Lauren Harter

@lbharter.bsky.social

170 Followers 176 Following

(Mostly) desert #bird biologist and all-around bird nerd. ⚽️ fan, gardener, organism enthusiast, houseplant mom, cat mom, actual human mom. Not in that order. Opinions my own 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈💙

A Black-browed Albatross sits on the water with its wings raised, poised to strike, facing the camera directly
An all-black seabird swims comfortably on bright blue water
A fierce-looking brown bird sporting an antenna coming from a tag on its back
Screenshot from the iNaturalist app. It is topped with a small photo of a Northern Royal Flycatcher next to my username, hemispingus. Text reads “7000 observations” above a photo of a feather in my hand labeled White-winged Dove
Close-up photo of a brilliant yellow cactus flower
Photo of a bizarre caterpillar, short and thick lined with intimidating bristly hairs. It features two bristly pokers jutting up from each end. It is dark brown on the ends and lime green in the middle, with a dark brown saddle spot on its back.
Photo of a gray-brown stick that, upon further inspection, has legs and eyes
Photo of a tree trunk bedecked in medium-sized shelf fungi, most colored in concentric rings with orangey inner bits and purple outer rings
View down a city street with the Louisiana State Capitol at the end. Protestors line both sides of the street.
Photo of a small gray bird of prey perched on a dead branch. It is peering back over its shoulder with its dark red eyes
Photo of a flower with many long thin white petals extending from a cactus with many long, arching, smooth green stems. The flower has extra-long pale green bracts, and the reproductive parts are long and pale yellow
Photo of 16 books in a box: Terns of North America; Gulls of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East; Habitats of the World; Into the Great Wide Ocean; Velvet Ants of North America; Ferns, Spikemosses, Clubmosses, and Quillworts of Eastern North America; Birds of the Mesozoic; Insects of North America; Dragonflies of North America; and Birds of China
Photo of a cluster of milkweed flowers in shades of vibrant orange
Photo of a large, mostly green caterpillar, its massive size not adequately conveyed as it demolishes a swamp titi branch with audible chewing
Spoon-leafed sundew Drosera intermedia; a very small plant with dew-covered spatulas for leaves reaching a mighty 2 inches off the ground
GIF of Veruca Salt from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory singing “I’m going to scream” while laying waste to the factory under the judgmental eyes of the Oompa Loompas
Photo of a tiny sundew plant with spatulate leaves covered in dewy spikes
Photo of a green tree frog sleeping pressed up against a window
A small orange moth clings to a dewy window. Its wings have two bands of silver spots, like stained glass
Photo of a tortoiseshell-marked tabby curled up in max relaxation
Photo of a very small yellow bird being held safely by the legs
Photo of a large black beetle, dotted with water droplets, face-down on a large red rock
Photo of a small bird being held safely by the legs. It is mostly gray with a brown back, black bill, throat, and face, and bold white lines above and below the eye.
Photo of a silvery bee perched on a stem. The tip of the photographer’s finger provides scale, revealing that the bee is less than the size of a fingernail
Photo of a desert scene under a cloudy sky, mountains in the distance. The small shrubs dotting the sandy soil look dead, but Mojave yuccas and Joshua trees gleam in the dim light
Photo of a blooming creosote bush - peppered with small yellow flowers
A LeConte’s Thrasher being held safely by the legs. It is a pale gray medium-sized songbird, with a long, curved bill. A transmitter with a long antenna is just visible on its back.
Photo of a medium-sized songbird being held safely by the legs. It has bold spots on the underside and a bright yellow eye. In the background are mist nets set around desert shrubs
A woman (me) smiling as she holds a pale grah songbird with a long, curved bill.
A desert landscape dotted with creosote bushes and small mesquites. A person stands next to a 12-meter long mist net, and another person crouches behind the shrubbery
A dew-covered iris bloom, deep reddish in color
Photo showing mainly a tangle of branches. In the foreground of the lower right hand corner, more or less in focus but only partially within the frame, is a handsome Black Phoebe looking regal. In the center of the photo, entirely out of focus, is a lovely little Rufous-capped Warbler.
A tiny houseplant in a pot holds aloft on a long stem a small white flower. Other houseplants look on in the background.
Photo of a green anole. It’s bright green, blending in with the thistle it’s perched on. Around its face is a veil of peeling skin. The anole is also hosting a fly on its back; one wonders if it has noticed.
Close-up photograph of a roadrunner's face. It looks fierce as its crest is raised, hefty bill at the ready. Its eye is stunning: dark brown with the pupil surrounded by a pale yellow ring, reminiscent of the sun's corona seen during a total solar eclipse.
A large black bird perches on a pole in a landscape dotted with buildings, trees, fields, roadways, et cetera. Mountains loom large in the background. The raven is leaning forward with its head tilted, peering at the photographer.
Close-up of a flower on a single stalk. It has two stacked spiky clusters, with a few flowers sticking out of each cluster. The flowers are pale purple, with much longer petals on the bottom looking like tongues sticking out.
A photo of a small, low-growing plant. It has three leaves, pale green mottled with a darker green. In the center is a small, dark red flower bud
A tiny little oval-shaped beetle absolutely dwarfed by the fingertip on which it perches. It has stubby legs and antennae, and it's shiny dark red and bluish with a single neat light brown stripe on either side.
A well-camouflaged avian puffball pretends to be invisible on the leafy forest floor. It looks deer-like with its eyes on the sides of its head. Its plumage is a soft, rich buffy below, mottled above with gray, buff, and black. It has two dark bars across its head that must serve a purpose but look like an officer's insignia.
Two small plants on the forest floor. Each has three dappled leaves and a small central bud, looking more like tropical foliage than a native Louisiana plant
Cliffs rise above a canyon thick with pine trees. Rocks jut up from the ridges, divided by vertical fissures
A tiny plant crawling among the pebbles. Its pinnately compound leaves feature tiny leaflets oval in shape and turned up at the edges, forming little silvery spoons
A female Phainopepla perches on a bare mesquite branch. Her plumage is mostly smoky gray, with a jaunty crest and dull red eye.
Impossibly vibrant lime green flowers sprout on a very ouchy-looking cactus
Early morning in the desert. The sky is cerulean, Joshua trees and a Mojave yucca stand tall. Creosote bushes dot the landscape along with other shrubs and grasses.
Large yellow-orange flowers tower over thick, matted, heart-shaped leaves on otherwise barren, sandy soil
An open, grassy pine forest with a gentle upward slope dotted with tall yellow pines, and a weathered picnic table in the foreground.
Landscape of dramatic red cliffs dropping straight down to a ruddy brown Colorado River, with jagged cliffs winding to the horizon. A man stands in the foreground taking in the view.
Cute lil hummingbird perched placidly on a leafy Gardenia branch, but with a fierce expression. It's not very brightly colored, just green on the back with a hint of brown on the flanks and a streaked throat.
A teeny weeny owl with outsized grabbers clutches a small branch as it stares intently at something off-camera
A fluffy little owl perched inconspicuously on a maple branch
A very sneaky green frog with a handsome white stripe down its side hunches on a wall with its eye a narrow slit, it doesn't seem to realize it stands out like a sore thumb
A very cute bunny sitting on a lawn, munching a long blade of grass
Close-up of a showy flower with three large petals, mostly white with deep red marks at the base, a pale yellow spot in the center, and pale pink tips.
A basic plumaged Pacific Loon looks back as it swims away. Its crown and nape are silvery brown, with a white throat.