Lyn Heideman

@heidelyn.bsky.social

2269 Followers 2465 Following

I'm only here for the birds. And, as it turns out, what's good for birds is good for other wildlife and people, too. (Note on links to articles: if the article has a paywall, I post a gift link; if there's no "gift" notation, the article has no paywall.)

Wensi takes advantage of some alone time on the nest to really stretch those wings. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
These pelicans were starving when they were rescued and taken into care by International Bird Rescue, a global wildlife conservation organization that runs two aquatic bird rehabilitation centers in California.
Jackie has been rescued and is in care. Waiting for the results of tests to determine why she can't fly. (Photo courtesy of the Ojai Raptor Center.)
Two Peregrines—in this case, Walton (front) and Scout—can make even more noise. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Walton made a brief appearance on the nest ledge today. Despite a previous visit ending when Monty chased him off for buzzing Hartley, he returned today, making a racket. A parent heard him coming and had already fled by the time Walton landed. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
When winds became intense, Iris kept Chick close to her and faced them into the wind so they wouldn't be blown off the nest. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
Chick is making good progress on growing an impressive Osprey wingspan. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
The Loggerhead Shrike is a predatory songbird, using its hooked bill to dispatch rodents, lizards, and small birds, as well as insects. It earns the nickname “butcher-bird” by its habit of impaling its prey on thorns or on the barbs of barbed wire. This shrike in Florida has just captured a large dragonfly, a common green darner, and impaled it on a fence, where it is beginning to dismantle the hapless insect. (Loggerhead Shrike photo by Laura Serdiuk/Audubon Photography Awards and courtesy of the Audubon Society.)
The new report on extreme event attribution was prepared by a committee of 14 scholars representing meteorology, law, sociology, civil engineering and other disciplines. It is an update to a previous National Academies report that examined attribution science in 2016, when it was still a nascent field. The National Academies report finds that researchers’ methods for extreme event attribution have advanced “considerably” in recent years. Scientists are using more sophisticated techniques and better data, the report says. That is helping them assess with greater confidence how much the searing temperatures during a particular hot spell, for instance, can be attributed to human activity as opposed to routine randomness in the atmosphere. Pinpointing the influence of human-caused warming remains a challenge for some kinds of unruly weather, the report notes, including tornadoes and hail storms. And many developing nations lack the long-term weather records that would help scientists make confident attributions about events there, the report says.
On July 13, Trump ordered that nearly three million acres be stripped from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. This map shows the areas that are being stripped of protections—and the result is devastating. (Source: The Bureau of Land Management, July 2026. Courtesy of The Wilderness Society and Wes Siler.)
Photo of the Grand Staircase-Escalante courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Chick is just beginning to be steady on his feet but has already mastered the "downward bird" move. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
Iris and Chick worked as a team to keep an eye on their territory. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
Just after midnight, Iris saw a Great Horned Owl (GHO) in her territory. Owls are a danger to chicks. Iris took off, knocked the owl off the Owl Pole, and dispatched the intruder. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
When the sibling starts to move in on him, Walton takes off with his prey. (The cam operator couldn't get a close up, so I can't be completely sure the bird was a sibling. Walton was relaxed until the bird started to move near him, so it's likely the bird was a sibling and not a threat.) (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Walton with prey he'd likely just captured. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
El Niño typically brings drier conditions to Central America, northern South America, the Caribbean, Australia, Indonesia, and parts of south Asia. (Photograph by Kevin Herbian/NurPhoto/Shutterstock and courtesy of The Guardian.)
In the late afternoon, Scout landed on the City Hall louvers and spent time preening and napping. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Scout checked out the view from the low ledge in the nest area. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Scout started the morning by chasing Monty off the nest ledge. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
The Moon House cliff dwelling under the sandstone domes on Cedar Mesa, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah. (Photo by Jon G. Fuller / Getty Images. Courtesy of Earthjustice.)
Chick is growing rapidly and feathers are replacing down. Chick will be fully feathered and ready to fledge at about 8 weeks old. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
Photo of the New Britain Sparrowhawk © Joep Duijvestijn, Macaulay Library.
Photo of the New Ireland Friarbird © Danny Bregman, Macaulay Library.
Photo of the White-naped Lory © Casper (Philip) Leygraaf, Macaulay Library.
The Harpy Eagle is breathing with its mouth open—called gular fluttering—to release heat. (Photo by Diane Allison and courtesy of The Peregrine Fund.)
