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jondrobny.com
Jon
@jondrobny.com
1K followers 190 following 210 posts
Physicist | Photographs birds | He/him | San Diego County | "Anything can happen in this world, we really know very little" | jondrobny.com
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Reposted by Jon
debmaluk.bsky.social
🤯 #aurora #ShareYourWeather Fabulous evening in Southern Manitoba
Overhead beams of red aurora Green aurora with beams of pink and red raining down Green aurora with beams of red and purple Green and red overhead aurora
November 12, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Reposted by Jon
heaposheep.bsky.social
Inaccurate reporting, he must first serve his rabies bite quarantine.
itsdings.bsky.social That's Are Thankful Dings™ @itsdings.bsky.social · 19d
Andrew Cuomo has just been detained by animal control and will be destroyed by 12:00 A.M. EST
November 5, 2025 at 3:05 AM
jondrobny.com
It's been a while since I posted anything here! I biked to the river mouth a couple days ago and, as I was scouting the flooded lagoon for grebes, this curious Black-bellied Plover walked up to me along the shoulder-height bank, letting me get these shots with the ocean in the background. #birds
A Black-bellied Plover in nonbreeding plumage - a white and tan, medium-sized white plover, with an upright posture, small round head, large, round, black eyes, and a small, pointed, black bill - standing amongst sparse grass, with an out-of-focus background of distant sand, crashing waves, and bright blue sky. An action shot of a Black-bellied Plover - a white and tan, medium-sized white plover, with an upright posture, small round head, large, round, black eyes, and a small, pointed, black bill - stepping from left to right, small red bug in its open mouth, having grabbed it from a nearby blade of grass, surrounded by dry grass on the beach with the ocean and the sky in the out-of-focus background.
October 24, 2025 at 3:13 AM
Reposted by Jon
alexarrelia.bsky.social
If the shooter had killed a leftist podcaster, he would have a multi million dollar Go Fund Me to cover his legal fees tomorrow, and an interview lined up with Charlie Kirk.
September 12, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Reposted by Jon
kattenbarge.bsky.social
The people dominating our political landscape, culture, and economy are just so stupid and full of shit it's almost impossible to describe
A transcription of a conversation between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and podcast host Theo Von on Von's podcast, in an excerpt from the Atlantic article "AI is a mass-delusion event" by Charlie Warzel: "Sam Altman: I do guess that a lot of the world gets covered in data centers over time. Theo Von: Do you really? Altman: But I don’t know, because maybe we put them in space. Like, maybe we build a big Dyson sphere around the solar system and say, “Hey, it actually makes no sense to put these on Earth.” Von: Yeah. Altman: I wish I had, like, more concrete answers for you, but, like, we’re stumbling through this."
August 18, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Reposted by Jon
defector.com
Bill shapes, ranked: defector.com/bill-shapes-...
July 16, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by Jon
banditelli.org
HOW IS THIS REAL AND HOW DID I GET THIS WITH SOMEWHAT CONSUMER GEAR!? #birds 🐣
May 26, 2025 at 8:06 PM
jondrobny.com
Pied-billed Grebe babies are back at the local lake! I think these little gremlins are my favorite young birds to photograph, they are so photogenic #birds
A pied-billed Grebe chick; a tiny grebe with a downy grey body, with streaks of pale orange on its breast, and a dramatic striped black and white face, with a bright orange crown, eyerings, and bill. It is facing exactly forward, looking at the camera, bill slightly open. It is surrounded by green water, streaked with bright grey reflections of the overcast sky.
May 26, 2025 at 4:42 PM
jondrobny.com
I also briefly encountered this Spotted Sandpiper making its way around the lake yesterday - I've never seen one in breeding plumage before (they lose their spots in the winter when they're more likely to be here), so getting to see one with spots was a treat! #birds
A Spotted Sandpiper - a smallish brown and white shorebird with a medium-length, orange bill, orange legs, a dark stripe running across its eye accented by a white eyebrow, with a bright white belly, chest, and throat, punctuated by dark-brown polka dots, standing on an exposed tree root in front of dark green lakewater
April 21, 2025 at 4:46 PM
jondrobny.com
Poor lighting for photography yesterday encouraged me to try video, and I'm glad I did - I was lucky enough to capture the elusive Marsh Wren singing its unmistakable song through a gap in the reeds #birds
April 21, 2025 at 4:10 PM
jondrobny.com
The crows really do not like the kites! #birds
March 17, 2025 at 4:14 PM
jondrobny.com
I ran across the park and jogged up a hill hoping to photograph the White-tailed Kite hunting, but by the time I arrived he had already returned to where I had just been to give food to his mate mid-flight - I'm happy I was still able to get this series of shots from very, very, very far away #birds
A composite of five shots taken in quick succession, showing two White-tailed Kites. arrange left-to-right and upwards diagonally. The smaller male kite, above, has a vole in his talons. The female kite swoops upward from behind and below, and, swinging her talons upwards to meet the males, takes the vole from him before twisting away.
March 16, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Jon
birderk.bsky.social
It’s #BirdCast season, baby!
These early stages of migration will be short distance migrants and “hardy” species that can push north early. Think sparrows, sapsuckers, Hermit Thrush, kinglets, Yellow-rumpeds, etc.
