@lycophidion@birds.town

Diamondback Terrapin

This mama turtle was pretty chill. She didn't even fully retract when I approached, although she froze. So I backed up, but she stayed there for a few before scooting to the water.
#nature #naturephotography #naturecommunity #biodiversity #biodiversitydecline #testudines #turtle #reptile #wildlife #wildlifephotography

"The common name refers to the diamond pattern on top of its shell (carapace), but the overall pattern and coloration vary greatly. No two diamondback terrapins look alike. The shell is usually wider at the back than in the front, and from above it appears wedge-shaped. The shell coloring can vary from brown to grey, and its body color can be grey, brown, yellow, or white. All have a unique pattern of wiggly, black markings or spots on their body and head" (Wikipedia).

MikeF
@lycophidion@birds.town

From an "Other 98%" post on fb:

"Minneapolis isn’t “responding” to ICE anymore. Minneapolis is organizing to OUTLAST ICE. After weeks of escalated federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota, the Twin Cities are doing something the rest of the country keeps saying it wants but rarely builds: an everyday, neighborhood-level infrastructure that makes state violence harder to pull off in silence.

Here’s what that infrastructure looks like on the ground: Signal chats that spread sightings in minutes, people walking around with whistles, neighbors showing up fast when someone’s being cornered, and ordinary folks choosing “I’m watching” as a civic identity.

In a Jacobin interview, Minneapolis organizer Aru Shiney-Ajay describes a staggering density of participation, including neighborhood chats reaching “over 4 percent” of residents and rapid-response patrol chats that hit 1,000 people in a single neighborhood by late morning.
That matters because ICE thrives on logistics and isolation. You cannot “community statement” your way out of a federal dragnet. You have to interrupt the machine where it eats and sleeps and hides.

That’s why Minneapolis didn’t just stay defensive. It went on offense.
Activists have targeted the “pillars” that let ICE operate like an occupying force: hotels, rental cars, corporate partners, the quiet, normal places where repression refuels.

A local campaign that pushed a Hilton-branded hotel to refuse service to ICE, triggering national blowback and a corporate scramble. What makes this smart isn’t the spectacle. It’s the leverage. A regime can ignore outrage. It can’t ignore friction inside the supply chain that keeps its agents moving.

Then came the proof-of-concept flex: the January 23 “ICE Out” general strike day in Minneapolis and beyond, called by unions and community groups as a refusal of business as usual under terror.

This was a muscle-building exercise: can we coordinate, can we hold lines, can we protect each other, can we make the city ungovernable for people who think they can hunt humans here?
This is what resistance looks like when it grows up. Not just rage. Routines. Not just protest. Infrastructure.

And that’s the real exportable lesson: if you want ICE out of your city, don’t wait for permission from pundits or politicians. Build networks that make disappearance difficult, complicity expensive, and solidarity automatic."
#abolishice #Minneapolis #maga #fascism #antifascism

MikeF
@lycophidion@birds.town

Miccosukee Tribe Lawsuit Challenges Environmental Harm at “Alligator Alcatraz”

https://truthout.org/articles/miccosukee-tribe-lawsuit-challenges-environmental-harm-at-alligator-alcatraz/

#trump #fascism #alligatoralcatraz #environment #nativeamerican #indigenous

MikeF
@lycophidion@birds.town

Some Mothers' Day birds celebrating their day (or season) at Jamaica Bay wildlife refuge, NYC. These are a few of the #Warblers we observed or heard. See alt-text for id's and descriptive info.
#birds #birding #birdphotography #wildlife #nature #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #biodiversity

Blackburnian Warbler perched on a twig high up in a tree. "The breeding male [like this one], with vivid orange in face and throat, is unmistakable; females and immatures show at least a hint of this coloration, but more important is the unique triangular facial pattern of black (or gray), also seen in all plumages." (AllAboutBirds)