Energy Innovation's analysis examines the impact of 7 major policy shifts during Trump's second term: * Passage of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). * The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) reconsideration and repeal of Clean Air Act Greenhouse Gas Standards, Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, and Clean Water Act Effluent Limitations Guidelines for electric power plants. * EPA’s repeal of the endangerment finding and federal tailpipe emissions standards. * Passage of Congressional Review Act resolutions overturning approvals for state-level tailpipe emissions standards. * Actions to limit renewable energy development—especially onshore and offshore wind plants—including limitations on issuance of new permits. * Department of Energy cancellations of hydrogen hub funding and easing of 45V tax credit qualification for natural gas-based hydrogen. * EPA’s cancellation of the $7 billion Solar for All grant program. (Photo of President Trump and EPA Administrator Zeldin arriving for an event to announce the rollback of the 2009 endangerment finding on February 12, 2026. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images and courtesy of Common Dreams.)
Walton seen first this morning on the San Jose City Hall sunshades. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
HOW TO CALL: Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. An operator will ask for your zip code or the name of your representative or senator to route you straight to their office. SAMPLE SCRIPT: “I'm calling to let [Representative _______ / Senator _____] know that Wilderness is important. The Wilderness Act was a bipartisan bill passed in 1964 and the threats are greater than ever. Agencies are flouting the law and Congress is actively considering bills that will undermine and chip away at the Wilderness Act. Please keep nonconforming exceptions out of Wilderness bills and start holding the agencies accountable for their attacks on Wilderness. Thank you!" (Photo of storm clouds building over the Eagle Cap Wilderness in Oregon. Photo by Leon Werdinger and courtesy of The Wilderness Society.)
Photo of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by Tarpley, BLM, and courtesy of The Wilderness Society.
By the 1970s, the Mexican gray wolf was virtually exterminated from the wild by the U.S. government and private parties. Only the Endangered Species Act (ESA) saved the wolf from vanishing entirely. After the act’s passage, the descendants of just seven wild-born wolves were bred in captivity to save the subspecies from extinction and enable reintroduction. Thanks to ESA protections, and decades of investment and collaboration between public and private institutions, Mexican wolves were reintroduced to the wild in 1998. Today ~286 roam Arizona and New Mexico, occupying a fraction of their historic and suitable range. Photo of 8 Mexican gray wolves in a forest courtesy of the Wolf Conservation Center.
Juvenile heard his parents bonding and paid a visit to the nest area. By the time he arrived, Hartley and Monty had fled. This may be Jet, given that he's the only one with a color band (red) on his left leg and the alphanumeric band on the right leg. It was hard to tell given the distance and that there was no clear image of his leg bands. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Photo of a juvenile Imperial Eastern Eagle in flight. (Photo © Jens Eriksen. Courtesy of eBird and the Macaulay Library.)
Scout turned up on the nest ledge this afternoon. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Chick is starting to be able to stand up. Here, Chick knows to get out of the way when Iris (pictured) or Clark start to do nestorations. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
One of the juvenile Peregrines on the roof of San Jose City Hall was being coy about showing off his legs. The glimpse I was to get of his bands suggested that this is Walton. Yesterday, Walton was so hungry he was nibbling on the nest area wiring. I'm glad to see this bird sporting a full crop—and completely uninterested in the pigeon scurrying by. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Scout on the nest area ledge, looking for his next meal. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Walton on the nest area's low ledge. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Graphic courtesy of the New York Times.
This is Chico, a few days before July 4th, after which he was never seen again. (Chico is the Peregrine chick pinned to the top of my feed.) (Photo courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
The San Jose City Hall Falcons may have all dispersed (left the parents' territories). Stewart's tracking device stopped functioning, but he is believed to have been the first to leave. The last report on Jet's tracking device placed him in the Livermore-Altamont area of California. This is Walton on July 1. He and Scout haven't been seen in the area this evening; awaiting reports on their tracking devices. (Screen capture courtesy of the San Jose City Hall Falcons.)
Hellgate Ospreys. Iris (left) and Clark (right) getting Chick ready for bed. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
Big Bear Valley Bald Eagles. Sandy and Luna are spending the night again on the nest tree, where—not coincidentally—Jackie and Shadow drop off fish for their fledglings. Jackie and Shadow roost nearby to keep an eye on them. (Screen capture courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley.)
After fledging adventures separated them for 4 days, Sandy and Luna reunited today and spent the night on branches in the nest tree. (Screen capture courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley.)
Chick is almost too big to tuck under Iris. Chick does seem to like tucking under headfirst. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
Light brown feathers are replacing Chick's dark baby down. (Screen capture courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Montana Osprey Project.)
Poster for the July 4th fireworks on the National Mall.
Photo of an endangered gray wolf standing in a forest in the snow. (Photo courtesy of the Endangered Species Coalition.)
Hikers explore the lush cedar forests in the East Fork Bull River drainage of the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. (Photo by Katherine O'Brien and courtesy of Earthjustice.)
As night arrives, Luna decides to spend the night at the top of the Simba tree, where he landed this morning after fledging. Shadow has been, well, his shadow since he fledged. (Screen capture courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley.)
Sandy just finished a fish Jackie brought. She's doing very well after her accidental fledge. (Screen capture from a security camera courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley.)
Sandy has been spotted in the "headless tree," which is just to the right of the tree where Luna landed after fledging. (Screen capture courtesy of the Friends of Big Bear Valley.)