officials shot. He’s complicit in these attacks.

Impeach, remove, prosecute, imprison.

Small tan ground squirrel with a lighter underside, in proportion to its body large eye and ear. Standing on landscape gravel/rocks in profile with its head turned slightly toward the camera.

One of the round-tailed ground squirrels who have been entertaining and distracting me the last couple of days. The adults like this one are cute but the young are cute magnified. Sadly the babies are not cooperating when it comes to photos. Taken through a glass door.

Dark bird perched on a branch with a blurred background of brownish ground. Bird is looking to the right of the photo. It has a red eye and thick dark bill. The bird has a somewhat sinister look.

Two lifers today but only one with a photo. This Bronze Cowbird was taken at Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon. The second was my first Harris Hawk while driving to Saguaro NP East early this morning. #birds

Peaceful scene of a table and chairs on a covered porch looking into desert scrubland and a view of Mount Lemmon in the distance.

Grateful for a summer next that exceeds my expectations. Three days and a “yard” bird count of over twenty.

Darn it; how did my settings change to lose the reminder to add alt text.

Lucky spot if not great photo of the day was this Swainson’s hawk nesting along the road at Smith Reservoir in Colorado. More exciting but a worse photo was finally managing to spot a Pinyon Jay to add it to my life list. It made me work for it but an identifiable photo was managed.

There were a dozen or so birds to add to my 2025 list and the first gosling spotting of the year as well.

I spent a delightful few hours at Monte Vista NWR today. This Wilson’s Snipe was one of my favorite subjects. #birds

As delightful as today was, I am so looking forward a month from now . I will have lots of new places to explore and a different set of birds to photograph