Male Black and white Warbler standing on the vertical trunk of a tree. These birds are often found scurrying up and down tree trunks as they search for insects in the bark. "These birds are boldly striped in black and white. Their black wings are highlighted by two wide, white wing bars. Adult males have more obvious black streaking, particularly on the underparts and the cheek. Females (especially immatures) are paler, with less streaking and usually a wash of buff on the flanks. The undertail coverts have distinctive large black spots." (AllAboutBirds)

Male Black-throated Green Warbler perched on a pine twig. "These are olive-green birds, white below, with yellow faces and black on the front. Adult males are stunning, with a bright yellow face and extensive black on the throat turning to black streaks on the flanks. Two bright white wingbars. Females and young birds are patterned like males, but duller and lacking the extensive black on the throat." (AllAboutBirds)

Male Yellow Warbler singing while perched on a branch. "Yellow Warblers are uniformly yellow birds. Males are a bright, egg-yolk yellow with reddish streaks on the underparts. Both sexes flash yellow patches in the tail. The face is unmarked, accentuating the large black eye." (AllAboutBirds)

MikeF
@lycophidion@birds.town

A few of my star City Nature Challenge birds, Sunday in Prospect Park. Kentucky Warbler, Least Bittern, American Bittern. The two Bitterns were amazingly out in the open and nearby!
#birds #birding #biodiversity #birdphotography #wildlifephotography

Kentucky Warbler perched on a branch, small stocky warbler with olive green upper, yellow lower, black cap and eyeline, yellow supercilium.

Least Bittern strolling across a log across a stream. A robin-sized heron with a red-brown body with white dorsal markings and darker coverts.

American Bittern perched on a partly submerged branch. A medium-sized heron with a red-brown streaked light breast, mottled light brown upper.

MikeF
@lycophidion@birds.town

Siju Platanero, Aka Cuban Pigmy Owl (Glaucidium siju). Evidently nesting nearby, this little guy flew to a perch right over my head, presumably to make sure I stayed on the straight-and-narrow. These small owls are nocturnal, but didn't seem shy about being visible in broad daylight. I saw them repeatedly during my stay in the Playa Larga (Playa Girón)/Ciénaga de Zapata and Valle de Viñales areas. They are found pretty much anywhere there are lots of trees, except at higher altitudes, and forages night and day on lizards, insects, small mammals and birds.
#nature #NaturePhotography #birds #Wildlife #naturecommunity #photography #BirdsOfMastodon #birdphotography #birding #Cuba #Cubanwildlife #biodiversity #owl

Siju Platanero/Cuban Pigmy Owl, a small cinnamon-colored owl perched on a branch, staring at the photographer.

MikeF
@lycophidion@birds.town

Doin' the Long-tailed Hustle!

(Courtship display by male Long-tailed Duck)
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Long-tailed Ducks are a small, deep-diving species that feeds on fish and other small creatures on or near the seabed.
#nature #NaturePhotography #birds #Wildlife #naturecommunity #photography #BirdsOfMastodon #birdphotography #birding #LongtailedDuck

"Long-tailed Duck is a small, slender sea duck with a rounded head and a small bill. The male has long tail plumes most of the year. Males in winter are mostly white and black: the head is white with a large dark patch on the neck. The breast and body are dark with white plumes covering the back. The bill is mostly black with a pink band. Males in summer are infrequently seen away from the Arctic, but are roughly the reverse of their winter plumage, with a dark head, neck, and body, and a white face patch. Females and young males are smudgy brown on the body with a white face, a brown crown and cheek patch, and a dark bill." (AllAboutBirds). This male was engaged in a courtship in which he lifted the front part of his body out of the water and pointed his bill skyward, while rotating his head left and right. He looked very happy!

MikeF
@lycophidion@birds.town

Diamondback Terrapin

This mama turtle was pretty chill. She didn't even fully retract when I approached, although she froze. So I backed up, but she stayed there for a few before scooting to the water.
#nature #naturephotography #naturecommunity #biodiversity #biodiversitydecline #testudines #turtle #reptile #wildlife #wildlifephotography