#birds #spring #migration
NEXRAD radar map showing a small concentration of bird migration in the southeast along with weather systems moving throughout the U.S. This image wouldn’t be possible without NOAA and the National Weather Service. BirdCast migration map showing an estimated 19 million birds in flight at 9:40pm EST on March 3, 2025. The birds are headed north and most of the migration is concentrated in the southeast states with a little movement in Texas.
March 4, 2025 at 3:07 AM
jondrobny.com
Turns out there are two White-Tailed Kites! And it also turns out that they are VERY unfazed by the mobbing crows, haha. #birds
March 2, 2025 at 8:16 PM
jondrobny.com
This lone Snowy Plover landed near me while I was (mostly unsuccessfully) trying to photograph some bathing terns on the beach the other day. I'm glad it did, because this ended up being my favorite shot of the morning #birds
A Snowy Plover - a mostly white, tennis-ball-shaped sandpiper with little stick legs, a dark collar, and light brown back and cap with little, black round eyes and a short, stubby, kind of pointy bill - standing on sloped, soft, pale sand on a cloudy day. The surf is barely visible in the out of focus background. The Plover is positioned just left of center in the frame and is facing and looking forward-right just past the camera. Its bill is covered with sand.
February 27, 2025 at 8:00 PM
jondrobny.com
This picture didn't turn out exactly as I'd hoped, but I do really like that you can see the reflection of the sunset over the ocean in this Black Phoebe's eye #birds
A close-up portrait of a Black Phoebe - a small, black flycatcher with a little crest, a bright white belly, and wise brown eyes - lit by the orange light of the sun setting over the ocean, facing forward but looking to the left, in front of a pitch-black background that fades to orange-tan in the upper left corner. The setting sun over the ocean can just be made out in the reflection in the phoebe's round, brown eyes.
February 27, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by Jon
sabs.bsky.social
I blogged about a daring new Flavor Innovation, and tried it for myself
defector.com/i-tried-a-co...
I Tried A Cockatoo's Innovative New Snack | Defector
While reading a series of titles of new scientific papers, I came across an unnatural series of words: Innovative Flavoring Behavior. The phrase sounded alienating, like the impossible promise of some...
defector.com
February 26, 2025 at 5:34 PM
jondrobny.com
I captured this Marbled Godwit the other day looking very pleased with its foraging while making the most of overcast conditions #birds
A Marbled Godwit - a large, tan shorebird speckled all over with gold and dark brown spots. It has an extraordinarily long, slightly upcurved, very narrow prehensile bill that is pink at its base and black at its end. It has large, dark brown eyes and is wading in shallow, foamy water. The lighting is very diffuse and the background and foreground have been overexposed, so the Godwit appears to be surrounded by soft, white light.
February 24, 2025 at 5:23 PM
jondrobny.com
A surprising sight at Guajome park: a beautiful White-tailed Kite has been hanging out at the top of this eucalyptus for a couple of days, despite regular mobbing by the resident crows. I've only ever seen one at a great distance before, so this was cool to see, despite the stick in the way! #birds
A photograph of a White-tailed Kite - a medium-sized, bright white falcon with a flattish face, short bill, and very large, round, bright orange eyes, perched at the very top of a Eucalyptus tree, green with long and narrow oblong leaves. The background is a bright, completely clear blue sky, and the scene is lit by harsh, late morning sun.
February 24, 2025 at 5:10 PM
jondrobny.com
American Pipits are still here - I watched this one foraging in the dew this morning. #birds
February 23, 2025 at 9:08 PM
jondrobny.com
Pelicans at sunset #birds
A photograph of the ocean at sunset. A slightly-out-of-focus wave, blue with shadow, churns seafoam as it approaches the camera. Flecks of orange-pink light glisten off the top of the wave. Along the horizon, the silhouettes of 15 brown pelicans can be seen, flying single file, almost evenly spaced, right to left. The smooth ocean is reflecting the light from the sunset sky, which is a smooth gradient from grey-purple at the horizon to bright orange at the top of the image.
February 22, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by Jon
banditelli.org
Yesterday I was at LA City Hall with 100s of striking fast food workers

Then I drove 300 miles to Yosemite

I didn't understand parking, but I got this out of my sunroof while driving!

This is what Musk, at best, wants to privatize for profit, and at worst, wants to destroy

We wont let them! 🧵
horseshoe falls at yosemite national park taken tonight at 5:38PM, for several days a year when the sun sets on the falls and it looks like fire
February 20, 2025 at 4:20 AM
jondrobny.com
Captured this beautiful Northern Flicker calling from the top of a tree where Ash-throated Flycatchers nested last year - although I did my best to stabilize this video, it's still pretty shaky! I should've brought my tripod, but alas #birds
February 17, 2025 at 7:01 PM
jondrobny.com
Diving pelican lit by the sunset filtered through a raincloud #birds
A small-in-frame, almost completely silhouetted brown pelican, a very large bird with a massive, scoop-like bill, diving from a great height vertically into choppy water. The sky is uniform gold, and everything is lit by diffuse orange-yellow light. Large waves are frothing against the shore in the slightly-out-of-focus foreground.
February 15, 2025 at 3:11 AM